Win for Trew in Specialized-Mazda-Samson G Conseil colours

Original article / Article originel

release by the Calabogie Classic

April 19, 2010 (Ottawa, ON) - Cyclelogik Racing hosted the 5th Annual Calabogie Classic on Sunday under sunny skies just west of Ottawa, with a total of 310 racers turning out to enjoy early season test. In the senior men’s race, David Veilleux (Kelly Benefit Strategies), prevented from flying to Europe due to the volcano effects, put on a dominant display, pushing the pace in the early break, whittling down the break with repeated attacks, and then finally soloing in for the win, 10 seconds up on Vincent Quirion (Gaspesien) and over a minute ahead of young Ottawan Matteo Dal-Cin (Euro-Sports.ca) who took a 3-up sprint for 3rd.

In the senior women’s race, a nearly all day break containing Allison Lampi (7th Groove Re:Form Body), Jenny Trew (Specialized), Krista Ruby (LaBicicletta), and Rachael O'Reilly (Stevens) took shape early on. Trew then flatted out of the break, rejoined the peloton and was instrumental in bringing the break back inside the closing 10km. Despite several more late break attempts, the bunch came to the line en masse, with Trew taking the well deserved victory over Sarah Coney (Stevens Racing) and Jen Stephenson (7th Groove Re:Form Body).

Thanks again to the many volunteers, and the good people of Calabogie Motorsports and Cyclelogik.

Tara Whitten - TWO TIME WORLD CHAMPION

Tara Whitten showed the World who is in charge of the women's track endurance during the World Championships held in Denmark at the end of March. She came home with two gold medals - one in the women's omnium and the other in the women's points race.

Here is an interview with Tara courtesy of Pedal magazine:

original article / article originale

by Sarah Nathan

March 28, 2010 (Copenhagen, Denmark) - On Saturday, at the 2010 Track World in Copenhagen, Tara Whitten became the first Canadian to win a world title on the track since Tanya Dubnikoff's sprint win at the 1993 Track World Championships in Hamar, Norway (for history buffs that same year Lance Armstrong won the men's Road World Championships in Oslo, Norway).

Whitten won gold in the women's Omnium, a competition in which riders must race in five events: flying 200 meters, scratch race, individual pursuit, points race, and a 500-meter time trial. Last year in Poland, the talented Whitten won silver in the same event and had some unfinished business. In the Omnium the rider placings in each of the five events are totalled, and the lowest score wins. Whitten placed 2nd, 9th, 3rd, 6th, and 3rd in the respective events, winning the 2010 Omnium title with a score of 23 points.

Waking up with a smile on her face today Whitten followed up Saturday’s gold to claim another world title in the Points race on Sunday and make history as the first Canadian to win double gold at the Track Worlds. Her victory today was a huge boost to her confidence since the Points race was not one of her strongest events in the Omnium. Whitten was still in shock over her second win when we caught up with her by phone in Copenhagen.

Congratulations Tara - you've just won two world titles in as many days, how does that feel?
Tara Whitten: Pretty amazing. The Omnium result started sinking in today. I think I woke up with a smile on my face. I'm still in shock about the Points race!

You won silver in the Points race at World Cup in Cali, Colombia earlier this year, so was today's Points race win such a surprise?
TW: I've been really hit and miss in the bunch racing for the past couple of years. I know I have the physical ability to win, but a lot of the time my tactics let me down. Today I went in with a plan and I rode smarter than usual. I made sure I rested when I needed to, and I had enough energy to make some good moves.

How did the Points race play out?
TW: The race was 25km, with ten points sprints. I was in a break early on, and we lapped the field, so I knew I was in a good position after that. I was in another break later on in the race, and we came close to lapping the field, but then we began losing ground. At that point I was in second place, only one point behind first, and I had worked really hard to try to keep that break going. So once the move ended, I went to the back to recover. Then, coming into the second last sprint I saw an opening at the top of the track, so I was able to get up a lot of speed and attack. That move sealed the race for me.

It seems like you've been more consistently successful with Points racing than with the Scratch - why is that?
TW: Scratch racing usually comes down to one bunch sprint, and I'm not as strong at positioning for those final sprints. In Points racing there's more time for things to play out, and I can play to my strengths by stringing out the field and making the whole race really hard.

