B.C. Superweek – Tour de White Rock

The Tour of White Rock ended the B.C. Superweek this weekend. The event kicked off with the Tour de Delta held from July 6-8 and continued with the UBC Grand Prix on July 10, Gastown Grand Prix on July 11, Giro di Burnaby on July 12 and the Tour de White Rock from July 13-15. The event offered more than $100,000 in cash prizes and hosted over 5,000 spectators at each race.

Carrie Cartmill (Stevens Racing p/b Cyclery) and Florenz Knauer (Team Baier Lanshut) won the overall omnium at the Tour de White Rock.

Stage one, White Rock Hill Climb:

Florenz Knauer (Team Baier Lanshut) won the opening stage of the Tour de White Rock, a hill climb time trial on Friday. The German climber made it to the top of the 700-metre ascent with the fastest time, out-pacing Jacob Schwingboth (Glotman Simpson Cycling) in second and Louis Crosby (PureBlackRacing) in third.

“This is really big for me,” said Schwingboth, a local rider. “I’ve been hitting it really hard trying to get noticed by the pro teams here, been in every breakaway possible so far at Superweek, going for a lot of preems to show I am fast, so this is a good chance for me to showcase my talent with a short time trial, which suits my ability.”

Carrie Cartmill (Stevens Racing) won the Elite women’s hill climb ahead of Rhae-Christie Shaw (Exergy Twenty12) in second and Kristine Brynjolfson (Trek Red Truck) in third.

“I’ve only ever won a race once,” said Cartmill. “A lot of second and third, but I have a hard time hitting the top step of the podium. It’s really exciting to be up there.”

Stage two, White Rock Criterium:

Rhae-Christie Shaw (Exergy Twenty12) improved on her previous day’s second-place performance by winning the stage two criterium. The all-rounder won the sprint ahead of Nicky Wangsgard (Primal-May My Ride) and Joanie Caron (Colavita-espnW).

“Admittedly I am really disappointed to not be named to the Olympic team,” said Shaw, who was added to the long-list for the road events. “But in the meantime I have really good fitness and I love to race my bike, so here I am.”

Svein Tuft (Orica-GreenEdge) won the Elite men’s race ahead of Ryan Anderson (SpiderTech p/b C10) in second and hill climb winner Florenz Knauer (Team Baier Lanshut) in third.

Tuft broke away from the peloton early in the race and secured a solo victory, almost lapping the field. “I love this course, it’s always a really difficulty course and the kind of course a team can’t control because it’s so hard on the back stretch and always a bit of wind so you just got to put your head down,” said Tuft.

“It’s really hard because guys have so much horsepower on the initial climb but if you keep steady and keep taking away the time, it’s hurting, but you know eventually you can crack them.”

Stage three, White Rock Road Race:

Kristine Brynjolfson (Trek Red Truck) secured an impressive win to close the Tour de White Rock at the stage three road race. She won a two-woman sprint ahead of her breakaway companion Megan Rathwell (Russ Hay’s/Accent Inns), who place second on the day. Joanie Caron (Colavita-espnW) won the bunch sprint for third place.

“It means a lot, my parents came out and they were excited to see me win,” said Brynjolfson. “Riding for a local team at a local race – I’m pretty happy.”

Christian Meier (Orica-GreenEdge) won the Elite men’s race by nearly 30 seconds ahead of Joseph Cooper (PureBlackRacing). Ken Hanson (Optum-Kelly Benefit Strategies) sprinted in for third place another 30 seconds back.

“With my physique, this is the race that suits me the most in all of B.C. Superweek, so to be able to win it for the first time is a fantastic feeling,” said Meier. “I’ve been on the podium once or twice but this is the first victory here.”

Photos by Scott Robarts