May 13/12 21:37 pm - Ontario Cup #2 Woodnewton report and results

Posted by Editoress on 05/13/12
 

The second stop of the 2012 Plastiglas Ontario Cup mountain bike race series traveled to Uxbridge, the so-called trail capital of Canada.  In fact, the trails were capital as overnight rain provided for superb tacky conditions that led to high average speeds. With a number of regular contenders overseas on the World Cup circuit, the Woodnewton venue saw first-time winners in both the Elite categories.

Elite Women
Caley Brooks (Trek Canada) and Haley Smith (Norco Evolution) took centre stage today, rocketing off the start line with only Mandy Dreyer (Lapierre POC) in their slipstream. By the end of lap one, Brooks had a slight gap over Smith, with Dreyer trailing but still in contention.

A crash on the rocky descent nearing the end of lap two almost spelled disaster for Brooks.  “I hit a rock head on,” she said, “I had too much weight forward and I went right over the bars, but I got back up and didn’t lose too much time.”

The 20-year old from New Lowell overcame a 14-second deficit to rejoin Smith, and the two started the fourth and final lap together, with Dreyer 45 seconds in arrears.

Early on during the last lap Brooks accelerated and Smith was unable to respond. “On the first big climb at the start of the course Caley attacked and I didn’t have the gas to stick with her,” recalled Smith. “She got a little gap on me and I just tried to hang on as long as I could but she was going too fast so I got dropped.” Hailing from Uxbridge, the 18-year old kinesiology student was unable to celebrate a hometown victory, but did manage her second elite podium in as many races.

For Brooks the win was not only her first in the senior ranks, but also her break-through podium appearance. Compared to the opening O- Cup race at Mansfield, she felt “just a little more prepared for how fast it was going to be. I had pretty good legs last (race) but I had a little mechanical. So this week no mechanicals and I got to ride really fast. It felt good.”

Despite being unable to keep up to the leading duo, Dreyer maintained a strong pace to finish third.  “I fell back from them a little bit but tried to keep driving forward to keep the gap close,” said the 27- year old from Dundas. The rocky downhill that caught out Brooks also played a part in Dreyer’s race. “On the last rocky section, it’s like a ping pong section. I flatted my front. I tried to ride it out but it didn’t work out.” The personal trainer and sports therapist ended up running across the line to secure her podium position.


Elite Men
Preston Wagler (Two Wheel Racing) got the holeshot followed by Jarrod Forrest (Kunstadt Sport Cycling) but veteran Peter Glassford (Trek Canada) quickly went to the front to set the early pace. Recently returned from training and racing in California, the 28-year old Collingwood resident’s speed was too high for the majority of the field, with only teammate Mitchell Bailey and Opus/OGC rider Steven Noble able to stay on his wheel.

“No one really went to the front right off the start,” said Glassford, “So I got on the front and started setting the pace and about halfway through I looked back and we had a bit of a gap.”

At the end of the first lap the leading trio had a 30-second advantage over a chase group consisting of Ryan Atkins (Muskoka Cycling Club), Danny Souter (KHS Bicycles), Andrew De Cal (Liberty Bicycles) and Bretton Matthews (Norco Evolution). A lap later and the lead had more than doubled.

By the end of lap three the Trek tandem had managed to dislodge Noble. “They were just punching the climbs harder than I could do myself,” explained the eventual bronze medalist. “I eased off on the climbs and kept the same pace on the other parts of the course. I’m very happy. I got to ride with those guys for a while and it’s a good experience with the technical parts and the high speed. Yeah I really enjoyed it. “

Glassford’s pace was a bit too much for Bailey, who faded slightly on the final lap. “Peter was setting a really hard pace right from the start. I was just hanging on and having a good time. I was happy to ride with a teammate who is clearly a lot more experienced than me.”

Despite numerous podium appearances over the years, the win was Glassford’s first at an Ontario Cup. “I just got back from California two weeks ago. I figured I’d blow out the smoke before the Canada Cups. I actually came into it pretty seriously.  I’m not going to say I rode it tempo or anything like that. I was full- bore. I wanted to win today. I haven’t won one before so it was full on.”

l to r : Jacob McClelland, Bretton Matthews, Mitchell Bailey, Peter Glassford, Steven Noble, Davis Ross

Of the early chasers, only Matthews managed to maintain his early pace, narrowly finishing fourth ahead of Davis Ross (Mountainview CC) who continues to remain true to the single-speed.

Race Notes:
Peter Disera (Cycle Solutions – Angry Johnny’s CC) led the way for the Junior Expert Men, riding at a speed that would have easily put him on the podium in the elite race. Although Mansfield winner Marc- Antoine Nadon was at Woodnewton, he chose not to race in order to be fully rested for the upcoming national-level events.

Report and photos  by Emil van Dijk

Full results OCA website