July 21/05 10:29 am - Tour de Gastown: Report and Full Results

Posted by Editoress on 07/21/05
 

Grain and Fraser 2005 Gastown Champions
Courtesy Gordon Ross, OpenRoad Communications

HealthNet's Gord Fraser and Victory Brewing's Gina Grain won the 2005 edition of the Tour de Gastown in front of 30,000 fans.

On a perfect summer evening in downtown Vancouver, both riders won close sprint finishes after catching dangerous breakaway moves that characterized the men's and women's races. Gina Grain duelled with Quark's Sarah Uhl in a two-woman sprint, while Gord Fraser came from the pack on the last lap to take his second Gastown victory.

"No other race compares," said an emotional and out of breath Fraser holding his son Angus in his arms. "It's such a special event with so much history and it inspires all the riders who come here."

The men's race was dominated by breakaways with HealthNet, Navigators, and Symmetrics active in all moves. An early group of Svein Tuft (Symmetrics), Hilton Clarke (Navigators), Gord Fraser (HealthNet), and Derek McMaster (Team Coastal) looked dangerous and put 10 seconds on the pack by the 7th of 50 laps of the 1.2km cobbled circuit. The group dangled out front, working together taking primes in front of a strung-out pack of over 120 riders.

McMaster and Fraser would drift back to the pack, leaving Clarke and Tuft who were then joined by the HealthNet pair of Doug Ollerenshaw and Tyler Farrar, Navigator Siro Camponogara and Symmetrics Jake Erker. The six rider break had plenty of horsepower and opened up a gap of 16 seconds by the mid way point of the race. Back in the peloton, Subway and Jittery Joes chased, having been left out of the major move of the evening.

With 16 laps to go, North Vancouver resident Kirk O'Bee (Navigators) launched a massive attack at the start/finish, taking advantage of the slight incline up to the hairpin turn at Water and Cordova in an attempt to bridge up to the lead group. Ryan Mackenzie (Subway) tried to go with O'Bee, but would not be able to hold his wheel. In a space of three laps O'Bee bridged up, stacking the odds in favour of the Navigators now with three riders in the lead group of seven.

Subway riders Cameron Hughes and Todd Cornelius took over the chase and worked hard to lessen the gap to the lead seven. With 10 laps to go, the lead had shrunk to 10 seconds. A big prime with 9 laps to go taken by Tim Johnson (Jittery Joes) brought the gap down another 5 seconds and over the next lap, the breakaway looked like it had all but given up.

In a never-say-die gesture Clarke, Tuft, and Ollerenshaw countered as their group was being absorbed and proceeded to put 12 seconds on the pack in the next two laps, as Jittery Joes Even Elken, Ital Pasta's Nat Faulkner and Brandon Crichton worked hard to shut it down. Then with 3 laps to go, Seattle resident Kenny Williams (FirstRate Mortgage) emerged from the pack at the start/finish, in a last minute attempt to steal the pro's glory. With two laps to go, Williams had bridged to the lead group to make it a four-man sprint. A $2000 crowd prime with two laps to go was won by Ollerenshaw, leaving Clarke, Williams, and Tuft to jockey for position on the last lap with the pack bearing down only 4 seconds behind.

It was at that point, just after the hairpin turn on Cordova that Tyler Farrar started his one-lap lead out for Gord Fraser, ramping up the pace to 60kmh, stringing out the pack and blowing by the lead group as they came onto the final straightaway down Water St.

From there, Fraser took over, unleashing a trademark sprint that has won him more bike races than any other Canadian cyclist, beating the hard-charging Australian Jeff Hopkins (Jittery Joes) and Navigator Vasili Davidenko

Describing the last two laps, Fraser said "We had Doug up the road and he's really not a sprinter. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to catch the group, but Tyler and I found each other at the right moment. It's so loud here, I was screaming at Tyler at the top of my lungs to start it up a little earlier so we could catch the break on the back stretch. Somehow he heard me and just did an incredible lead-out. He hit it so fast, I could barely hold his wheel."

Fraser, who won the race in 2003, said about his future plans "As long as there's a Gastown and as long as I'm still racing, I'll be here."

The women‚s race started with an emotional tribute to the fallen Australian rider Amy Gillett who was killed in Germany during a training ride accident. Australian Helen Kelly and the rest of the women‚s riders sported black armbands in honour of the rider and her teammates.

The women's race saw the largest turnout of riders since the race returned to Gastown in 2001, with over 50 competitors. The 30 lap race started fast with Lyne Bessette (Sports Experts - Louis Garneau), Erinne Willock (Webcor), and Helen Kelly (Quark) all setting the pace early.

