Craig Richey wins the day for the Elite men’s ‘cross riders at the B.C. cyclocross provincial championships
In Squamish, B.C., the B.C. cyclocross provincial championships rolled out on Sunday, drawing Elite, Masters, Junior and U13, U15 and U17 classifications from across Canada's westernmost province.
Provincial championship for @Craig_Richey yesterday. And, as a bonus, he got a giant axe! #bccxchamps #bccx pic.twitter.com/1JcsFdSoam
— Red Truck – Garneau (@redtruckgarneau) November 30, 2015
In Squamish, B.C., the B.C. cyclocross provincial championships rolled out on Sunday, drawing Elite, Masters, Junior and U13, U15 and U17 classifications from across Canada’s westernmost province. As a new addition to the event, singlespeed championship competition was also part of the day’s schedule.
Considering the ‘cross talent that calls British Columbia home, the provincial championships were decisive of more than just the province’s top honours. In a big way, a win at B.C.’s top event means big things nationally, too.
Racing kicked off at the Squamish Days Loggers Sports Ground in the heart of downtown Squamish, which has, for 30 years, been the host venue of that other definitively British Columbian sport. In 2016, in fact, it will host its 59th installment—but on Sunday, the grounds were all ‘cross, all the time. The course was a somewhat flat one, made interesting by a series of technical, twisting turns and stretches of aggressively fast terrain. Riders jumped barriers at the grandstand, negotiated tight squeezes around obstacles, and as they went on the attack, even dodged axes as the competition sped through the venue’s axe-throwing arena.
It was, in other words, exactly the right kind of fun, slightly punishing course to truly test the province’s—and the country’s—top cyclocross competitors. Elite competition at Sunday’s race demonstrated that spectacularly.
In the Elite men’s race, a winding, 12-lap, 21.37 km competition, Trek Red Truck Racing’s Craig Richey rolled to the finish in first place, locking down a time of 1:01:39. The outcome gave him a 22 second gap on Kevin Calhoun of Rocky Mountain Factory Team, whose second place finish saw him cross the line with a time of 1:02:01. Rounding out the podium, Raphael Lalumiere of Accent Inns/Russ Hay’s took third in the Elite men’s race, exactly 40 seconds behind Richey and 18 seconds behind Calhoun.
The Elite women’s race, on the other hand, saw a much fiercer contest leaving less daylight between competitors.
Riding for Local Ride Racing Team, Maggie Coles-Lyster came in first with a time of 46:01 , clocking a speed of 18.52 kph over the terrain. Eight seconds behind her—a much tighter margin than in the Elite men’s race—was Carey Mark of Steed Cycles, with teammate Kelly Jones taking third about 29 seconds behind the lead. Amounting to 8 laps of 1.78 km each, the 14.25 km race saw eight of its nine starters complete the race.
Elite men’s competition, meanwhile, saw a field of 27 starters lose three of its starters—with 24 riders of a 27-man race rolling to the finish.
A full list of results for all classifications can be viewed here.
