The series finale for the MIVA Hill Climb Series had it all.  The rain bucketed down pretty well all day, until 6pm, but as we said rain or shine the race would go on and we're glad it did.  24 racers came out to take on the Doumont Double Points finale and close out the season, 4 for the first time this year as we welcomed Michael Addiscott, Tayden de Pol, Bill McMillan, and Phil Birrer back to the hill climbs. MIVA had put a $50 bounty in the 4 categories for any course record that could be broken.  The records stood as: MALE: Paul Auton (2011) 12:00
FEMALE: Janna Gillick (2011) 15:06
YOUTH MALE: Tayden de Pol (2014) 18:56
YOUTH FEMALE: Abigail Hare (2013) 19:25

All 3 categories that had entries tonight managed to break the former course record!

The youth males were off first with Tayden de Pol back out after swim season finished up, he hammered up the hill in just 17:06, a full 1 minute 50 seconds off his course record for last year!  Not a bad 2015 debut.  Right behind him was the Comox whizkid Evan Luksay, dancing up the final inclines and narrowly taking the course record down even further to 16:51 and with it, $50 to spend on bike stuff.

In the female category we once again had 8 ladies out.  From 2011-2014 MIVA averaged 1.24 women out per hill climb.  In 2015, we averaged EIGHT!  In 2014 we had 7 female entries total, in 2015 we had 40 entries and our lowest single race had 7 women.  The epic showdown between Kiyomi and Lorrie was not to be, as 24 hours before the race Kiyomi was injured on a trail run and showed up tonight to volunteer wearing an air cast unfortunately.  There was the potential for a tie in which case it would've defaulted down to an arm wrestle, a cage match, and who had more 12 point events.  Lorrie managed to push out a 2nd place finish tonight to finish with 62 points and take home the MIVA Female Hill Climb trophy.  Lisa Mcleod leapt up the standings with her 3rd place ride tonight to finish 2nd overall.  Janna Gillick came with her game face on and slammed a record breaking 14:12 new womens course record (5th overall as well), to add another $50 to her prize winnings (she donated it to nachos and wings at the Black Bear afterward, thank you!).

The male category also wasn't short on drama, as Mr. Four-for-Four Joel de Schiffart was summoned back to his running career and school and had to miss out.  Course record holder Paul Auton (12:00) also couldn't make tonight's race, leaving it wide open and the standings torn apart.  Nick Kupiak flew up the hill in just 11:48 to not only take the course record, but launch himself to the top of the standings with the double points victory and take home the Male Hill Climb trophy. Nick worked extremely hard all year and may have rode in more MIVA events than anyone else, from crits to TTs to hill climbs, and this trophy was well deserved. Close behind was Darren Vandergrift in 12:58 and from what I can tell, the 8th fastest time ever up Doumont.  In third place Joel Lutz set a PB and put himself into a 2nd place overall tie with Joel de Schiffart at 48 points.

Here is how the final standings shook out after a crazy final day: 2015 Hill Climb Championships Standings

Results via webscorer here

All of Patricks photos are here!

Thank you to Kiyomi for picking up the hot chocolate and helping me set up the MIVA tent (while in an air cast), to Patrick for once again snapping amazing photos, to Ross for also getting some pics, and to Peter for starting everyone off from the bottom.

To go from having 7 racers per night average to over 23 is nothing short of amazing, thank you to all of you who made the effort to hit the climbs with us. MIVA took a gamble by moving the season up a month as normally the hill climbs are Sept-Oct, this move paid off in high attendance AND it clears all of our schedules to get out on the cross bikes and focus on that.  If you thought our takeover at the pub tonight was social, wait until you see a cross race (if you haven't before).

Next up is the already-happening CROSS season.  Hit up the Cross On The Rock website for details, registration will be going live very soon.  MIVA's event in the series is on Sunday November 8th, the back end of a double header (OBB hosts Saturday at Bowen).  This is a huge event and is not possible without the hard work of many of you. If you're interested in helping out with the My Little Pony crew it is much appreciated, please let me know. In the meantime, hit up the 'Cross group training rides happening Tuesdays at 6pm @Maxey/Wellington.

RELATED NOTE: the MIVA tent is available to anyone going to the Cross races, let me know!

(sorry if there are errors, no time to proof this or put pics in)

EDIT: Start List is up (as of 315pm). It may shuffle up or down by a minute or two but this is the general order

The final event in the 2015 MIVA Hill Climb Series is on Thursday September 3rd, going up Doumont.  This course is the gold standard in Nanaimo, used as the finale every season.  We're throwing it in this year that it is worth DOUBLE POINTS, upping the ante, so bring your 'A' game and hammer up it!  There will be a social at the bottom of the climb at the Black Bear Pub after, what better way to close out the Hill Climb Season?

Pre registration link is here.

