Ottawa Criterium Racing Action

The annual Preston St. criterium race will once again be held on Father’s Day (June 20) in the heart of Ottawa’s Little Italy. This long-standing criterium race is one of the most popular and hotly contested races on the summer racing calendar for Ontario and Quebec racers. This year the organizers are hosting a full-day of racing including a women’s only event and races for young children.

Bike Race Ottawa is behind this race once again and we caught up with Doug Corner to learn more about the event.

Can you tell us a bit about the history of Bike Race Ottawa?
Bikerace Ottawa was officially named in 1992 but its roots go back to the first Italian Festival race in Ottawa in 1973. Initially it was an informal group of cycling enthusiasts who wanted to put on a race every year. The British and the Italians worked together and still do to this day. The key individuals at the beginning were Alan Large, Peter Tyler, Gino Dal-Cin and Gino Buffone. Both Alan and Peter were International UCI Commissaires during their long involvement and Peter was at one time President of the Canadian Cycling Association.
Art Morewood and I became involved in the late 1980’s and now Carlo Dal-Cin, son of Gino Dal-Cin has been with us for several years.
Your premier event is the Preston St. Criterium – a pretty storied bike race in Ottawa. How have you seen this race grow over the years?
Our premier event has been the Preston Street race for 37 years but we also organized a criterium including three Provincial Criterium Championships as part of the race weekend in July with the Ottawa Bicycle Club for many years.
The Preston Street race set itself apart by being the only 100 km criterium held on a downtown circuit. Everybody who rode remembers the Gladstone climb that was a big ring effort but 62 times took its toll. Preston Street is the heart of Ottawa’s Little Italy and the race has always been scheduled to be the last event of the Italian Festival. Spectators have always been numerous and the riders have enjoyed racing in a crowd.
Four years ago, major road and sewer construction meant that the Gladstone climb would no longer be available. We went to a shorter course but we kept Preston Street as the focal point of the races as always. A one-event 100 km race on the shorter course was not practical so we shortened the main event and added a second race. Every year since then we have added an event to enable more categories to participate. Everybody wants to race in front of a crowd and Preston Street with all its restaurants and patios provides a great venue for both racers and spectators.
The kids races have always been great fun as we watched the kids aged 4-7 power down a 100 meter course with the parents running beside them, video camera in hand. We have now added longer races for kids aged 8-14. We have to get them hooked at some point.
New for this year is a separate women’s race – what drove the decision to do this?
This year we have added a race for women only. Previously, the women raced with men and it was difficult for spectators to pick them out. With a separate race, the women can compete against each other more readily and team tactics can be more effective. We also placed the event just before the main race of the day when the number of spectators will be at its peak.
What kind of support do you get from the Ottawa community in hosting this race?
We always get great support from the community especially the many bike stores who offer prime prizes and other services such as a pit crew, sound system and volunteer t-shirts. We have many volunteers that help out every year but our biggest challenge without doubt is to have enough people on race day.
One of the high points of the day is the winner of the main event getting his weight in Italian mineral water. He sits on one end of the Bike Race Ottawa scale and then we keep stacking until he’s off the ground. More memorable than standing on the podium for sure.
It always seems as though there are more racers than there are race organizers – you are both. How do you balance both racing perspectives?
And yes, I still try to compete when I can. It helps to keep the perspective of a competitor when trying to give everybody a “good ride” that is both safe and challenging.

Registration is now open for the Preston St. criterium on the Ontario Cycling Association website.