How will this Points race win help you in future competitions?
TW: This win was really great for my confidence. The Omnium will be my focus working towards the 2012 Olympics, but both the Points and Scratch races are part of the Omnium, and were my weakest events yesterday. My win today is proof to myself that there's no reason not to be confident in those events.

The flying 200 was your best Omnium result while you’ve earned a reputation as an endurance rider so you're talented all-round - is that usually the case with Omnium winners?
TW: The level in the Omnium event will keep going up heading towards the 2012 Olympics; we'll see sprinters working on endurance events, and endurance riders improving in sprint events. The Omnium is great for me because I have a lot of power naturally, as well as endurance. I really made sure I gave a lot of energy to training the shorter events leading up to Worlds.

What does this mean for Canadian track cycling?
TW: Our program over the past couple of years under Richard Wooles has changed quite a bit. A lot of us moved down to LA to train over the winter, since it's pretty hard to train on the track over the winter in Canada. Everyone is very committed to the program, in the future we need to continue bringing more athletes in, and to find more funding to ensure that we continue to succeed.

Thanks Tara, and congratulations again!
TW: Thanks!

Arriving and the Grand Prix of Chambery

I arrived without event in Toulouse, France and was greeted by my new teammate/roommate and new friend Einat. I soon learned that travel in France is a bit different than in the US. The French are very efficient. There are no super wide roads, big cars and there is very little excess in all they do. This became very evident on the way from Toulouse to Limoux. There is no such thing as a shoulder on the road, but then again when you're car is smaller than most CEO's desk, who needs one?! Once we arrived in Limoux, I realized the roads were actually smaller than on the "main roads". I quickly settled into my temporary housing for the first few days and eagerly started putting my bike together for the afternoon ride. My new host, Chris Georgas was going to be my tour guide on day one. And after traveling for nearly 20 hours I was anxious to get some fresh air and spin the pedals in my new home town. Let's just say riding in France is not like the states. The roads are super narrow, which was a fear at first, but I was quickly told that French drivers actually "respect" cyclists and do not beep at them or try to run them off the road. Instead they slow down behind them and patiently wait for a safe place in the road to pass. What a novel idea! After our ride Chris shared with me what would become a ritual after each ride. We stopped at a cafe' in the square of Limoux and had a post ride "recovery drink" of hot coco. I'm now looking forward to riding for a whole new reason!! The "recovery drink" is my new motivator!!

Although life is very laid back and seems to move at a bit slower of a pace, I found my first few days to be non-stop. I was trying to absorb as much of Limoux as possible, get a sense of my surroundings, and at the same time connect with my new friends, while trying to keep my family up to date and informed. I was fully embraced by both Fabiano (Chris' wife) and Einat, who helped me feel part of the group right away. I was invited to attend the weekly trip to the flea market on Friday mornings to get the weekly supply of vegetables and fruits. This was an exciting experience and I now look forward to this each week. Also included in this trip is a stop at the butcher shop! We stopped and ordered our meat, which was....bugs bunny! The rabbit was dead, but head still intact. The butcher whacked off his head and then it was good to go! OK...I've never seen that before. Quality Market in Barre, never did it quite like that!! I've also been told that in addition to eating rabbit, that we will be eating black beauty...er, um, horse meat!! I may have to grab some pizza on that night! We shall see...
So by the time we left on Saturday morning for Chambery, it was actually relaxing to sit in the car for a while. Of course that relaxing feeling wore off rather quickly after about 2 hours in the car. I was informed that pretty much all of our races are "5 hours away" and every race "is a great course". Encouraging nuggets of information, but no where near the truth. We arrived in Chambery later than expected which did not allow us time to pre-ride the course. Instead we drove the course and found the roads to be incredibly narrow on the first half of the course but then opened up into an industrial park/strip mall with much wider roads. The last part of the loop was a nice 1k climb that included 2 switch backs....and would have made for a great finish. However, on the morning of race day Chris went out to do some recon work on the course and discovered they had moved the race to an entirely different location! (Lesson #1 racing in France: Be flexible) The course was moved further up the mountain and was now a circuit that would travel through even narrower roads (think bike path) and would have a few more climbs before a 2k finishing climb. Sweet! Also it was never clearly explained what this race actually entailed, but I soon discovered that a "Grand Prix" in its name is a big time race. On top of that Jeanie Longo was present, and in fact we were racing in her hometown. So what I thought was going to be a nice local race, turned out to be the Grand Prix of Chambery and featured pro teams from France, Switzerland, and Italy. Yikes! Great way to kick off my 2010 campaign. A bit different than my usual first race in the states...Charge Pond! This was the real deal and these ladies were cranked up to race hard from the opening gun. And that they did! A group of 10 riders got away about 20k into the race and proved to be the right selection to stay away all day. I was part of the main chase group, and was happy to sit with that group and just get my legs under me. A solid result for the first race of the year, which ironically was probably one of the most difficult and technical races I've ever done.

