Tour of Bronte race report

On Sunday, Sean Mackinnon of Racer Sportif/Mattamy Homes won the Elite 80km Tour of Bronte. Despite the relatively short distance, the race was flat and fast. Once the gravel sections were factored in, the race became even more selective as riders were forced to maneuver through some technical sections. Mackinnon soloed away from the group, finishing 1min 25 secs ahead of Jeff Schiller (Two Wheels Epic Sports Performance) and Stanislav Blazek (Kurzawinski Coach – Bike Zone).

Jeff Schiller and teammate Marco Li were the day’s primary protagonists, despite not winnning. From the beginning they were racing with a one-two punch strategy. Schiller would attack and once he was caught Li would launch. This tactic explains the high speed. Some of the day’s main favourites, like Stephen Welsh (Team RACE) who is fresh off of winning stage 3 of the Tucson Bicycle Classic, were unable to make it back to the group after a flat in the opening kilometres. When asked about the race he said, “I have no idea what happened up there – I was off the back the entire day. I chased and chased. Believe it or not, my average power was very high. The race was so fast I couldn’t get back.” Even though the race was short, it was challenging due to its speed and technical sections. More than half of the race, 38 of the 72 starters in the men’s field did not finish – certainly a reflection of the challenges of the day.

The women’s race featured a smaller field and was won by Kael Deverell (Forest City Velodrome). She finished 8 seconds ahead of Jacqueline Gauthier and almost two minutes ahead of third place finisher Brooke Noble (Kurzawinksi Coach – Bike Zone).

The next major stop on the Ontario Race Calendar is the Calobogie Ontario Cup # 1 this coming Sunday.

Full results from this past weekend can be found at the Ontario Cycling Association.