July 24/05 9:16 am - Tour de Whiterock: Criterium Report and Results

Posted by Editoress on 07/24/05
 

Tour de White Rock
Report by Kevin Woodley

Stage 2: Criterium

Hilton Clarke and Svein Tuft made sure no one was catching them this time. After leading most of the Tour de Gastown Wednesday night only to be caught on the final lap and pushed off the podium, Clarke and Tuft were part of an early five-man break that lapped the field in Saturday evening's Criterium at the 26th annual Tour de White Rock.

When the break built a 35-second lead midway through 60 laps of the one-kilometer track around White Rock streets, there was little doubt about the top-five. And when Clarke, Tuft, Mark Howard, Tom Peterson, and Brandon Crichton passed the pack with 20 laps left, the only question was who would cross the line first and who would round out the podium.

Clarke was confident he'd be on top of it when the flowers were handed out, especially after watching Peterson, Howard and Crichton battle for a $500 crowd prime (prize lap) with one lap remaining. He was right. Clarke easily won a sprint into the final corner, turning down the final straightaway and gliding to first place with both hands raised.

"I had a chance to take the $500 prime with a lap to go and I decided to give it away," said Clarke, a Melbourne, Australia native riding for the powerful, New Jersey-based Navigators Insurance Team "I watched them sprint and they used a lot of energy with a lap to go and I knew then I had then covered and it was just a mater of getting around the last corner first and that's all it took. I knew I was the fastest guy there so I just covered them all and just had to wait to sprint to the last corner and then I was just coasting down the hill."

Crichton, a Burlington, Ontario-native riding for the ItalPasta Team was second, just ahead of Tuft, a Langley native on the powerful B.C.-based Symmetrics squad. Howard, another Melbourne native riding for Wentings Cycle, finished fourth. Peterson, a Washington State native with Broadmark Capital was fifth after winning the late sprint for the crowd prime.

"I'm a little frustrated," said Tuft, the 2004 and 2005 Canadian Time Trial Champion. "I feel like I have the form, but I've just been having some difficulties trying to put her together. I was trying to give her today, I wanted to win, but that's just racing." It was evident early that the entire Symmetrics men's team was, in Tuft's words, "trying to give her" Saturday, even when that meant working to slow down the chase pack. With 12 riders in the starting field, Symmetrics worked to ensure Tuft's breakaway group stayed out front after taking off from the peleton just 10 laps into the race, catching world-class Health Net duo of Gord Fraser, who won Gastown, and Tyler Farrar back in the chase group.

With 10 laps left, there were 10 Symmetrics riders at the front of the pack, including Tuft, who was already up a lap by that time. Unfortunately for Tuft, all of the lapped riders were pulled from the course for the final three laps, leaving the top-five on their own.

"It's not normal, but it happens," Clarke said of lapping the field. "I was away in Gastown the whole night with Svein and I know he's going really strong and he made a move and I followed him and I knew no doubt we were going to lap the field." The good news for Tuft's Symmetrics teammates came from Andrew Pinfold, who won the bunch sprint to take sixth spot. Combined with a second-place finish in Friday's hill climb, Pinfold heads into Sunday's road race as the Tour de White Rock omnium (overall) leader. "We were going for overall, trying to keep safe," said Tuft. "It's really hard competition here this week. Navigators and Health Net are all world-class guys. It's not a cakewalk out here. We have a lot of guys but again, with Navigators and Health Net, they have world-class speed and the problem is you have them in a break and they're a threat every single time. Our only trick is to really segregate those guys and use our strength." The plan seemed to be similar for the Symmetrics Team in the women's race as they tried to contain Quark Cycling's Sarah Uhl, who dominated the Tour de Delta and finished second in Gastown for two straight years. With three riders in the race, Symmetrics helped to limit Uhl to a third-place finish, but couldn't get anyone onto the podium themselves.

Instead it was Brei Gudsell of BikeNZ, a development team from New Zealand, who broke away from the pack up a hill on the backside of the course with a lap and a half left, winning a $283 crowd prime and hanging on to win.

Gudsell called both wins a pleasant surprise, especially after waking up feeling sick and considering withdrawing from the race.