Gina Grain (Victory Brewing) took a prime at the 12 lap mark of the race and continued her acceleration up Water St, causing a chase from Helen Kelly and Alison Testerote (Team Alberta). The two riders caught Grain and the three worked together over the next 5 laps to put a lead onto the group of 10 seconds. Marni Hambleton and Mandy Poitras (Symmetrics) lead the chase until Sarah Uhl (Quark) attacked from the peloton in an attempt to bridge to her teammate Kelly in the lead group. Uhl closed the gap, making a lead group of four riders.

"If they stayed away I didn't know how it would go down with Helen and Gina, so I decided I'd try to get across," said Uhl. "I got across and was pretty excited as I haven't had too much of a history of bridging to breaks!"

With Uhl, winner of the Tour de Delta the weekend previous, up the road and her teammate Kelly working for her, Grain attacked the break to force a split. At the same time, Bessette and Testroete worked the front of the main field. The break was caught on the next lap and it was all together with 10 laps to go. Prime sprints taken by Grain and Poitras punctuated a few tentative laps with the pack all together until the crowd prime at 2 laps to go was announced. With $1000 on the line, Lyne Bessette tried her luck and attacked to take the cash and put a few seconds on the pack. "I thought I might be able to stay away," said Bessette. "When I was on the other side [Cordova] I had a good little gap, but Quark really wanted it and chased me down."

"Lyne had a really good gap on us when she went for that prime and it's actually the best thing that could have happened for us as it kept the pace high on the last lap," said Grain. "I like it fast, so the faster the better."

Kelly chased hard down the back straight on Cordova catching Bessette and setting up the sprint for teammate Uhl. Onto the final straightaway, Uhl lead out the sprint with Grain on her wheel. Grain came around with 50 meters to go, taking a close sprint from Uhl. "On the last corner, I was in third position, wound it up and pounded it into the finish," said Grain, the 31 year old from Victoria.

Two bike lengths behind, Canadian Junior National Team member Joelle Numainville took third place. Fresh off her wins as the Junior Road and Time Trial Champion at the National Cycling Championships in Kamloops, the 17 year old Numainville considered her third place to be a significant accomplishment.

"The manager of the team said he wanted one girl on the team on the podium and I was like... ha, you are crazy!" said an excited Numainville at the end of the race. "But I felt good all race and jumped onto Gina's wheel on the last lap, but they (Uhl & Grain) are so fast! I finished great and I'm very happy."

Bessette was equally complementary of the upstart from Quebec. "Joelle had a really great race! She was in a perfect spot when she had to be on that last lap and I'm really happy for her."

Quark's Kelly, an Australian, dedicated her race to her friend Amy Gillett who was tragically killed in an accident when a car went out of control hitting her and her teammates during a training ride in Germany on Tuesday. "Today's a tribute for Amy," said Kelly. "We tried to do a good race for her."

