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2018 Shimano Canadian cyclocross championships kick off with masters races

Canadian Cycling Magazine's Bob Bergman one of the morning's winners

November 10, 2018
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John Noble, junior rider, revs his chainsaw to encourage riders.

The course has thawed throughout the day, making thing muddier.

Canadian Cycling Magazine's Bob Bergman wins the masters 55-64 men's category.

Suzanne Carlsen faces the tough run-up before the finishing stretch.

Saturday was the 2018 Shimano Canadian cyclocross championships in Peterborough, ON, and after the kids slid around in the early morning, the Masters took over in the first half of the day’s races.

The course was greasy as snow had set down in a thin sheet on Friday.

Two run ups and a barrier section were set evenly apart. A strong wind made for challenging, but suitably Canadian, conditions.

Master men 55-64, Master men 65+, Master women 35-44, Master women 45+

The Masters races began with a few fields running concurrently, a challenge for the announcer, with the women starting a minute after the men. At the end of the first of four laps, Craig Fraser was top male and 45+ competitor Lisa Holmgren top female. Fraser had Canadian Cycling Magazine’s own Bob Bergman as his closest competition, with Bergman prevailing on the last lap.

Master Men 55-64
1) Bob Bergman (Canadian Cycling Magazine) 37:36
2) Craig Fraser (Peloton Racing) +0:03
3) Erik Jackson (Independent) +1:01

Master men 65+
1) James Laird (Independent) 42:18
2) Claude Breau (Martin Swiss Cycles) +2:43
3) Rob Cheskey (Cyclepath Oakville) +4:52

Master Women 45+
1) Lisa Holmgren (Hardwood Next Wave) 40:23
2) Sonia Tessier (Woodcock Cycle Works) +5:11
3) Nathalie Mousseau (AJ’s Evolution/Norco) +5:23

Master Women 34-44
1) Sarah Gilchrist (Edmonton Road and Track) 40:42
2) Rhonda Stickle (Bike Zone Racing) +0:22
3) Caitlin Callaghan (Hardcore CC) +1:33

Matt Staneland wins the master 35-44 men's competition.

William Hellems rides in the masters 45-54 competition.

At the barriers, masters men, 45-54.

Jean-François Blais wins the master men's 45-55 race at the national cyclocross championships. Blais was the masters road champion in 2014.

Master men 45-54
Forty-eight riders competed for the next title. Todd Bowden led the pack over the line on Lap 1 of five rolling 8:16 at 21.8 km/h. Robert Holmgren was close on his heels. Jean-francois Blais moved into second on Lap 2. Holmgren seized the lead on Lap 3, but it was Blais who was the first to both hear the bell and cross the finish line.

1) Jean-Francois Blais (Trek Cyclocross Collective) 45:25
2) Robert Holmgren (Hardwood Next Wave) +0:05
3) Todd Bowden (Aetna Racing) +0:55

Master men 35-44
The field for the 35-44 fellows was slightly larger for a course that was getting sloppier. A sextet finished Lap 1 of five together. Aroussen Laflamme made some separation on Lap 2, leading Matt Staneland and Thierry Laliberté. By the end of three circuits as the snow began to blow in sideways, Staneland was at the front and Frederic Auger his closest chaser. By the lap bell Laliberté had grabbed the reins, but relinquished them to Staneland.

1) Matt Staneland (Independent) 46:06
2) Thierry Laliberté (Cycle Campus-YPC Lab) +0:10
3) Frederic Auger (Trek GPL) +0:18