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Good Friday elite men’s report: Guiliano takes Jet Fuel-Norco’s first O-Cup win of 2014

April 22, 2014
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OCA-Logo-300x225On Friday, Joe Guiliano (Jet Fuel – Norco) won a sprint ahead of Peter Morse (Octto – Cervelo) and Gaelen Merritt (Wheels of Bloor) to take the second Ontario Cup by a narrow margin. The breakaway that ultimately won the race established itself in the opening minutes of the day. The attacks went right from the beginning and after 6 km, Guiliano, Morse and Merritt, along with five others made it to the move; Andrew Bradbury (Blacksmith Cycle), teammates Luke Van Lauwe and Adam Jamieson of NCCH p/b PEC Express, Marco Li (ToWheels/Epicsport/BCC) and Ryan Joyce (Queens City Cycling). The breakaway of eight riders worked well together, establishing a maximum lead over the main field of four minutes. Slowly, as the kilometres passed, the riders of the move began riding more tactically, attempting to conserve energy and win the day.

Meanwhile, back in the main field, a chase was emerging. The pursuit was being led by two of Ontario’s strongmen, Derrek Ivey and Bruce Bird of Wheels of Bloor. Despite having a teammate in the move, they were keen to preserve Ivey’s lead in the Ontario Cup series.

The tactical battle at the head of the race meant the break was riding slower while the peloton was getting progressively faster due to the relentless pace set by Ivey and Bird. “There is no doubt who the strongest riders of the race were,” said Stephen Welsh of Team RACE. “They just missed the move early on and Bird eventually blew up after riding the front for what seemed like forever.”
Despite the break being dangerously close to being caught, it ultimately prevailed. After several attacks, Guiliano sprinted ahead of Peter Morse and Merritt by a meager half wheel length. The peloton was only 12 seconds behind after Ivey’s final futile attempt to catch the break. Jeff Schiller (ToWheels/Epicsport/BCC) lead the field to the line in seventh just ahead of Ivey who finished in eighth.

Over a course that was not expected to be too selective, the elite men’s race was certainly a tactical battle and a challenging race based on the many splits in the field. Full results are available from all the day’s races.
The next Ontario Cup is the Springbank Road Race scheduled for May 4 in London, Ont.