We departed Chambery, and headed home for Limoux and little did I know we'd be driving through some of the most amazing sections of the French Alps. We actually drove past Mont Blanc, which was breath-taking to see even from the car. Definitely an added bonus to a great trip. My weekend adventure with Chris and Einat was a nice start to a few months of living and racing in France. Now if I can just learn my way around Limoux and perhaps learn to read a French road sign or two, I may actually be able to survive here for a while. Until then I'll enjoy my rides with Chris and will most definitely be looking forward to my "recovery drinks".

The Tardy Blogger: Canadians in Tucson - by Moriah MacGregor

While the most successful Winter Games in our nation’s history were underway in Vancouver, a congregation of roadies and mountain bikers from across our great (mostly) frozen land took to the roads of Tucson for an 11 day training camp. 30 Canadian National Team athletes ranging from junior to world-class standouts came together for quality base miles, technical sessions, team building and sport science workshops. This camp marked to first time in at least 10 years that the CDN National Team has hosted a multidiscipline training camp- by all accounts the camp as a tremendous success!



The atmosphere was light. Days were busy- rising by 8am, eating hotel provided breakfasts of waffles, yogourt & fruit and rolling on the road by 10am. We spent 3-5 hours in the saddle per day. Post-ride we implemented recovery strategies learned at the camp which included contrast bathing (alternating sitting in garbage tubs of ice & cold water with dips in the hotel hot-tub), stretching and eating, attending great IST sessions (sports science), eating more, socializing, trips to Trader Joe’s & Chipotle and watching American coverage of the Olympics. We also had a couple photo shoots- with Rob Jones of Canadian Cyclist and for Louis Garneau.



On one of the more epic days we climbed to the top of Mt Lemmon, a 25-mile jaunt to a little over 8000 feet in which we travelled through 8 different microclimates, from the giant cacti dessert up to pine forested alpine ski slopes. We were super fortunate to be in Tucson at a time where it was warm enough that the roads were clear all the way to the top- there was quite a lot of snow on the sides of the roads for the last third of the climb and the temperature dropped to the point where jackets and leg warmers were needed. At the top we were greeted by Denise and Dan who won everyone’s hearts with the biggest chocolate chip cookies I have ever seen. After over 2 hours of climbing cookies were quite possibly the most welcome site any of us could have imagined!



The other epic day in the saddle involved less sun and a lot more water- while the Sun Gods were certainly with us for the majority of the camp, one-day toward the end the skies opened up about an hour from our hotel. When it rains in Tucson its truly incredible- without proper storm drainage the streets are filled with standing water within minutes. The standing water camouflages cracks and potholes in the road making riding absolutely treacherous. The wind picked up and blew the rain into our eyes rendering us near blind- these conditions in combination with unpredictable drivers made for a pretty nerve racking experience. Fortunately all of us made it home without significant event other than several cases of borderline hypothermia. I didn’t have a jacket or vest with me and by the time we got back to the hotel I lacked the manual dexterity to unclasp my helmet much less undress myself before getting into the shower. No contrast bath needed after that ride- hot tub only!



A few of us stayed an extra couple of day after the camp had officially ended- on the final day we had a “tour de coffee shop” in which we planned our route to include stops at our favourite coffee shops discovered during camp. A highly recommended cap to a training camp!



Camp not only provided a great opportunity for many of the riders who will be racing together later in the year to come together and bond, but it was an opportunity for Jenny and myself to train together, united again I under the colours of Specialized Mazda Samson. I was super happy to have received my new Specialized Amira the day before leaving to camp- no better way to break in a bike than during training camp. The Amira is an amazing ride, hands-down the best women’s specific bike I’ve experienced. The geometry is great, much more of a race bike than some of the earlier women’s specific rides.



