A hot sunny night for the final crit. We had 14 racers take the line.  With it being the final race 40 laps were on the board.  After two neutral laps they were off with Harry getting out front pushing the pace and trying for an early break.  The pack reeled him in fairly quickly though.  13 laps in the bell was wrung for the first prime and Doug Merrick showed he was the thirstiest taking the sprint by over ten seconds on the rest of the pack.  He didn't let up though and continued to push the pace staying off the front for another lap until he was joined by James Grant and Connor MrGrady.  Together the three of them held the main pack off for the next six laps until Doug had enough and fell back to main bunch.  From there Connor and James spent the next 15 laps working together off the front building up almost a 30second lead at one point.  On lap twenty the bell was wrung again for another prime but none of the riders seemed interested and James and Connor maintained their break.  With five laps to go the group shut down the break away closing the gap on the two young riders fairly quickly.  In the final sprint James Grant showed his fitness as he managed out gun the rest of the pack depsite having been off the front for the majority of the race.  He was followed closely by Iain Hay and Liam Sullivan.

LAP TIMES

Tech issues meant the first seven laps were missed

This week marks the mid point of our season as we run our last Criterium and Time Trial of the season. Come out tomorrow night and cheer as racers fight it out one last time.  While first place in the series is going to strong man James Sage; the fight for third could be close with Mark Wieler, Chris Cameron and Kevin Park with in 3 points of each other.

Thursday nights Time trial is a 40km event, and while James Sage has the series locked up for the men(Did we mention he's been training pretty hard this year) he still hasn't broken an hour on this challenging course.  The forecast is looking good so come out and push for a personal best.

Even if you don't want to race spectators are always welcome, bring your lawn chairs and sunscreen and come cheer them on.

We're also still looking for Volunteers for tomorrow nights criterium.  Sign up here

Time Trial Standings

Criterium Standings

MIVA Criterium Scoring (2017)

We're really excited to see so much interest and we're thrilled to be joining the thousands of other women around the world riding 100kms. Here are a few additional details:  

1) Start Time - We've decided to split the 8:30AM start group into two and merge the two 9AM starters into that group. Please arrive at least 10min before your start time to sign-on. Sign-on is at White Sails Brewing located at 125 Comox Rd, Nanaimo, BC V9R 3H9.

2) Late Registration - It's not too late! Anyone who hasn't registered for the event can do so on Sunday but we ask that they arrive no later than 8AM to do so. Cash only.  

3) What to Bring - The weather looks great, but it never hurts to bring arm warmers and a lightweight vest or jacket. Bring a spare tube and gear to fix it. (Don't worry, we'll pitch in and help the less experienced with any flat changes) Aim to consume 200kcal per hour, but read (6) before you try to stuff 1000kcal of bananas into your jersey. Bring a $10 in case you need an emergency Coke from the closest gas station.

4) Leaders - Janna will take the first group out at 8AM, Lorrie will take the second group at 8:30AM (sharp) and Kiyomi will take the final group about ten minutes later. The leaders will be responsible for knowing the route and keeping the group together. This includes periodic headcounts. Please inform the leaders if you don't intend to complete the ride or if you decide to change groups.

5) Pace - This is intended to be a social ride. Nobody will get dropped. If you'd like to download the route in advance: https://www.strava.com/routes/9431404 . Some hardcopies of the waypoint list will be available at the start.

6) Rest Stop - A few kind MIVA members have offered to set up a rest stop along the water in Qualicum Beach, which is at ~60km. Water, Gatorade, home-baked mini-muffins, fruit and gels will be available. Public washrooms are also located nearby.

7) Pop-up Refreshments - A mystery hand-up station is currently into the works. Keep your eyes open for it on E&N across from Rock City Cycles.

8) Social, SWAG & Draw Prizes - Our sponsors have generously provided us with a few small gifts for all riders as well as several draw prizes for some lucky riders. These will be available after the ride at White Sails. Please join us for a complimentary beverage afterwards!

9) Social Media - if you want to share photos of the ride with the many thousands other women riding 100km on Sunday, tag your pictures with #womens100 and #midislandvelo

10) Sponsors - We'd like to acknowledge our gracious sponsors for the event: White Sails Brewing (@whitesailsbrewing), Rock City Cycles (@rockcitycyclesnanaimo), Kiyo Salon and Day Spa (@houseofkiyo), Frontrunners (@frontrunnersnanaimo), Superstore, Swethaus (@theswethaus) and Omtown Yoga (@omtownyoga).

See you Sunday!

- Janna, Lorrie & Kiyomi

It's limited to 55 in each category (A and B) so don't miss out, sign up! Hosted by Cross On The Rock and MIVA, held at Diver Lake on Wednesday August 9th.

Two categories: The B's start at 6:15 (beginner, intermediate) And the A's at 7:15. (Fast intermediates top 15, experts, advanced) no sandbagging.

Volunteers please contact miva.president@gmail.com, help will be needed during the race as well as setup/teardown. Each race is capped at 55 racers. No refunds. No wait list. No extra race added as we'd be pushing daylight. All pre-registration.

***Must provide valid Cycling BC number during online pre registration.***

https://www.webscorer.com/register?raceid=106959

A perfect night for a bike race.  Tonight we had 16 riders take the line for a 40 lap points Crit.  With sprints and points every 5 laps Norms suggestion of 39 neutral laps was quickly forgotten as he shot off the front on lap 3.  The pack quickly reeled him in and lined up for the first sprint which was taken by James sage followed by John Lam with the junior rider from Comox, Connor McGrady, taking the third spot. Chris James and John would cover the majority of the remaining sprints making it a close race.

The lap 20 sprint was neutralized as a rider crashed in the top corner one lap before and the racers sat up to make sure he was ok.

17 pts James Sage

16pts Jon Lam

11pts Chris Cameron

4pts Kevin Park

3pts Nate Walsh

2pts Iain Hay

1pt Connor McGrady

Wade Luksay

Kevin Park

Norm Thibault

Brett Whitehead

Phill Birrer

Lee Zavarise

Larry Dicker

Maxime Therrien

Patrick Burnham

Mark Wieler

Lap times can be found here

We also had Eric Byres one of our long time club members come out tonight with his grand daughter Aleah who was selling home made cinnamon buns to raise fund for the Kids International Development Society , the funds raised are going to purchase low cost bicycles for Cambodian children so they can attend school.

Next week will be our final Crit of the season.  Following the race there will be a social at Whitesails.  As always everyone is more than welcome to come watch and cheer.

As always these races simply couldn't happen without the help of our volunteers.  All of whom have been entered into a draw for not one but two sets of shiny new wheels.  The second set of wheels added to our prize pool comes courtesy of Coal City Cycles and is a Cross ready set of disc brake Vision Wheels.