"I wasn't really feeling up to racing but I decided to go," said Gudsell, a 22-year-old from Wanganui, New Zealand who works full time and attends university as an economics major back home. "I didn't actually plan on going for the crowd prime, I was just planning on going with a few laps to go just to see if I could stay away and if I couldn't, then one of my teammates was going to counterattack. It was just lucky to get the crowd prime." Gudsell and her BikeNZ teammates arrived the day before Gastown as part of a three-week North American trip put together by manager Susie Pryde, a former top U.S. pro rider from New Zealand. They return right after BC Superweek wraps up with Sunday's road race.

"I meant to just stick with the team plan and just kept going," added Gudsell. Emily Sandwith, a 20-year-old Victoria native who was on the Canadian Development team last year before taking this year to study for her medical entrance exams at the University of Victoria, overcame knee surgery and was second after sneaking up on Uhl in a photo finish.

Uhl, 20 and a former World Junior Match Sprint champion recognized as one of the fastest sprinters in women's cycling, did manage to win six of eight primes before fading late.

"I chose to play an aggressive card. I really didn't leave the top-3 all race and that maybe cost me a little bit," said Uhl, missing Quark teammate Helen Kelly, who left Superweek to race Altoona in Uhl's home state of Pennsylvania. "But I was really gunning for a lot of the primes because there's a lot less overall money in White Rock so I was just trying to collect as much dinner money as possible." The Tour de White continues with the Road Race Sunday (8 a.m. start), the final stop in BC Superweek, a three-event series that included the Tour de Gastown and Tour de Delta.

Pro 1/2 Men
1. Hilton Clarke (AUS) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
2. Brandon Crichton (CAN) ItalPasta
3. Svein Tuft (CAN) Symmetrics Cycling
4. Derek McMaster (CAN) Team Coastal
5. Tom Peterson (USA) Broadmark Capital
6. Andrew Pinfold (CAN) Symmetrics Cycling
7. Tommy Nankervis (AUS) Wentings Cycle
8. Tyler Farrar (USA) Health Net
9. Marsh Cooper (CAN) Symmetrics Cycling
10. Philippe Abbott (CAN) Team Alberta
11. Dustin MacBurnie (CAN) Broadmark Capital
12. David Goosen (CAN) Rocky Mountain Bicycles / Adobe
13. Bradley Fairall (CAN) Symmetrics Cycling
14. Eric Kameka (CAN) Escape Velocity / DEVO
15. Jeff Hansen (CAN) ItalPasta
16. Andy Edwards (AUS) GS Ciao
17. Nick Friesen (CAN) The Bike Shop
18. Jamie Sparling (CAN) Bicisport Calgary
19. Ian Tubbs (USA) Broadmark Capital
20. Tim Sherstobitoff (CAN) Kelowna Cycle
21. Phil Zajicek (USA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
22. Nat Faulkner (CAN) ItalPasta
23. Roy Pickavance (CAN) CenturyTel
24. Craig De gier (CAN) Cyclesmith CC
25. Ian Manning (CAN) BikeSports - Pfaff Racing Team
26. Eric Wohlberg (CAN) Symmetrics Cycling
27. Andrew Fischer (USA) Broadmark Capital
28. Tim Abercrombie (CAN) Escape Velocity / DEVO
29. Zak Grabowski (USA) TIAA-CREF
30. Peter Sanowar (CAN) ItalPasta
31. Murray Carter (CAN) Ride With Rendall
32. Kevin Noiles (CAN) Escape Velocity / DEVO
33. Daniel Maggiacomo (CAN) ItalPasta
34. Taylor Little (CAN) Taylor Little
35. Cameron McKnight (CAN) Edmonton Road & Track Club
36. Chuck Hill (USA) Amgen
37. Maurice Worsfold (CAN) Bayside Cycling Club
38. Sean Van Horn (USA) Broadmark Capital
39. Trevor Connor (CAN) Chris Cookies/Swan Cycles
40. Sven Sturm (GER) Organic Athlete Victoria
41. Rob Britton (CAN) Team Coastal
42. Zack Garland (CAN) N/A
43. Gord Fraser (CAN) Health Net
44. Siro Camponogara (ITA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
45. Zachary Taylor (USA) TIAA-CREF
46. Brad Slater (CAN) Rocky Mountain Bicycles / Adobe
47. Robert Campbell (USA) The Valley Athletic Club
48. Chris Worsfold (CAN) Bayside Cycling Club
49. Andrew McDirmid (USA) Starbucks Double Shot
50. Christian Meier (CAN) Symmetrics Cycling
51. Jacob Erker (CAN) Symmetrics Cycling
52. Will Pratt (CAN) The Bike Barn
53. Cory Lange (CAN) Symmetrics Cycling
54. Will Routley (CAN) Symmetrics Cycling
55. Jeff Sherstobitoff (CAN) Symmetrics Cycling
56. Pleasure Jackson (USA) Broadmark Capital
57. Basse Clement (CAN) Rocky Mountain Bicycles / Adobe

