Niagara Classic

Niagara Classic is a great course. This is the second year I have done the race and both times it has been amazing, sunny weather. This year the start/finish changed to make things more interesting. We started with a neutral start on Metler Road down to Effingham. The race starts at the bottom of Effingham hill to make sure you get warmed up right away. At the top you turn right (if you made it up) and go down hill. This section is fast for a few km then you turn another right to a flat section of the course. Go down half way then make a quick left-right and keep going. At the end of this you turn right again onto another flat section where the pace slows down as people prep their legs to start climbing again. At the end of this section there is a fast downhill to uphill. You can do this easily without touching your brakes but it seems many people do not feel comfortable with their descending skills. After this you take a fast right and your are off to the races uphill on Effingham once again. Its a false flat basically up to the real hill just because they do not want it to be easy for you. This makes for a 12km course. On the last lap we turned left at the base of the hill, back onto Metler. This was about 500m stretch around 3% grade to the finish. Made for a good sprint!
For our race I started mid pack, but somehow found myself slip towards the back. I knew from last year to try and conserve as much energy as I could because the hill takes its toll after the 4+ times going up. Over the first few laps I worked to move up to the front. A break had already formed but I didnt want to do work yet to catch it. On the third lap on top of Effingham I reached for my gel tube, dropped it and it was gone. Had no food for the race so I was kind of scared. Luckily I had some gatorade in one of my bottles, at least it was a source of carbs.
At the end of the fourth lap two guys broke off the front to try and bridge the gap the break. I made a half attempt to go with them then decided against it. Just dropped back into the peloton and conserved energy. Towards the end of the 5th lap I think, we caught the two riders so I was happy with my decision because I was where I would have been but with fresh legs. At this point I have no idea when we caught the break I just know it happened before the end of the race. After the last climb up Effingham I pushed to get about midpack. Going downhill I was behind someone who was heavy on their brakes and ended up back at the back. Held this spot until the valley before Effingham. Kept my speed up and made up a few spots. Once we turned onto Metler rd the left side of the road was open and I heard my step dad yell at me to giver hell. I opened up and made my way up to near the front. Overall I finished 5th and 3rd in Elite 3 group. I was pretty happy with the result and it was my first podium in Elite 3!
Things to work on: I kept finding myself fall backwards in the peloton. Need to hold my position better especially at the beginning and ends. (the middle of the race I am pretty good at I guess). I need to work on my positioning coming into the end. I feel like I have the power, just not in a good spot to take the win.
Notes: a 39-28 gear ratio is money for getting up Effingham. I wouldnt have it any other way.
Now I look forward to a week off then KW Classic!
Garmin data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/315241685
Results: http://www.ontariocycling.org/web_pages/results/20130519-211827-ncresults.htm

Elite 3 Podium!
EDIT-- Looked at some photos uploaded, looks like that break wasnt completely caught. the 2 guys that won (junior and elite 3) were in the break and managed to stay a bit out front

Lake of Bays OCUP

Today we had the worst weather possible. Hovering just over 0 degrees, we experienced snow, rain and hail all with nice strong gusts of wind. Everyone was asking themselves why there were putting themselves through this, and one of the commissaries said: So you can tell your kids about this in 20 years! Everyone that came out and raced today proved that they are tough as nails!
The race was 94km around the beautiful Lake of Bays. This race would be much more enjoyable with better weather. I feel sorry for the elite 1-2 riders that were out there for 170km today, it would have been brutal (although fellow coachchris.ca team mate, Andrew House pulled away with a sweet solo win!).
I was hoping to do pretty good today with the form I have built up. I was feeling good, rode with pack and moved around a bit, making sure to stay clear of any crashes (luckily there were none). I went up and stayed at my uncles on saturday so when I checked the weather it said 6 degrees with a 40% chance of precipitation. Definitely should have brought my booties, although i dont think any of my gloves would have kept my hands warm. I definitely should have brought more. I was having problems shifting during the race, especially down shifts. The combination of numb fingers and the small trigger on the shimano shifters made it tough to shift. This ended up being my down fall. Just after the feed zone as we started to head back we were about 75km in, the peloton surged ahead to cover an attack going downhill. I wasnt able to get a shift for what felt like forever. Once it finally shifted I lost my spot in the peloton and was spit out the back. Enough of a gap had formed that I couldnt catch them. I chased hard for 5km then I saw someone else drop off. I thought this would be great for me to catch back on with help. Unfortunately this guy didn't have it in him and we both lost sight of the peloton. I ended up dropping him and riding the last 10km in solo.
What I have learned is that weather is unpredictable, and it is better to pack too much than not enough. Also after my shifting dilemma it has reinforced my preference for sram shifters as the shifting tap is bigger, it will be something I will look for whenever I get a new bike.
Heres to hoping the weather is better for Niagara Classic next weekend. Really excited for this race and im curious to see how the new finish will work out!

