MIVA TUESDAY CRITERIUM MAY 3RD.
A beautiful, warm evening greeted the participants in MIVA's 3rd. Tuesday criterium - 40 minutes plus 5 laps.Right from the gun, Nanaimo Road Club's Chris Cameron picked up the speed with the rest of the bunch hanging on and wishing they had done more of a warm-up. Chris and local rider Ian Smith continued to push the pace and, by lap three, the duo had established a fifteen second gap. The following lap, Cameron passed the line on his own, with Smith and Ladysmith import Lionel Space chasing. Meanwhile, the rest of the group were steadily dropping back and Craig Dick an Ontario rider, in his first race in twenty years, was left to battle on behind.
Soon Space, who had not done any pre-race warm-up, dropped back to the bunch and Smith rejoined Cameron at the front.
The pair took fifteen seconds every circuit out of the rest of the group and by lap fourteen had lapped them., Ian Smith winning the first prime. Three laps later, Cameron again picked up the pace and broke from the bunch, taking Space and new rider Kyle Waring with him.
Cameron and Space continued to draw away, with Space taking the second prime but Waring had had enough and dropped back to the pack. And that's the way it stayed until the final lap. Chris Cameron beat Lionel Space for the win and since Space was a lap down he took third. Rob Bau took the bunch sprint and finished in fourth place with second placed Ian Smith cruising in a couple of spots behind him.
The lone woman entrant, Charlene Hay, used the race tonight to develop her pack skills, and after being lapped fairly early, managed to hang on to the group for most of the rest of the race.
Thanks to Brodie Hay (bell and lap board, and to Iain Hay and Dave Kenny for course take down.