ECCC Rutgers/Princeton Season Opener "Spirit of '69" Saturday and Sunday March 7-8 2009, Rutgers and Princeton, NJ
The McGill Cycling Team kicked off the spring Road Biking season in a big way last weekend at the "Spirit of `69" Rutgers and Princeton Season Opener, in Piscataway, New Jersey. From the moment that the McGill Redmen bus rolled into the parking lot to the amazement of the announcers, the first Canadian cycling team to participate in the American Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference continued to impress with its size and consistent results. Thirty-one McGill cyclists travelled down the East Coast to the races in what was surely the biggest event in the Cycling Team's eight year history, escaping sub-zero temperatures in Montreal for sun and 19C. The relatively young team performed very well, with more than half of the athletes racing on the road for the first time.
There were many performances of note throughout the weekend. For the girls, 10th place finishes by Women's B category racer Nadine Chalmers in both the Criterium on Saturday afternoon and the Road Race on Sunday, worth a total of 18 points for the team, were particularly impressive given that these were the first two road races of her cycling career. Chalmers, who regularly finishes on the podium in the fall mountain biking season, was particularly well suited to the Criterium, a short and intense race demanding calm nerves and exceptional bike handling skills and her 10th place finish in a field of almost 50 riders shows the potential that Chalmers has on the pavement. Erin Redl, moving up from Women's Intro into Women's B this year, finished close behind with a very respectable 13th place in the Criterium. Victoria Bain, advancing into the Women's A category, sprinted in for an 11th place finish in a very tight road race, earning 22 points for her efforts. Karen Bodie, another mountain biker-turned-roadie, placed 11th in a large women's field in the Intro category in the Individual Time Trial, also her first competition on the road.
The Redmen Cyclists had a strong weekend as well, again with many first-time road racers cutting their teeth in New Jersey as well as some very experienced riders showing off their talents. Veteran road racer Will Goodfellow had a good weekend in his first ECCC appearance. Two other McGill Men's A riders, Dave Gruber and Mathieu Boudier-Reveret, sacrificed their own shot at glory by riding for Goodfellow and leading him out for the sprint in a very fast road race, good for 13th place and 15 team points. In the Criterium, Goodfellow looked very strong for the whole race and with his intuitive pack positioning managed to flash across the finish line for an excellent 6th place finish in this very competitive category. The team picked up 41 points for its efforts.
McGill Cycling had a huge presence in the Men's C Division 1 category, with (blank) number of riders showing off their flashy red-and-white kits. Jonathan Villemaire-Krajden, who last year sometimes struggled to keep up with the peloton, showed a huge improvement this year and racked up a 7th place finish in the road race in a field of 48 starters. Scott Loong, a specialist in triathlons, was not far behind with an impressive 12th in his first appearance in a proper road race, and Nicolas Chin-Yee, also a newbie road racer, followed him across the line for 13th place. McGill Cycling's resident spin instructor Michael Honsberger had the legs for 12th place in the Men's C1 Criterium out of 50 riders, and shows the training discipline for a top-10 finish in the coming weeks. Another first time road racer John "Turtle" Danby grabbed the placing of the weekend, despite his nickname, by sprinting in for 2nd in the Men's Intro Road Race. He shows the promise to continue dominating this category, and may even move up into men's D before the end of the season. One final result worth mentioning was Scott Loong's 10th place in a field of 93 riders in the Men's C Individual Time Trial. His triathlon background, where athletes must cycle individually with no drafting, is directly applicable to Time Trials at the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference, and this suggests that Time Trials will prove to be his forte.
Despite an unusual number of crashes in this first race of the season, McGill Cycling managed to escape relatively unscathed with no major injuries. The large number of first time racers at last weekend's race bodes well for the coming races, as McGill Cycling continues to make its presence felt in the American collegiate cycling scene.
ECCC Rutgers/Princeton Season Opener "Spirit of '69"
ECCC Rutgers/Princeton Season Opener "Spirit of '69"
Saturday and Sunday March 7-8 2009, Rutgers and Princeton, NJ
The McGill Cycling Team kicked off the spring Road Biking season in a big way last weekend at the "Spirit of `69" Rutgers and Princeton Season Opener, in Piscataway, New Jersey. From the moment that the McGill Redmen bus rolled into the parking lot to the amazement of the announcers, the first Canadian cycling team to participate in the American Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference continued to impress with its size and consistent results. Thirty-one McGill cyclists travelled down the East Coast to the races in what was surely the biggest event in the Cycling Team's eight year history, escaping sub-zero temperatures in Montreal for sun and 19C. The relatively young team performed very well, with more than half of the athletes racing on the road for the first time.
There were many performances of note throughout the weekend. For the girls, 10th place finishes by Women's B category racer Nadine Chalmers in both the Criterium on Saturday afternoon and the Road Race on Sunday, worth a total of 18 points for the team, were particularly impressive given that these were the first two road races of her cycling career. Chalmers, who regularly finishes on the podium in the fall mountain biking season, was particularly well suited to the Criterium, a short and intense race demanding calm nerves and exceptional bike handling skills and her 10th place finish in a field of almost 50 riders shows the potential that Chalmers has on the pavement. Erin Redl, moving up from Women's Intro into Women's B this year, finished close behind with a very respectable 13th place in the Criterium. Victoria Bain, advancing into the Women's A category, sprinted in for an 11th place finish in a very tight road race, earning 22 points for her efforts. Karen Bodie, another mountain biker-turned-roadie, placed 11th in a large women's field in the Intro category in the Individual Time Trial, also her first competition on the road.
The Redmen Cyclists had a strong weekend as well, again with many first-time road racers cutting their teeth in New Jersey as well as some very experienced riders showing off their talents. Veteran road racer Will Goodfellow had a good weekend in his first ECCC appearance. Two other McGill Men's A riders, Dave Gruber and Mathieu Boudier-Reveret, sacrificed their own shot at glory by riding for Goodfellow and leading him out for the sprint in a very fast road race, good for 13th place and 15 team points. In the Criterium, Goodfellow looked very strong for the whole race and with his intuitive pack positioning managed to flash across the finish line for an excellent 6th place finish in this very competitive category. The team picked up 41 points for its efforts.
McGill Cycling had a huge presence in the Men's C Division 1 category, with (blank) number of riders showing off their flashy red-and-white kits. Jonathan Villemaire-Krajden, who last year sometimes struggled to keep up with the peloton, showed a huge improvement this year and racked up a 7th place finish in the road race in a field of 48 starters. Scott Loong, a specialist in triathlons, was not far behind with an impressive 12th in his first appearance in a proper road race, and Nicolas Chin-Yee, also a newbie road racer, followed him across the line for 13th place. McGill Cycling's resident spin instructor Michael Honsberger had the legs for 12th place in the Men's C1 Criterium out of 50 riders, and shows the training discipline for a top-10 finish in the coming weeks. Another first time road racer John "Turtle" Danby grabbed the placing of the weekend, despite his nickname, by sprinting in for 2nd in the Men's Intro Road Race. He shows the promise to continue dominating this category, and may even move up into men's D before the end of the season. One final result worth mentioning was Scott Loong's 10th place in a field of 93 riders in the Men's C Individual Time Trial. His triathlon background, where athletes must cycle individually with no drafting, is directly applicable to Time Trials at the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference, and this suggests that Time Trials will prove to be his forte.
Despite an unusual number of crashes in this first race of the season, McGill Cycling managed to escape relatively unscathed with no major injuries. The large number of first time racers at last weekend's race bodes well for the coming races, as McGill Cycling continues to make its presence felt in the American collegiate cycling scene.