Banff Bike Fest: Vermillion Lakes ITT & Banff Criterium

On Saturday, the Banff Bike Fest shifted from Lake Louise to the town of Banff for a double header, beginning with the 8-km Vermilion Lakes ITT in the morning. A criterium race through downtown Banff followed in the afternoon.

Racers enjoyed a nice change in the weather, too, as sunshine and warm temperatures were the theme for the day. It’s quite the change, considering both pouring rain and single-digit temperatures plagued Friday’s race.

Vermilion Lakes ITT

The individual time trial took place along the Vermilion Lakes Road, just outside the town of Banff at the base of Mt Norquay. It was a new venue, and at only 8 kms, much shorter than the traditional ITT route from previous Banff Bike Fests. The 21-km Lake Minnewanka Road was unavailable, as road construction is underway to repair sections of the road damaged in last year’s catastrophic floods that struck much of southern Alberta.

After sweeping the woman’s podium in the Lake Louise Road Race, Trek Red Truck p/b Mosaic Homes continued to steal the spotlight during the ITT, landing 4 riders on the podium. Kinley Gibson and Allison Beveridge finished 1-2 in the woman’s catergory, while teammates Bailey McKnight and Michael van den Ham (Trek Red Truck p/b Mosaic Homes) finished in the men’s top two positions.

Evan Burtnik (Juventus) held an 11 second lead for most of the ITT, with a time of 9:48.527; however, he finished just off the podium when 3 of the final 5 riders besting his effort. Evan Bayer (The Lead Out Project) finished third. On the woman’s side, Annalisa Fish (independent) took third.

Men ITT Results

1	51	Bailey McKnight	Trek Red Truck p/b Mosaic Homes	09:39.504
2	55	Michael van den Ham	Trek Red Truck p/b Mosaic Homes	09:41.858
3	60	Evan Bayer	The Lead Out Project	09:45.209
4	8	Evan Burtnik	Juventus	09:48.527
5	16	Ian Baldwin	Range Road Racing	09:59.851

Women ITT Results

1	157	Kinley Gibson	Trek Red Truck p/b Mosaic Homes	10:49.216
2	154	Allison Beveridge	Trek Red Truck p/b Mosaic Homes	10:54.879
3	148	Annalisa Fish	Independent	10:58.173
4	171	Alison Jackson	Glotman Simpson Cycling	11:17.984
5	152	Leah Guloien	Trek Red Truck p/b Mosaic Homes	11:19.376

 

Banff Criterium

The Banff Criterium was dominated, once again, by Trek Red Truck p/b Mosaic Homes. In the woman’s race, Allison Beverage escaped early and rode the majority of the race by herself, opening up a 45-second lead through 20 laps as her teammates happily controlled the main group.  She finished with a  0:35 second advantage over teammate Leah Guloien, while GC leader Kinley Gibson just missed the podium.

In the men’s category 1 race, Dustin Andrews (Trek Red Truck) opened up a huge lead in the opening laps after an early crash divided the peloton into two groups. On lap 20, he lapped 15 riders, therefor ending their day early, before slowly rejoining the main group. Heavy rain began with 20 laps remaining and wreaked havoc on the tight corner coming off Banff Avenue. Multiple crashes slowed the main group but Andrews was able to escape for the second time. He held on to win by 0:03. Cid Martinez-Arroyo (Russ Hay’s p/c Scotiabank) edged out Sean Crooks (Soul Sportif) in the sprint for second.

Men Criterium Results

1	52	Dustin Andrews	Trek Red Truck p/b Mosaic Homes	0:49:57
2	40	Cid Martinez-Arroyo	Accent Inns / Russ Hay’s p/b Scotiabank	+00:03
3	2	Sean Crooks	Soul Sportif	same time
4	55	Michael van den Ham	Trek Red Truck p/b Mosaic Homes	same time
5	58	Mark McConnell	Synergy Racing	same time

Women Criterium Results

1	154	Allison Beveridge	Trek Red Truck p/b Mosaic Homes	0:32:57
2	152	Leah Guloien	Trek Red Truck p/b Mosaic Homes	+00:35
3	155	Maddy Boutet	TWENTY16	same time
4	157	Kinley Gibson	Trek Red Truck p/b Mosaic Homes	+00:45
5	171	Alison Jackson	Glotman Simpson Cycling	same time

 

More race results, including the Men’s Category 3-5, are available on the Banff Bike Fest website.