MIVA BOXWOOD CRITERIUM, MAY 29TH. 2012 45 minutes plus 5 laps

Weather cool and calm

Tonight was the best turn-out ever for a midweek criterium, with 22 riders starting, including 1 youth and 3 women. There were many attempts to break but none was successful and, after each prime lap, the group came together again. At the line, it was Kirby Villeneuve winning handily form Menno Jonsma, who is showing remarkable improvement, and Iain Hay, the latter producing another of his top 3 placings. In the women's list, Janna Gillick stayed with the main pack throughout the race and so easily won her category, the other two having been lapped. Brodie as the sole youth rider did well to stay with the pack for 13 laps before being dropped and continued to ride with his mother for most of the remaining distance.

The riding tonight was quite dangerous at times, with several riders approaching the corners too fast and a number of others drifting over into the open left hand lane> although this is only a local event, if things don't improve, there will be penalties and/or disqualifications.

Thanks to Iain and Brodie Hay for course set up and take down.

BTW, a number of our club members will be travelling to Victoria at the weekend to compete in one or more of: the Russ Hays Dallas Road time trial, the BC provincial championships on the Mount Tolmie circuit and the Bastion Square criterium.

There are three days left for the early bird entries for Nanaimo's first top level bicycle race in nearly twenty-five years, so if you want to save $10, enter before midnight on May 31st. When the MIVA race committee first started planning for the event, it was agreed that there would have to be sufficient entries to make the race viable and to justify the considerable time and expense that had gone into the preparation. MIVA has publicised the Cobblestone Classic through the cycling media and via the provincial cycling associations and clubs, so most of the western Canadian provincial racing cyclists and all those on Vancouver Island have been aware of the event date and details for some time. There are paid radio, TV and newspaper advertising campaigns planned for June to help generate a crowd but these are on hold at the moment. Remember that, in the event that the event is a no go, all entries fees will be returned in full. The drop dead date for the Cobblestone Classic is June 10th.  If there are less than one hundred entries by this date, The club will consider cancelling the race  . Any grants and sponsorship monies received will be returned

The organiser of the Nanaimo Cobblestone Classic Criterium has a long history of putting on cycling competitions of all kinds, from local to national and this is the first time in over fifty years that one of his events may have to be cancelled. If any of you riders are still thinking about entering the race, DO IT NOW! Mid Island Velo Association has very rapidly gained a reputation for hosting well-organised bike races of all kinds in the Nanaimo region and it would be a great shame to lose this opportunity to showcase our sport to the public in Nanaimo.

The last three weeks have been the greatest for Canadian cycle sport. Ryder's triumph  in the Giro d'Italia should inspire every Canadian to celebrate the win by riding to work each day this week. All MIVA members can set an example by riding to their workplaces and letting everyone else there know how cycling has improved their fitness and general appreciation for life. Your editor is old and decrepit but he is going to ride to all his appointments this week and even do the shopping by bike. Unlike many of the club members, he doesn't possess panniers or a trailer, so don't be surprised if you read that he has caught a shopping

bag or two in the front wheel and is lying battered and bloody on the way home from the Superstore!

Seriously, All our readers should make a real effort this week to celebrate Ryder's achievement and to set a good example for others.

COURTESY OF CYCLING NEWS

First Canadian win would increase Anglo-Saxon influence

Italian media are using irony to highlight new Giro d'Italia boss Michele Acquarone's evident inclination for the English language and the internationalization of the event. But they're ready to welcome Ryder Hesjedal as the first Canadian winner of the corsa rosa, should the rider from Garmin-Barracuda confirm tomorrow that he has the power to recover his 31-second deficit from current race leader Joaquim Rodriguez, who is not exactly a time trial specialist.

"Fight for pink" is now the official slogan of the Giro d'Italia. It has never been so appropriate as this weekend with Jonathan Vaughters' Garmin-Barracuda team on the edge of winning its first Grand Tour. The team made its debut in three-week long races at the 2008 Giro d'Italia and won the inaugural team time trial to bring Christian Vande Velde in pink.

Hesjedal has not been very talkative throughout the 2012 Giro d'Italia, but he looked pretty happy with the outcome of stage 20 at the top of the Passo dello Stelvio. "They have tried to make me lose," he said of his Italian rivals. "But today, the team has been incredible. I'm proud of how we rode. Everybody tried to stick to us. The whole Giro has been amazing. I hope I have enough of a lead. I'm gonna give everything tomorrow."

During stage 20, Hesjedal faced a double challenge. Not only did he have to control the actions of Katusha's Rodriguez and Michele Scarponi (Lampre-ISD), but his potential lead was also threatened by Thomas De Gendt (Vacansoleil DCM) whose advantage increased drastically in the ascent to the Stelvio.

"At the front, De Gendt was becoming dangerous," Garmin-Barracuda's Director Sportif Charly Wegelius said. "It was necessary to limit the gap to him as he wasn't showing any sign of fading, and at the same time, Ryder was facing possible attacks by Rodriguez and Scarponi. The stage result is the best that Ryder and the team could get."

Wegelius refused to evaluate the chances of Hesjedal to win with a deficit of 31 seconds. "Nothing is guaranteed," he said. "It's the media's job to make analysis, calculations and predictions. We don't want to speculate."

Wegelius confirmed that Hesjedal is part of Garmin-Barracuda's plans for the Tour de France, in which he finished seventh two years ago.

In an interview with Cyclingnews in January prior to the start of the season at the Jacob's Creek visitor centre in the Barossa Valley ahead of the Santos Tour Down Under, the lanky Canadian had said, "The team has given me the opportunity to ride the Giro for GC, the course suits me this year. I only rode the Tour de France in the past two years, and it's a good time to do two Grand Tours again."

He didn't see himself fighting for pink, but in reality, that is just what he's doing with 31km against the clock to go in tomorrow's final stage.

MIVA riders rode strongly in the Island Cup race at Minto near Cumberland. Paul Thompson and Janna Gillick both showed their climbing strength early on, with Paul Thompson taking the win and Janna taking a creditable second in the B race. Iain Hay is not happy on the hills and struggled with the climbing,  eventually  finishing sixth.

Brodie Hay continues to develop his road racing skills and finished sixth in the C event.

MIVA riders are really making an impact in Island racing - and they are by far the best looking, with their awesome shorts and jerseys!