November 14/10 9:15 am - Local Riders Dominate Ottawa Cross Race

Posted by Editoress on 11/14/10
 

The dynamic duo of Natasha Elliott and Derrick St. John, both of Ottawa, dominated the first race of the their local Ride With Rendall cyclocross double header in Saturday.

Elliott (Garneau-Club Chaussures) easily rode away from her competitors in the elite women's race on the twisty but dry course at the Nepean National Equestrian Park, increasing her lead all the way to the finish.

Crossing the line two minutes and 25 seconds behind Elliott was recently crowned national Masters champion Julie Lafreniere (Kunstadt Sports), who held off Sophie Matte (Stevens Racing p/b The Cyclery) by seven seconds.

The men's race quickly developed into a two-rider battle, as U23 mnational champion Evan McNeely (EMD Serono) set a blistering pace from the gun. St. John was the only rider able to follow, and things looked bad for the Garneau-Club Chaussures rider when he briefly went off course on the third lap. But St. John quickly recovered and homed in on McNeely, who started to fade in the latter half of the race and eventually finished 32 seconds behind.

Behind the leaders, a four-rider chase group formed about a minute back, containing last year's winner Osmond Bakker (La Bicicletta), Simon Lambert-Lemay (SpiderTech), Pierrick Naud (Rocky Mountain-CIBC Wood Gundy) and Conor O'Brien (EMD Serono-Specialized). Naud crashed in an off-camber corner and O'Brien dropped off the pace, leaving Lambert-Lemay to beat Bakker in the sprint for the final podium spot.

Racing continues Sunday with the Anvil at the same location.

Story by Kris Westwood