A Weekend of Podiums

Hey Giant Bicycles Canada/Team Whistler fans!

As you probably already know, this weekend was RACE THE RIDGE, a grueling stage race put on by our friends and supporters at Local Ride Bike Shop in Maple Ridge. It seems lately that all the races are put on by Local Ride and are in Maple Ridge...

It started out with the most brutal of road race courses, where I'll estimate that at least 1/3 of the total ride time was spent climbing. A real test of fitness!

Our resident climber (and TTer, and crit rider) Jess Hannah did us proud by making the first selection and coming fourth in the bunch sprint, finishing in fifth place behind perpetual soloist and race winner Leah Goldstein. Rounding out the top 5 were Marni Hambleton of ValueAct Capital, Sarah Stewart of Total Restoration and Jean-Ann McKirdy of Rocky Mountain in 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Steph Roorda fought a bitter battle to stay in contact with the front group, and finished a respectable 9th place.

Our sights then turned to the overall. We knew we could have excellent results in the TT and crit, stealing away valuable points from our competitors. Laura Brown rode an amazing TT, finishing only 36 seconds behind Leah Goldstein. Jess Hannah finally remembered how it's done, finishing 3rd only 2 seconds behind Laura Brown. Steph Roorda also rode well, finishing 5th, 24 seconds behind 4th placed Sarah Stewart.

Our awesome TT results made it mathematically possible to win the overall, and secure 2 steps on the podium. With 2 bonus points sprints up for grabs, it was important for us to control, or should I say dominate the crit... and dominate we did!

The pace started high thanks to early attacks by Laura Brown, who selflessly killed herself to force the chase by Total Restoration. As I recall it, Jess Hannah spent the majority of the race off the front (in several installments) picking up 6 bonus points, with Steph Roorda picking up an extra 4. Team Giant/Whistler controlled the race with riders Lisa Howard (!) and Shoshaunna Laxson, launching attacks and following moves left right and centre. The pace was kept high in the final two laps by Steph, Jess, and Lisa who kept it so high that no one could come around them - finishing first second and third! A podium sweep for Giant!

As for the overall... Jess Hannah tied Leah Goldstein of Total Restoration for the win, with 40 points. Unfortunately, ties are broken in favour of the best TT, and Leah ended up on the top step of the podium. Steph Roorda picked up enough points in the crit to secure 3rd spot with 35 points - 3 points ahead of 4th place finished Sarah Stewart.

A great race for the team! I personally was so impressed with how well the team raced together. I would say the best execution of a plan in Giant history. After this I'm quite confident that the BC cup lead is still secure in Steph's hands. Thanks again to our friends at Local Ride for the great race and all the support!

checking out our competition...

Next up: Team Coastal Race May 25th in Surrey - stay tuned!

Walla Walla Crit

Steph brings it home!

Viking sprints for QOM at the top of the 3km climb

Jenn after a hard days work for the team.

Walla Walla Stage Race

This past weekend we travelled to Walla Walla for three days of great team racing, with proven results from lots of hard work together!

Friday's road race, not included in the Sat/Sun stage race, was our opportunity to take risks and hang it out there. We launched attack after attack right from the start and managed to get Jess Hannah in the 6 man break after the first long climb. The winds were brutal and cold, getting up to 80km/hr and Jess was able to break away on a climb from the group for 15 mins before realizing that there was still 10km to go in the driving wind. Jess ended up in 5th place... a great result amoungst some of the strongest riders in the Northwest. Steph won the chase pack sprint, placing 7th with a great lead out from Heather.

The stage race commenced on Saturday with a 10km TT where Laura Brown showed her TT prowess by placing 3rd out of close to 90 starters. Jess was close in at 10th. Though the road race had several obstacles, including two times up a 3 km climb which marked the QOM (queen of the mountain) and finish line, the pack stayed mostly together. Jenn drove the pace at the front for the first 30km working hard for the team. Steph won the QOM sprint the first time over the hill and took 4th at the finish, Heather crossed in 12th. Shani had a great race, showing awesome stamina and power.

The Criterium was ours. Laura took shift number one, driving the pace, making lots of legs hurt. Then it was Jess and Heather taking turns attacking and chasing down anything threatening. With just under one lap to go, Steph saw her opportunity and took it, arriving over the finish line way ahead of the pack. The Queen of the mountain can sprint too... or is it the other way around!!!?

The placings of the weekend were a result of lots of hard work this spring together, great team leadership, direction and support. The 2nd place standing in the TEAM GC is pretty indicative of this.

Correction!

Correction to the Harris Roubaix report:

Lisa Howard - 5th place
Jenelle Cassidy - 7th place

BC Cup Numero Uno

Objective: To win.

In lieu of the Monument that is Paris-Roubaix, over 40 women set out for 10 laps of the 7km loop consisting of 6 corners and ~3km of hard-packed gravel. Our goal was the stay near the front at all times and be aggressive. Right from the gun, the team set a high, hard pace for the first lap. There were several attacks from the Team Giant/Whistler Canadians. None of them staying away for long. One of the attacks unfortunately ended with a woman down in corner 3, but put in a valiant effort to chase back on (we all wish Jessica Hannah a quick rebound!). With 5 laps to go, our very own Viking (a.k.a. Stephanie Roorda) put in a spicy attack in the gravel section. No other riders in the main pack were willing to put out the effort needed to chase her down. Steph, with her head down and legs turning, she pulled away from the pack and the gap only grew: 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 1 minute. As she was hammering away at the course solo, the rest of us girls were patrolling the front and covering any dangerous chase-attempts. She won with almost a minute and HALF on the main group! Plenty of time to revel in a well-deserved win. Stay tuned for some sweet winning salute pictures. The rest of us set up for the sprint finish in hopes to round out the top 5. Dr. Lisa Howard sprinted hard to the line for 4th place. With our lungs burning and legs cramping, we were all smiles. A job well done!

Mission Accomplished.