dnf. Kirk O'Bee (USA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
dnf. Min Van Velzen (CAN) Symmetrics Cycling
dnf. Scott Slater (CAN) Rocky Mountain Bicycles / Adobe
dnf. Shane Savage (CAN) Rocky Mountain Bicycles / Adobe
dnf. Richard Minichiello (CAN) TREK - Red Truck Ale
dnf. Daniel Goncalves (BRA) Organic Athlete Victoria
dnf. Keith Stark (CAN) Rocky Mountain - Business Objects
dnf. Chris Brennan (USA) Team Rio Grande
dnf. Justin Davis (AUS) Wentings Cycle
dnf. Mark Howard (AUS) Wentings Cycle
dnf. Scott Brown (AUS) Wentings Cycle
dnf. Owen Gue (USA) Broadmark Capital
dnf. Justin Morgan (USA) Broadmark Capital
dnf. Adam Curry (NZL) Broadmark Capital
dnf. Solomon Woras (USA) Broadmark Capital
dnf. Richard Bowker (NZL) ItalPasta
dnf. Chris Issac (CAN) ItalPasta
dnf. Brett Boniface (CAN) OrganicAthlete Victoria
dnf. Joshua Smith (USA) CenturyTel / VRAD
dnf. Nicholas Jendzjowsky (CAN) Pedalhead Roadworks/Sleemans
dnf. Josh James (CAN) TREK - Red Truck Ale
dnf. Mark Grimmett (CAN) Wenting's Cycles
dnf. Matthew Hall (USA) CenturyTel / VRAD
dnf. Donald Buscombe (CAN) Rocky Mountain Bicycles / Adobe
dnf. Brad Bingham (USA) CenturyTel / VRAD
dnf. Philip Burgess (IRL) La Bicicletta
dnf. Axel Bergman (CAN) Team Organic Victoria
dnf. Chris Conklin (CAN) Team Coastal
dnf. Damien Waugh (CAN) Rocky Mountain Bicycles / Adobe
dnf. Harley Borlee (CAN) Velocity
dnf. Matthew Walker (CAN) Team Sask
dnf. Brian Nelson (USA) Momentum sports/Inewmed
dnf. Chris Reid (CAN) Team Coastal
dnf. Jeff Sparling (CAN) Team Alberta
dnf. Ezra Nichols (CAN) Organic Ahtlete Victoria
dnf. Garth White (CAN) TREK - Red Truck Ale
dnf. Jesse James Collins (CAN) BiciSport
dnf. Samuel Bail (CAN) coachchris.ca / All Seasons Sports
dnf. Duncan Steele (CAN) Escape Velocity / DEVO
dnf. Matt Patterson (CAN) BiciSport
dnf. Jim Tsilemos (CAN) Team Coastal
dnf. Dawson Sean (CAN) TREK - Red Truck Ale
dnf. Jason Fluckiger (CAN) Bayside Cycling Club
dnf. Shawn Bunnin (CAN) Team Saskatchewan / Spoke n Sport
dnf. Mark Cunningham (CAN) Symmetrics Cycling
dnf. Noah Young (USA) Broadmark Capital
dnf. Brad Issel (CAN) TREK - Red Truck Ale
dnf. Felix Haspel (CAN) Synergy Racing
dnf. Jordan Guenette (CAN) Rocky Mountain Bicycles / Adobe
dnf. Pablo Araya (CRC) Costa Rica
dnf. Nieves Carasco (CRC) Costa Rica
dnf. Luis Garcia (CRC) Costa Rica
dnf. JP Dunlop (CAN) adventurebound.ca
dnf. Ian Robertsonn (CAN) Team KAOS
dnf. Robin White (CAN) adventurebound.ca
dnf. Tom Evans (CAN) Bike Barn
dnf. Cory Forrest (CAN) Kelowna Cycle
dnf. Dan MacDonald (CAN)

