TT#10 of 16 on the season was a nice night after on again off again storms all day/week long. Temps and attendance were low but times were still fast. A big thank you again to our volunteers, and to Jason Hare for doing the hour drive (each way) to time an event neither of his kids could race in. The number of hours board members put in behind the scenes can't be understated and their efforts are so appreciated.

Results from tonight here Series Standings up to date here

12 racers started, 9 finished, and 3 of those were youth.  In the male category Paul Auton drove up at the last minute and rode his fastest time of the year in 58:22 averaging 41.1km/hr. Johan Lindvist took second in 1:02:42, and Matthys Redelinghuys took third in 1:06:28.. another full minute off his PB in the 40k!

The female group of 3 had Rose Houle winning her first TT of the season after a few podium finishes, setting her seasons best in 1:15:32. Second place was Joanne Brear who knocked 2 minutes off her PB and finished in 1:21:57. Third was Wendy Hicks with a PB of her own in 1:22:56. 3 women 3 PBs!

Meghan Gillmore put in a strong time of 34:53 in the 20k. This sets a NEW youth female 20k course record, congrats Meghan!

Ayden Houle took his 9th straight TT victory with a fast 34:03 (first lap of his 40k). His overall 40k time of 1:08:47 was just shy of his 1:08:33 a month ago. Ian Gillmore set out pacing himself for a shot at the 40k as well but called it at 20k in 39:49.

Best All Around Rider Award standings updated:

Next week's race is a 20k, register here.

Climbing hills is good for building strength.  Riding in a group and pushing longer rides each time is good for building endurance.  And sure, maybe you can push thirty km/h in your big ring at eighty rpm for a 100km ride, but eventually you'll blow your knees out. If you want to get faster and fitter without spending days on the road sprints or intervals is the way to go.  Some of the ways sprinting will help you are;

Leg speed and cadence - you'll find your biggest gear isn't always your fastest gear.

Drafting and riding the wheel in front of you - In a group ride where you have to worry not just about the rider in front of you but also about everyone beside and behind you it can be a bit nerve wracking trying to keep your front wheel within inches of the wheel in front.  In a sprint where its just you and one other rider it's easier to focus and comfortable riding close quarters.

Being aware of what's going on around you - When you're trying to out gun the other rider to the line, there are lots of little cues to watch and listen for that will help you; did they shift a gear, move their hands on the bars, stand up on the pedals, move off to the side so you can't see them attack, can you hear their freewheel spin behind you; all clues that now is the time to attack

Coaching and feedback from the other riders with you - You may notice something that they're doing that could help you that you never saw before while you were gasping and pushing to the top of the hill next to them.

All this and more at next Mondays sprint clinic on June 20.  Again everyone is welcome to come out.  Riders can pick their partners to sprint against, or if you're not sure who would be close to you we've set up a segment on Strava to help seed riders here.

With 9 races complete we have passed the half way point in the Rock City Cycles TT Series. Here are the standings as of now: Series Results Male

Female Youth Male Youth Female

Here are the last 7 race distances remaining:

Be sure to pre register via our Webscorer link each week, thanks!

Building on the idea surrounding our Monday night Development rides, on Monday June 20 we will be running a sprint clinic. Sprinting or Match sprinting is usually a track cycling event for between two to four riders over a short distance.  For our purposes we will be using Maxey road where two riders will flip a coin to decide who leads and then sprint the 300m back to the finish line just before Durnin road.  The lead rider can choose to choose to ride slow and force the other rider to move in front allowing them to draft and save energy for the final sprint.  Alternatively, the lead rider can also choose to drop the hammer from the start and try to out pace their opponent for the entire distance.

If there are enough riders we will run team sprints where four riders take the course working in teams of two.  In team sprints one rider will typically do the majority of the work and pulling their team mate to the line where they can then accelerate to cross the line first at a much higher speed than if they were riding alone.

Any riders interested will meet up at six pm at the NIC, from there we’ll take a short warm up ride up Jingle pot road and down East wellington to Maxey road.  After a brief safety and coaching speech there will be a demonstration and opportunity for all riders to have a try at it.

Again everyone is welcome to come out.  Sprinting is a great way to work on your fitness and speed with lots of short, high intensity effort with time to recover while the next riders give it a go.

Hope to see you out there.

Our friends at the Comox Valley Cycle Club have invited MIVA up to take part in Race #1, the Lazo Road Course. The race is being held June 26th, see the poster for details.