Men
1. Gord Fraser (CAN) Health Net
2. Jeff Hopkins (AUS) Jittery Joe's-Kalahari
3. Vassili Davidenko (RUS) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
4. Hilton Clarke (AUS) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
5. Kirk OBee (USA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
6. Tyler Farrar (USA) Health Net
7. Siro Camponogara (ITA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
8. Tommy Nankervis (AUS) Wentings Cycle
9. Svein Tuft (CAN) Symmetrics Cycling
10. Luis Garcia (CRC) Costa Rica
11. Adam Curry (NZL) Broadmark Capital
12. David Richter (USA) Subway
13. Kenny Williams (USA) First Rate Mortgage
14. Peter Sanowar (CAN) ItalPasta
15. Richard Bowker (NZL) ItalPasta
16. Ryan McKenzie (CAN) Subway
17. Nicholas Rowe (CAN) SG / Espoirs de Laval - TTN
18. Pleasure Jackson (USA) Broadmark Capital
19. Troy Heithecker (USA) Benaroya Research Institute
20. Dustin MacBurnie (CAN) Broadmark Capital
21. David Goosen (CAN) Rocky Mountain Bicycles / Adobe
22. Derek McMaster (CAN) Team Coastal
23. Eric Wohlberg (CAN) Symmetrics Cycling
24. Christian Meier (CAN) Symmetrics Cycling
25. Tom Peterson (USA) Broadmark Capital
26. Nick Friesen (CAN) The Bike Shop
27. Pablo Araya (CRC) Costa Rica
28. Jeff Hansen (CAN) ItalPasta
29. Craig de Gier (CAN) Cyclesmith CC
30. Philippe Abbott (CAN) Team Alberta
31. Cameron Hughes (AUS) Subway
32. Troy Critchlow (USA) Broadmark Capital
33. Doug Ollerenshaw (USA) Health Net presented by Maxxis
34. Jeff Sherstobitoff (CAN) Symmetrics Cycling
35. Keith Stark (CAN) Rocky Mountain - Business Objects
36. Will Routley (CAN) Symmetrics Cycling
37. Zack Garland (CAN) N/A
38. Cameron McKnight (CAN) Edmonton Road & Track Club
39. Maurice Worsfold (CAN) Bayside Cycling Club
40. Andrew Fischer (USA) Broadmark Capital
41. Marsh Cooper (CAN) Symmetrics Cycling
42. Justin Davis (AUS) Wentings Cycle
43. Chris Issac (CAN) ItalPasta
44. Nieves Carasco (CRC) Costa Rica
45. Nicholas Jendzjowsky (CAN) Pedalhead Roadworks/Sleemans
46. Andrew Pinfold (CAN) Symmetrics Cycling
47. Murray Carter (CAN) Ride With Rendall
48. Min Van Velzen (CAN) Symmetrics Cycling
49. Jesse James Collins (CAN) BiciSport
50. Bradley Fairall (CAN) Symmetrics Cycling
51. Josh James (CAN) TREK - Red Truck Ale
52. Chris Worsfold (CAN) Bayside Cycling Club
53. Scott Slater (CAN) Rocky Mountain Bicycles / Adobe
54. Damien Waugh (CAN) Rocky Mountain Bicycles / Adobe
55. Kevin Noiles (CAN) Escape Velocity / DEVO
56. Chad Nikolz (USA) Benaroya Research Institiute
57. Taylor Little (CAN) Taylor Little
58. Mark Howard (AUS) Wentings Cycle
59. Basse Clement (CAN) Rocky Mountain Bicycles / Adobe
60. Brad Slater (CAN) Rocky Mountain Bicycles / Adobe
61. Aaron Tuckerman (NZL) Team Rubicon
62. Chris Brennan (USA) Team Rio Grande
63. Phil Zajicek (USA) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
64. Ed Makarchuk (CAN) KHS Bicycles Canada
65. Jesse Lawler (USA) Jittery Joe's-Kalahari
66. Brandon Crichton (CAN) ItalPasta
67. Nat Faulkner (CAN) ItalPasta
68. Robert Campbell (USA) The Valley Athletic Club
69. Omer Kem (USA) Subway
70. Richard Minichiello (CAN) TREK - Red Truck Ale
71. Cory Lange (CAN) Symmetrics Cycling
72. Jonny Sundt (USA) Jittery Joe's-Kalahari
73. Evan Elken (USA) Jittery Joe's-Kalahari
74. Brett Boniface (CAN) OrganicAthlete Victoria
dnf. Todd Cornelius (USA) Subway
dnf. Jacob Erker (CAN) Symmetrics Cycling
dnf. Roy Pickavance (CAN) CenturyTel
dnf. Paul Blanchette (CAN) Rocky Mountain Bicycles / Adobe
dnf. Andy Edwards (AUS) GS Ciao
dnf. Craig Wilcox (USA) Jittery Joe's-Kalahari
dsq. Tim Johnson (USA) Jittery Joe's-Kalahari
dnf. Bruno Langlois (CAN) Jittery Joe's-Kalahari
dnf. Scott Brown (AUS) Wentings Cycle
dnf. Zak Grabowski (USA) TIAA-CREF
dnf. Zachary Taylor (USA) TIAA-CREF
dnf. Owen Gue (USA) Broadmark Capital
dnf. Scott Laliberte (CAN) Schwalbe / Genisoy Cycling
dnf. Joshua Smith (USA) CenturyTel / VRAD
dnf. Chris Squire (CAN) N/A
dnf. Tim Abercrombie (CAN) Escape Velocity / DEVO
dnf. Mark Grimmett (CAN) Wenting's Cycles
dnf. Matthew Hall (USA) CenturyTel / VRAD
dnf. Brad Bingham (USA) CenturyTel / VRAD
dnf. Jamie Sparling (CAN) Bicisport Calgary
dnf. Trevor Connor (CAN) Chris Cookies/Swan Cycles
dnf. Rob Britton (CAN) Team Coastal
dnf. Harley Borlee (CAN) Velocity
dnf. Ian Manning (CAN) BikeSports - Pfaff Racing Team
dnf. Matthew Walker (CAN) Team Sask
dnf. Shayn Sawatzky (CAN) DiZzy Cycles/N.Shore Masage Therapy
dnf. Chris Reid (CAN) Team Coastal
dnf. Jeff Sparling (CAN) Team Alberta
dnf. Ezra Nichols (CAN) Organic Ahtlete Victoria
dnf. Duncan Steele (CAN) Escape Velocity / DEVO
dnf. Jim Tsilemos (CAN) Team Coastal
dnf. Shawn Bunnin (CAN) Team Saskatchewan / Spoke n Sport
dnf. Noah Young (USA) Broadmark Capital
dnf. Eric Kameka (CAN) Escape Velocity / DEVO
dnf. Felix Haspel (CAN) Synergy Racing
dnf. James Shaw (CAN) Team Coastal
dnf. Sean Van Horn (USA) Broadmark Capital
dnf. Ian Tubbs (USA) Broadmark Capital
dnf. Mike Hone (AUS) Broadmark Capital Cycling Team
dnf. Kevin Calhoun (CAN) Rocky Mountain Bicycles
dns. Scott Goguen (CAN) Symmetrics Cycling
dns. Carl Jacobson (CAN) Rocky Mountain Bicycles / Adobe
dns. Chris Torgerson (USA) First Rate Mortgage
dns. Cory Jay (CAN) Wentings Cycle
dns. Justin Morgan (USA) Broadmark Capital
dns. Daniel Maggiacomo (CAN) ItalPasta
dns. Philip Burgess (IRL) La Bicicletta
dns. Chris Conklin (CAN) Team Coastal
dns. Paul Beard (CAN) Atomic Racing Club
dns. Samuel Bail (CAN) coachchris.ca / All Seasons Sports
dns. Brad Issel (CAN) TREK - Red Truck Ale
dns. Ian Robertsonn (CAN) Team KAOS
dns. Walker Starr (NZL) Team Rubicon
dns. Jaimie Douglas (CAN) Oak Bay Bicycles