Thanks for reading!



MoJo

Tara Wins Two More Bronze Medals at World Cup Finale!

UCI Track World Cup #4 Beijing Day 3 Report, Results, Photos - Canada Wins Team Pursuit Bronze

Article courtesy of Pedal Magazine
original article/article originel

report by the CCA

January 24, 2010 (Beijing, China) - The Canadian women's Team Pursuit squad, Laura Brown, Steph Roorda and Tara Whitten, claimed the bronze in the women's Team Pursuit competition on the final Day 3 of UCI Track World Cup in Beijing bringing Canada's medal haul to four. Monique Sullivan (Can) finished 10th in the women's Keirin while Joseph Veloce (ON) and Stephane Cossette (QUE) 24th and 27th respectively in the flying 200 meter as the Canadian team wrapped up a fabulous weekend of racing.


CCA Report
The Canadian team competing at the fourth and final World Cup in Beijing, China finished on the podium in their final event of the competition, but it was the sprinters who got things started. Joseph Veloce (ON) and Stephane Cossette (QUE) began the day with the flying 200 meter race in a bid to qualify for the sprint competition.

Both riders are new to the World Cup scene and were excited to be racing on the smooth Olympic track; however, they felt they could have ridden better, improved their approach, and gone faster. They finished in 24th and 27th position with times of 10.674 and 10.698 respectively. The fastest time posted was a 10.183. Both riders will be returning to Los Angeles in February to prepare for Worlds with teammate Travis Smith for the Team Sprint.

Monique Sullivan (AB) started strong in the first round of the Kierin, sitting in third place behind the bike. She was aggressive and moved to the front with two laps to go with a strong acceleration and held on until 1/2 a lap to go when the group came around and she finished 6th in the heat moving on to the repechage. She made winning the repechage look easy and moved on to the semifinal where she was overpowered and finished 10th. “I didn't always have the legs to pull off my moves, I was racing smart and always putting myself in a good position. There was a strong field at this World Cup and it was great practice for the World Championships.”

The final event for the Canadians was the women’s team pursuit, the same team who won gold at the last World Cup. Tara Whitten, Laura Brown, and Steph Roorda, all from Alberta, had high expectations and felt strong and ready going in to the qualifier. They posted the third fastest time with some mistakes along the way, and then in the bronze medal final they rode like a smooth unit to take off more than three seconds from their first ride and won the bronze medal while setting a new Canadian Record of 3:26.723.

The Canadian team finished the fourth World Cup with two gold medals and two bronze medals and ranked 7th at this competition. The team focus will now be on preparing for the World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark from March 24-28. Videos of all the medal winning races, with commentary, can be watched here.

Results

Women's Team Pursuit

1. Australia (Ankudinoff, Kent, Tomic) 3:22.9
2. New Zealand (Ellis, Nielsen, Shanks) 3:23.7
3. Canada (Brown, Roorda, Whitten) 3:26.7
4. Lithuania (Pikauskaite, Sereikaite, Trebaite) 3:28.3
5. Russia
6. Ukraine
7. France
8. Netherlands
9. Italy
10. Giant Pro Cycling
11. China
12. Mexico

Interview with Women's Team Pursuit - Winners of World Cup Gold in Cali, Colombia

Article courtesy of Pedal Magazine
original article/article originel

by Sarah Nathan

January 17, 2010 - Despite being relatively new to the team pursuit, the Canadian women's team of Laura Brown, Steph Roorda, and Tara Whitten turned heads by winning gold at round three of the Track Cycling World Cup in Cali, Colombia on December 12, 2009. In a display of smooth teamwork, Brown, Roorda, and Whitten clocked 3:27 for the 3000m race, defeating a strong American team in the finals. All three riders attribute their success to the Canadian track program and this result is indicative of what Canada's track team can achieve this season and looking ahead to the 2012 Olympic Games in London. We caught up with Brown, Roorda, and Whitten as they prepare for the fourth and final Track World Cup in Beijing, China on January 22-24.

Congratulations! How did it feel to win gold in Cali?
Laura Brown: Thank you! It felt incredible. Sharing a World Cup win not only with team mates, but friends and family was truly special.
Steph Roorda: Winning the gold medal was great. We rode a faster time than expected, and for me that was the best part of the day.
Tara Whitten: It was an incredible feeling to win a World Cup, and to share that exhilaration with two other equally exhausted and ecstatic team mates was really special.

