Under sunny skies and rising temperatures, 29 riders lined up to contest the Comox Valley Cycle Club's Minto Road Race.
With three categories on offer; A’s racing 81km, B’s racing 63km, and C’s racing 36km, the tough Minto circuit took its toll as seven riders did not finish between the A and B categories.
Fourteen A riders lined up to start an exciting race that featured two solo breakaways and an elite selection of out-of-town riders. CVCC alumni Jordan Duncan (Team Russ Hay’s/Accent Inns) took the win as he prepares for nationals this coming weekend.
The heat and length of the race took its toll with eight riders pulling out early during the A race.
In category B, nine riders lined up for a fast race. After a series of attacks five riders escaped and the final came down to a group sprint. Local rider Nicholas Parlee took the win after his twin brother, Damian, unfortunately flatted.
In C category eight riders lined up with local rider Hugh Park breaking away, followed shortly by out-of-town rider Allie Guenther. Working together for the full race, Hugh sprinted for the win over Allie.
The Comox Valley Cycle Club had four riders going to Cycling Nationals to ride for CyclingBC this past weekend in Quebec; local riders Kia Van der Vliet and Gillian Ellsay (both riding for Trail Bicycles Cycling Team), and club alumni Jordan Duncan and Nigel Ellsay. Jordan was riding for the Victoria cycling squad Russ Hay’s/Accent Inn Cycling Team and Nigel, back from riding in France for Nationals, for the Sojasun Espoir Cycling Team.
Group rides for the Comox Valley Cycle Club leave Trail Bicycles at 6 p.m. on Wednesdays. For more information go to http://comoxvalleycycleclub.blogspot.ca/.
Full results:
Category A: 1 Jordan Duncan, 2 Mathew O'Hagen, 3 Simon Sterling, 4 Steven Grandy, 5
Craig Lunn, 6 Gary MacGregor, 7 Ray Wagner, 8 Doug Merrick. DNF: 9 Josh Erickson, 10 Jeff Matell, 11 Derek Trip, 12 Mike Sevcov, 13 Kia Van der Vliet, 14 John Van der Vliet.
Category B: 1 Nicholas Parlee, 2 Trevor Orme, 3 Aaron Milan, 4 Gillian Ellsay, 5 Shannon Baerg, 6 Mike Wood, 7 Mark Stewart, 8 Damian Parlee (flat), 9 Nigel Hutcheson (DNF).
Category C: 1 Hugh Park, 2 Allie Guenther, 3
Isaac Van der Vliet, 4 Ethan Glenwright, 5 Glenda Harling, 6 Chris Bowman, 7 Pat Gerrie, 8 Ernie Klassen.
– Comox Valley Cycling Club