Women
1. Gina Grain (CAN) Victory Brewing
2. Sarah Uhl (USA) Quark Cycling Team
3. Joelle Numainville (CAN) Canadian National Junior Women
4. Erinne Willock (CAN) Webcor Builders Cycling Team
5. Lisa Sweeney (CAN) Team Coastal
6. Mandy Poitras (CAN) Symmetrics Cycling
7. Amara Boursaw (USA) Gregg's/Trek VW
8. Marni Hambleton (CAN) Symmetrics Cycling
9. Alison Testroete (CAN) Team Alberta
10. Helen Kelly (AUS) Quark Cycling Team
11. Wendy Simms (CAN) Frontrunners-Brodie
12. Julia Farell (CAN) Wheels of Bloor
13. Amy Mosen (NZL) BikeNZ
14. Alena Radomsky (CAN) Team Coastal
15. Brei Gudsell (NZL) BikeNZ
16. Naomi Cooper (CAN) Canadian National Junior Women
17. Stacey Spencer (CAN) Gericks Cycle
18. Leah Guloien (CAN) Sugoi / Giant
19. Karol-Ann Canuel (CAN) Canadian National Junior Women
20. Mathilde Hupin Debeurme (CAN) Sportif Bromont
21. Jean Ann McKirdy (CAN) Rocky Mountain Business Objects
22. Lee Darling (CAN) Team Coastal
23. Lisa Tasa (CAN) Chapman Land Surveying Racing
24. Lyne Bessette (CAN) Sports Experts - Louis Garneau
25. Julie Hutsebaut (CAN) Terry Precision
26. Traci Carroll (USA) Team Rubicon
27. Jenny Trew (CAN) Team Coastal
-1 lap. Heather Lamson (CAN) Wentings Cycle
dnf. Christina Briante (CAN) Symmetrics Cycling
dnf. Anna Tratnyek (CAN) Terry Precision
dnf. Dianna Kennedy (CAN) Team Alberta
dnf. Lauren Koedyk (NZL) BikeNZ
dnf. Jo Ryder (NZL) BikeNZ
dnf. Pepper Harlton (CAN) Team Alberta
dnf. Barb Zimich (CAN) Team Coastal
dnf. Anne Guzman (CAN) Terry Precision
dnf. Helena Coney (CAN) N/A
dnf. Kylie Case (CAN) Team Manitoba
dnf. Moriah MacGregor (CAN) Dizzy Chicks
dnf. Claire Cameron (CAN) Blak Dog Racing
dnf. Miranda Duff (USA) Team Rubicon
dnf. 247
dnf. Kristin Campbell (CAN) Pedalhead Roadwork's/Sleemans
dnf. Leslie Vice (CAN) Dizzy Chicks
dnf. Kristine Brynjolfson (CAN) Team Coastal
dnf. Sandra Walter (CAN) AdventureBound.ca
dns. Laura Schmidt (USA) Terry Precision
dns. Suzanne Macht (CAN) Adventurebound.ca
dns. Alex Wrubleski (CAN) Regina Cycle Club/Sask
dns. Christy Love (CAN) Krebs Cycle Club