How does this result compare with other results in your career?
SR: Winning a gold medal at a track cycling World Cup is the best result of my track career to date.
LB: I feel safe saying that this is the best result of my career for sure.
TW: I have been on the podium at the World Cup level before, but standing on the top step and hearing 'Oh Canada' was a whole new experience.

What were the goals for the women's team pursuit at the start of the 09/10 Track World Cup series and was this result expected?
SR: The gold medal was not expected. This is the starting point for the team pursuit, and the goals are to go faster and ride an improved technical race.
TW: Because we are so new to this event, our goal for Cali was to ride technically well, to ride as a team, and to establish a baseline from which we could progress as we look toward 2012. That being said, we were aiming for a time near 3:30, and for a medal.
In riding a technically smooth 3:27 and coming away with the gold medal, we exceeded all of our expectations!
LB: We accomplished our goals: we rode faster than planned, smoothly, and technically well. Coming out with a medal (gold!) was a huge bonus.

Has this win changed your goals for the upcoming Beijing World Cup and the Copenhagen Track Worlds?
TW: The result in Cali definitely boosted our confidence, but we still have a lot of work to do. Women's team pursuit is a relatively new event internationally, and we know that the level will continue to increase as we get closer to London. We need to use our experience in Cali to allow us to become even faster over the rest of the season.
SR: I do not believe the result in Cali has changed goals for the races coming up. We are looking for improvement; the gold in Cali has just confirmed what is possible for the team pursuit in the future.
LB: The win showed us what we are capable of, but there is plenty of hard work ahead for 2012 and beyond. Progressing by riding faster and technically well for the upcoming World Cup in Beijing and World Championships in March is the goal.

What are the most challenging aspects of this event?
TW: I think the most challenging aspect of the team pursuit is determining the best strategy for three people to go as fast as they can together. It requires everyone on the team to trust each other, and to be honest about how they are feeling on a particular day. Everyone needs to be completely spent at the end of 3km, but not a moment earlier! That takes some fine-tuning.
LB: There are not many opportunities to race the team pursuit. There are four World Cups in the season, plus the World Championships. The Commonwealth Games are in 2010 as well. But thinking ahead to the 2012 Olympics, there are only a handful of opportunities to race together, so training is critical for getting faster as a collective unit.

The three of you looked like you worked together seamlessly. Did the race play out to plan as smoothly as it looked?
LB: Yes, it was smooth! It looked smooth, it felt smooth, and our lap times were even.
SR: We rode the first half on pace, the last half according to the other team. That was part of why it was so successful for us: we made a plan and rode to that plan.
TW: We really rode the best race that we could on that day, and that is an amazing feeling! The race felt smooth (albeit painful!) from beginning to end; our exchanges were solid, our pacing was almost perfect. There was a moment in the final when I did the one thing you are never supposed to do in a pursuit: I looked across at the American team. At that point we were neck and neck, but I saw a split open up in their team and I knew we had it.

What important factors contributed to your success in Cali?
TW: There has been a complete shift in the Canadian track program over the past year, and our success in Cali is evidence that the new program is working! We now have a team, we come together at training camps, we have support staff, and we have developing riders coming up. Cali was only a first step - there is more to come from the Canadian track team over the next few years.
SR: The most important factor contributing to our success are the staff that work with the track team. All of the people working with us, either at the LA camps or World Cup races, create an unbelievable atmosphere that is amazing to be a part of. Their enthusiasm and passion matches the athletes and that is what makes it a great thing.
LB: The Canadian track team and staff is such an integral part of what we do, from the massage therapists/chiropractors, videographers, mechanics, coaches, coordinators and soigneurs at our training camps and races, to having Richard Wooles on board with us. It is an amazing program to be a part of and all their time and energy invested in us has greatly contributed to our success. Anyone who wants to be a part of what we are doing should contact our awesome track coordinator, Petrina Tulissi, at track@canadian-cycling.com.

All the best this season and with your future goals.
LB, SR, TW: Thanks.

Video Interview with Tara at the Beijing World Cup

article courtesy of Canadian Cyclist
video can be found here / video icil