Venue support from Coastal Community Credit Union.
More Short Notes:
- Graham Orr, Iris Loots, Cameron Meldrum, Lea Cicon, Ross Greenwood, Claire Townsend, Katja Verkerk, Charlee Alleyn. 8 out of 11 winners at the Victoria Cyclocross GP had one thing in common. They were ALL on the top step of the podium for the FIRST TIME at COTR!
- Get registered for Coal Cross!
- Katja Verkerk (2nd overall in Open women CotR 2023) won the 2024 Elite Women’s Canadian National Gravel Championships in AB. She is off to the Gravel World Championships in Belgium in 3 weeks.
- Izaiah Sheerin lost his GARMIN Edge 530 at Topaz Park during his race. It did not show up in the lost and found but if you found it let us know and we will try to reunite it with Izaiah.
- The registration for Twin City X in Port Alberni should be approved and live in the next day. The MUC OFF CUP will be close to follow.
- We are working on a multi-race-in one day discount like we used to be able to do when we were with Race Roster. We will keep you posted.
- Racing Men’s Supermasters? We have new 2024 stickers for the front of your helmet to help with timing when there are 100+ dudes on the course. Come and get one from registration on Sunday or at the next race you are at (if you have already raced this year)
1. Race #2 Preview. Coal Cross in Cumberland!
The furthest race north on Vancouver Island is legendary. The first Comox Valley race at the Hostel and Puntledge was 75 min for 1st place and still stands at 6th place for most DNF’s % in a race! That race was won by Troy Woodburn and 2nd place was a world cup MTB and Olympic racer Andreas Hestler. Well Andreas will be back this weekend racing at Coal Cross for the first time since 2006 and only his 4th Cross on the Rock Race. The difference this time will be it will be a family race day with his son making his COTR debut in the Launch category!
Registration is OPEN until 6:00 Saturday night. Then it is CLOSED. So do NOT leave it until 5:59pm on Saturday as you will not get registered!
The Course: Some slight modifications to last year’s course are in the works, but expect a fast and mostly flat course for race #2 of the Muc Off – COTR season. Village Park is hosting us again with one of the best COTR courses, local sponsors: Biblio Taco, Blue Toque, Trail Bicycles, and Easton/Raceface will be supporting our event with great prizes along with our series sponsors.
This event supports the Trail Bicycles youth race team as well. The weather forecast looks good, and we’re looking forward to seeing you all there.
You only need to pick up a number if you have not raced in race #1 OR if you lost your race number (Bring $5 cash for a replacement)
As always if everyone can pitch it to tear down and pack up then we can be doing awards and on our way quicker.
Also note: Biblio Taco should OPEN this Sunday.
2. Race #1 Review. Victoria Cyclocross Grand Prix p/b Pro City and Tripleshot. WHAT AN EVENT!!
Notes from Race Director Scott Mitchell.
Another awesome day for Cyclocross in Victoria. It was great to see so many people out for the season opener and the weather was pretty perfect for racing. I couldn’t believe how many kids came out and raced, I’m sure we will see many of them racing and standing atop podiums in the future. Can’t believe how fast the course came down, that was such a relief after a long day of directing and racing. Thanks to all that helped clean up!
There were several key volunteers that deserve a BIG THANK YOU!
Kevin from Tripleshot rallied a great crew of volunteers to make this event happen, but we also saw several last minute helpers jump in to make the event run smooth.
Lister deserves a big thanks for finding a loophole in the City Construction plans and getting us a foot in the door to get a permit less than 3 weeks before the event. (Norm’s note…..this is a much longer story than once sentence!)
The course crew, Cory, Kevin, Kyle, James, Michelle, Mark, Jasper, Amy, Hugh, Griffin, Rowan, Andy and here were more….sorry if I missed ya.
Also the critical number trackers in the registration and timing tents, Patrick, Coleen, Ross, Clay, Matt, Kimberly, Tendo, Robin, Christy, Brandy, Kevin, and Jasper, not an easy job but a job well done.
Dave and Kimberly thanks for hosting the Beginner Clinic!
I’m sure there were several more that pitched in in all aspects of the day and I’m sorry if I missed you.
The City of Victoria Parks Department hasn’t complained…… fingers crossed….. so please respect the area and keep away with your cross bike. Although this might be the last Topaz race, we say that often….. We will certainly try and race at Topaz again if the park renovations allow for enough course.
As always Norm is the super industrial glue that holds these events together. Its amazing to see his family out following his lead and helping with the events throughout the day. They are always calm and collected, organized, and deserve so much credit for the success of this event and the entire series. Thanks Thibault Family!
Big thanks to Trek Bikes Victoria for supplying swag including a sweet Trek Wahoo 24” Kids bike. Support your local bike shop because they support these fun events!
Norm’s Notes:
- Thanks to Kimbery and Dave for leading the pre-ride and again to Kimberly for leading the Riverway Dental Hot lap.
- Overhearing conversations at Topaz Park when we were riding around…..man people were EXCITED for cyclocross and to have the series going!
- Heading north with the COTR trailer we spotted bikes with their new timing chips all over the place from Mayfair mall to Chemanus.
- So great to see SO MANY first time winners at this race!! The more different winners the better (in my opinion)
- How did Evan not melt in that long sleeve skin suit?
It is about the community. Racing. Respect. Repeat.
Remember to recommend COTR to people that ride and bring a friend out to race!!
Coming Up SOON:
