麻豆社区

A former professional cyclocross racer was the champion at the newly resurrected cycling race last weekend.

Marc Lapointe, who has raced for EMD Serono Specialized, EMD鈥圫erono鈥圫tevens and Nine2FivePro.com, completed seven laps of the about two-kilometre cyclocross course at Mount McIntyre in 55 minutes and 42 seconds to take the win.

鈥淚t was fantastic,鈥� said Lapointe, who last raced cyclocross in 2014. It was his first time racing north of 60.

Cyclocross is a cycling event held on mixed terrain on a closed course with some obstacles designed to force the rider to dismount, carry their bike and remount to complete them.

鈥淲e had two sections where you clearly had to do that and a few other sections where it was optional,鈥� said race organizer Kristenn Magnusson.

The last Whitehorse cyclocross event was in 2014. Last year Magnusson was on mat-leave from race organizing and brought it back again this year with a couple twists.

Among them was the 20-foot 鈥渇lyover,鈥� a wooden ramp in the stadium of the course.

鈥淭he flyover was a little bit difficult because it鈥檚 intimidating when you come up to it,鈥� said Magnusson, who also raced.

鈥淵ou have to get lots of speed to get on it, but once you鈥檝e done it, it isn鈥檛 nearly as intimidating.鈥�

The ramp was championed by Ian Parker and was first built in a backyard before it was dismantled into pieces, loaded onto a trailer and rebuilt at Mount McIntyre.

鈥淗e was determined,鈥� said Magnusson of Parker. 鈥淭here was some serious dedication.鈥�

Cyclocross races usually have a ballpark time they should be completed in; for expert riders, it鈥檚 around one hour. After a mass start on鈥圫aturday afternoon, the timers waited to see how long the first lap took the fastest riders.

Then they did some quick math and set the race at seven laps for the expert riders and four for the beginners, said Magnusson.

鈥淭here were a couple really sketchy parts,鈥� said Lapointe. He went over his handlebars on a sandy section during the first lap, 鈥渂ut I ended up riding it for the rest of the race, so it was fine. it was a blast.鈥�

Some of the 14 riders had cyclocross bikes, a hybrid of a mountain and road bike. They look like a road bike frame, but are a bit sturdier and then have some mountain bike components, such as the brakes. But the main difference is the tires, which are wider and with thicker tread.

鈥淭he wider tires help you to deal with being on the off-road portions of it, so they help to give you a little float in the sand and they help with the gravel and smoothes out the rest of the course,鈥� says Lapointe.

Magnusson was first introduced to cyclocross while living on Vancouver Island with a grass-roots series called Cross on the Rocks. That series started with 10 riders and now has more than 300 coming out to race.

鈥淭hey started with 10 too,鈥� said Magnusson. 鈥淚t can happen.鈥�

She, along with a small group of riders, hopes that the Whitehorse race can grow into a fall series with clinics and learn-to programs.

鈥淚t was a blast,鈥� said Lapointe. 鈥淚t would be fun to have this go on as a series if it could happen.鈥�

RESULTS

Expert (7 laps)

1. Marc Lapointe 55:42
2. Anthony Bier 58:21
3. John鈥圫tamp 59:49

Beginner (4 laps)

1. Dan Bader 45:34
2. Sandro Holzinger 52:33
3. Zachary Anult 56:10