Route is here on Strava, MIVA Doumont Hill Climb

A bit o history below:

Doumont Results: 2008: Stefan Jakobsen 12:27 2009 – 3 racers – Derek Brain 13:31 2010 – 6 racers – Male Patrick Paquette 12:44 2011 – (race 1)  7 racers – Male: Paul Auton 12:20 / Female Janna Gillick 15:06 2011 – (race 2) 12 racers – Male: Paul Auton 12:00 / Female: Cheryl Morch 15:51 2012 – 7 racers – Male Doug Merrick 13:25 / Female: Lorrie Baildham 15:43 / Youth Female: Abigail Hare 21:35 2013 (race 1) – 12 racers – Male: Justin Mark 12:22 / Female: Jennifer Gordon 26:27 / Youth Female: Abigail Hare 22:33 / Youth Male: Aiden Hare 22:33 2013 (race 2) – 8 racers – Male: Justin Mark 12:44 / Female: Cheryl Morch 16:02 / Youth Female: Abigail Hare 19:25 / Youth Male: Aiden Hare 23:45 2014 – 8 racers – Male: Ken Olson 13:20 / Female: Lorrie Baildham 15:16 / Youth Male Tayden de Pol 18:56

To make things interesting, there is a $50 bounty for any new records up Doumont, ANY category. Times to beat: MALE: Paul Auton (2011) 12:00 FEMALE: Janna Gillick (2011) 15:06 YOUTH MALE: Tayden de Pol (2014) 18:56 YOUTH FEMALE: Abigail Hare (2013) 19:25 I will have 4 crisp $50 bills ready, as well as the hill climb trophies for the winners to hoist above their heads!

Standings:

A new record was set tonight when TWENTY SIX racers took on the Departure Bay hill climb!In 2011 we had 11 (Stefan Jakobsen 6:52, Janna Gillick 8:27) In 2012 we had 16 (Paul Auton 7:05, Janna Gillick 8:43) In 2013 we had 10 (Justin Mark 7:08, Lorrie Baildham 8:55) In 2014 we raced elsewhere. In 2015, 26 racers and 4 year old records obliterated.  It's amazing seeing how strong the riding scene is in the mid island!

On to the race! Evan Luksay  took the youth male crown again, going 4 for 4 so far in the series.  Both Aiden and Abigail Hare rode strong races knocking time off their previous results.

In the female race, it was Janna Gillick taking home the course record and the win in just 8:15 (after her CX workout). The Kiyomi vs Lorrie battle raged on, with Kiyomi taking tonights battle by a scant 6 seconds! Lorrie holds the series lead by just 2 points (42 to 40) going into next Thursdays FINALE.  We once again had a strong group of 8 women come out to the hill climbs tonight, all of whom are getting faster and faster!

In the male category, it was another win for upstart Joel de Schiffart (4 for 4) in a new course record of 6:37.  Paul Auton hammered up in just 6:50 (2nd fastest time ever on this course) for second, and Nick Kupiak just edged Darren Vandergrift for third 7:05 to 7:09.  Reagan Lovig rode a swift 8:14 in his final race as a Nanaimoite as sadly, he is moving over to Sechelt. Reagan has been a huge supporter of MIVA the past 3 years, maybe we'll get a road 'race' going on the Sunshine Coast next summer....road trip?

Thank you to Peter, Jason, Ross, and Patrick (photos) for volunteering tonight.

But what does it all MEAN? The standings now look like this: --------------------------------- WHAT NEXT?

The Doumont finale is what.  NEXT THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3rd, 630pm.  DOUBLE POINTS.  Winner takes 24 points, second place 20, third place 18, and so on.  This could shake up the standings, you have nothing to save it for (except the Cross on the Rock series!), so come lay it down! This is a 5.3km grunt climbing 218m, if the wind doesn't get you, a cougar might.  We start at the Pleasant Valley Social Center on Doumont Road (just off Metral).  If follows Doumont then right on Weigles Rd climbing until you run out of pavement.  Traditionally this has been held on a Saturday morning which yielded poor numbers (see below).  So I repeat, this is on THURSDAY SEPT 3!

Doumont Results: 2008: Stefan Jakobsen 12:27 2009 - 3 racers - Derek Brain 13:31 2010 - 6 racers - Male Patrick Paquette 12:44 2011 - (race 1)  7 racers - Male: Paul Auton 12:20 / Female Janna Gillick 15:06 2011 - (race 2) 12 racers - Male: Paul Auton 12:00 / Female: Cheryl Morch 15:51 2012 - 7 racers - Male Doug Merrick 13:25 / Female: Lorrie Baildham 15:43 / Youth Female: Abigail Hare 21:35 2013 (race 1) - 12 racers - Male: Justin Mark 12:22 / Female: Jennifer Gordon 26:27 / Youth Female: Abigail Hare 22:33 / Youth Male: Aiden Hare 22:33 2013 (race 2) - 8 racers - Male: Justin Mark 12:44 / Female: Cheryl Morch 16:02 / Youth Female: Abigail Hare 19:25 / Youth Male: Aiden Hare 23:45 2014 - 8 racers - Male: Ken Olson 13:20 / Female: Lorrie Baildham 15:16 / Youth Male Tayden de Pol 18:56