Garmin data (HR wasnt set up right): http://connect.garmin.com/activity/312015742
Results: http://www.ontariocycling.org/web_pages/results/20130512-202508-lobresults.htm

 Beauty photos courtesy of my brother who gave away his weekend to come with me. Cut my head off in the one above as I came into the finish. The next picture is just trying to stay warm at the beginning!

Springbank Will be the Death of Me

Springbank Road Race- OCUP #3

It has been a bit since I last checked in, and I have been busy training to improve my form. Last year at Springbank I was taken out with about 500m or so left in the race, so this year I knew I would have confidence issues. The course is amazing, completely closed, and scenic if you have the chance to look around. Starts with a fast left into a downhill where speeds pick up and the path gets narrow. It slightly banks left again as you ride along some water with canada geese enjoying the race. It is always fast through here as you lead up to a little hill. At the hill the road curves a bit, nerves come out here and all too often you hear someone yell to someone else, "HOLD YOUR LINE!" After this there is another left where the pack tends to slow down a bit and people are waiting for a move. A little bit further along there is a little chicane with curbs so again people get nervous about others keeping their line. From here its <500m straight off to the finish.
Race started and the pace picked up because the Master 2 riders would have been a minute behind us. I started at the back (i haven't learned my lesson) and coming into the first corner as far as I can remember a CHCH rider went down, and then an independent rider, Niles, went down and with me right behind them I followed suit. Got up shakily, uttered a few hateful words about how I knew this would happen and made my way around the course to the wheel pit. I got my free lap and was added back to the pack. I was sure to stay near the front to avoid other mishaps. My knee and back were a little sore but I'd look after those later. There were a few attacks none stayed away for very long, and I left the primes for others as I wanted to be fresh for the final sprint.
Right near the end we ended up taking over the master 2 group in the first corner which was pretty sketchy. It was bad enough with just one group going through it. As far as I know everyone made it through, small gaps may have formed though.
About 2 laps left coming through the finish line (18 laps total for our race), there was a big pile up right ahead of me. A rider I was following slowed down just after the hill so I was back further than I wanted. I was on the left side of the road, I have no idea what caused it but people looked a bit nervous so my bet was some wheel rub started it. I have no clue how I got around it, I thought I was done for. Maybe I rode around a bike, maybe over top, I think my brain went 'HOLY SHIT!' and shut down for a second. Either way I am glad I got around it. I heard someone yell "common Chris catch them!" A small gap formed when I slowed for the crash and I was easily able to cross it. I held a good position coming in through the chicane. I stayed behind a train of INVITA junior riders hoping they were up to something. Then a couple of them threw in the towel and boxed me in. Lost some ground but was eventually able to get through some people and put in a little sprint to claim some places.
Overall I finished 9th, and 5th in Elite 3 which was a lot better than my showing at Good Friday. As I grow stronger I hope to see even better results in the next two weekends at Lake of Bays, and Niagara.
As I said Springbank is an awesome course, just in my two showings I have had bad luck.

Results: http://www.ontariocycling.org/web_pages/results/20130505-202558-sbresults.htm
Garmin data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/308287276
OCUP Points: http://www.ontariocycling.org/web_pages/results/20130505-232702-Ontario%20Cup%20Road%20Standings%202013.pdf

Sprinting into the finish (form wasn't great I know, was more concerned about getting around people than aero)

Some of the scrapes post race. They didnt hurt too bad, there were people much worse. My main issue is my swollen knee.
Thanks for checking in, ill post up again next weekend!