Women
1. Brei Gudsell (NZL) BikeNZ
2. Emily Sandwith (CAN) Adventure Bound
3. Sarah Uhl (USA) Quark Cycling Team
4. Lisa Sweeney (CAN) Team Coastal
5. Jenny Trew (CAN) Team Coastal
6. Joelle Numainville (CAN) Canadian National Junior Women
7. Mathilde Hupin Debeurme (CAN) Sportif Bromont
8. Marni Hambleton (CAN) Symmetrics Cycling
9. Alena Radomsky (CAN) Team Coastal
10. Amy Mosen (NZL) BikeNZ
11. Leah Guloien (CAN) Sugoi / Giant
12. Anna Tratnyek (CAN) Terry Precision
13. Heather Lamson (CAN) Wentings Cycle
14. Julie Hutsebaut (CAN) Terry Precision
15. Jean Ann McKirdy (CAN) Rocky Mountain Business Objects
16. Lee Darling (CAN) Team Coastal
17. Sandra Walter (CAN) AdventureBound.ca
18. Helena Coney (CAN) N/A
19. Amanda Butler (CAN) Team Coastal
20. Jo Ryder (NZL) BikeNZ
21. Christina Briante (CAN) Symmetrics Cycling
22. Naomi Cooper (CAN) Canadian National Junior Women
23. Mandy Poitras (CAN) Symmetrics Cycling
dnf. Alison Testroete (CAN) Team Alberta
dnf. Dianna Kennedy (CAN) Team Alberta
dnf. Pepper Harlton (CAN) Team Alberta
dnf. Anne Guzman (CAN) Terry Precision
dnf. Kylie Case (CAN) Team Manitoba
dnf. Claire Cameron (CAN) Blak Dog Racing
dnf. Kristin Campbell (CAN) Pedalhead Roadwork's/Sleemans
dnf. Angella Goran (CAN) Team Adventure Bound
dns. Laura Schmidt (USA) Terry Precision
dns. Lauren Koedyk (NZL) BikeNZ
dns. Karol-Ann Canuel (CAN) Canadian National Junior Women
dns. Suzanne Macht (CAN) Adventurebound.ca

Cat 3/4 Men
1. Ryan Clarke (CAN) Dr Walker Sports Chiropractor
2. Vinko Poldrugovac (CAN) Dr Walker Sports Chiropractor
3. Brian Geerts (CAN) Wenting's Cycle / Phoenix Velo
4. Ryan Smith (CAN) Kelowna Cycle
5. Brian Griffin (CAN) Wenting's Cycle
6. John Perkins (CAN) Escape Velocity / DEVO
7. Steven Liesch (CAN) Escape Velocity / DEVO
8. Anselmo Rossiello (CAN) Team Coastal
9. Bevan Hughes (CAN) Atomic Racing Club
10. Stephen Ferris (CAN) ERTC Redbike
11. Bryan Kelly (CAN) Steed Cycles
12. Steve O'Neill (CAN) CVC - Central Vancouver Cycling
13. Matthew Campbell (CAN) CVC - Central Vancouver Cycling
14. Roy McBeth (CAN) Local Ride - Maple Ridge
15. Barry Bereziak (CAN) Wenting's Cycle
16. Jonathan Fowlie (CAN) Atomic Racing Club
17. Bob Kelly (AUS) Wentings Cycle
18. James Ritchie (CAN) Deadgoat Racing/Bowcycle
19. Nick Smit (CAN) Spoke n Motion
20. Hans Bauck (CAN) Team Coastal
21. David Gerth (CAN) Team Coastal
22. James Thompson (CAN) CVC - Central Vancouver Cycling
23. Alex Northey (CAN) Team Coastal
24. Attila Fritz (CAN) Mighty Riders
25. Jeff Ain (CAN) Escape Velocity / DEVO
dnf. Charles Lee (CAN) N/A
dnf. Chris Smit (NED) Team Coastal
dnf. Brian Wong (CAN) Team Coastal
dnf. Robert Thompson (CAN) CVC - Central Vancouver Cycling
dnf. Taku Imai (CAN) Escape Velocity / DEVO
dnf. Marcel Aarden (CAN) Schwalbe Cycling Club
dnf. Lucas Fennell (CAN) Escape Velocity / DEVO
dnf. Mitch Statton (CAN) Team Coastal
dnf. Victor Brudov (CAN) N/A
dnf. Chris White (CAN) TREK - Red Truck Ale
dnf. Philip Meyer (CAN) Wedgewood Cycling Team
dnf. Ron Klopfe (CAN) N/A
dns. Ronald Lu (CAN) CVC - Central Vancouver Cycling