To make things interesting, there is a $50 bounty for any new records up Doumont, ANY category. Times to beat: MALE: Paul Auton (2011) 12:00 FEMALE: Janna Gillick (2011) 15:06 YOUTH MALE: Tayden de Pol (2014) 18:56 YOUTH FEMALE: Abigail Hare (2013) 19:25 I will have 4 crisp $50 bills ready, as well as the hill climb trophies for the winners to hoist above their heads!

Afterward we will be meeting at the Black Bear Pub for socials.  Even if you're not racing, come cheer everyone on.  The finish lines have been electric with the cheering this year, you all are awesome.

This week we are off to climb to Departure Bay Road for Hill Climb #4 in the 5 race series.  This route is an annual favourite, but being a busier road PLEASE stay to the side.  This is not a closed course.  The start point is at Departure Bay Elementary School, plenty of parking.   It goes up Departure Bay, then RIGHT on Uplands, with a final RIGHT onto Caldwell for the finish. There will be LIMITED signage on this route, as they would either block the bike lane or the sidewalk.  KNOW THE ROUTE PLEASE.  Start at the school on Departure Bay Road. RIGHT on Uplands. RIGHT on Hillside (the google maps name is Caldwell, but the street sign you'll see is HILLSIDE).  You'll see the finish there.

The route is located here, MIVA 2015 Departure Bay Hill Climb.

Pre registration is link is here.

Hill Climb #1 Jameson Road
Hill Climb #2 Nanaimo Lakes Road
Hill Climb #3 Witchcraft 
Hill Climb #4 Departure Bay *THIS WEEK*
Hill Climb #5 Doumont

Tonight's race was one of the odder races we've held over the years. After getting the start line set up I drove to the top to set up the finish line, on my way back to the start I came across an SUV that had driven off the embankment.  The 3 were sitting on the side of the road and said they were fine and that a tow truck was on its way.  This was minutes before our start, causing us to delay our start by 25 minutes as we watched 3-4 fire trucks, an ambulance, and a police car drive up to the scene and block off the road, essentially blocking our course.  A few riders rode up to check in on the status and the fire chief said there'd be plenty of room for us to get by, but no cars were being allowed through.  After a brief consideration of changing routes to either Meadow or Calder, we stuck with Witchcraft. With 22 racers out once again tonight to take on the climb, the earlier group of about 5 or 6 (Paul, Evan, Carole, Rachel, Sandy, and Tamara?) definitely were affected by the road closure as they were slowed almost to a stop at a few places, but still picked it up and rode hard.  Many were pretty certain that about 30 seconds were lost to that early group due to the holdup, unfortunate timing but still a great race, and thankfully that SUV didn't go over the edge DURING the hill climb!

The bitter feud between Lorrie Baildham and Kiyomi Schulz continued tonight.  In race #1 you'll recall Lorrie crushing Kiyomi's spirit by just 0.6 seconds, only to have Kiyomi claw back next week at Nanaimo Lakes Road by 24 seconds.  Tonight Lorrie avenged last week by taking the title by 5.8 seconds.  The series lead was pivoting on this outcome and Lorrie now leads 33 - 30.  Tamara Zavarise put in a great ride landing a podium spot as well.  Again it's really nice to see such a good group in the female category come out week to week and keep those numbers up.

In the male category, Joel Deschiffart continued his assault for the series sweep taking the win over Nick Kupiak by a very narrow 8.4 seconds.  These two have had a great battle as well, with all 3 races having less than 10 seconds separating them. Darren Vandergrift took 3rd once again and the podium stayed the same as last week. Paul Auton rode all the way up from Mill Bay for this, so it was unfortunate he was held up by the accident but still rode in 8:02.  MIVA welcomed back a couple of old faces tonight, with Brian Zurek and Stefan Jakobsen both coming out.  Stefan set the original record going up Doumont 5 years ago, September 3rd could be a bigger battle than Wrestlemania III at the Silverdome.

Evan Luksay again took the youth male title, he absolutely flew up the hill in 11:18 good for 16 overall.

LINK to tonights results LINK to series results to date 2015 Hill Climb Championships Standings

Thank you to Ross for starting everyone off, and to Patrick for once again being both the best dressed person at the hill climb and taking some great shots.  Most of all thanks to everyone for their patience in the confusion, it was unfortunate timing for an accident but thankfully no one was hurt.

Next week is Hill Climb #4 @ Departure Bay, this is a speedy one!  The final hill climb is on September 3rd (Thursday) at Doumont, DOUBLE POINTS don't forget. Pre Reg LINK