2012 BC CUP Cyclocross Finals Report: The last race of the year I did not do....again.

AW hitting the run-ups. Photo: Matt Law

The last race of the season was a race that did not include me going elbow to elbow with my fellow mud wrestlers. I opted to announce the race, as I have for the last three years. Ever since I was unable to ride in the 2010 cyclocross season due to my fractured shoulder and broken body, I have continued to call the Daryl Evans BC CUP Finals. This year I was torn: should I try to salvage my season, do double duty trying to do both, or just call the race. My choice was more or less made for me.

Friday morning it hit me. A sore throat. Not just any sore throat, but the mother of sore throats. On the scale of strep throat like I had back in March, this one seemed like it had teeth. By 1:30 pm, I was nearly on my back at work, the room spinning, my temperature rising, and all I could do was long for my bed as the shivers struck. It was not even Saturday, and with the final CX race of the season before me, I was in no shape to race let alone call the race as I was tasked to do by Jeff.

Don't get me wrong, having called this race for the last 2 years in a row I have had a tremendously fun time doing it. Being the loudest heckler in the park makes me feel pretty good, and it seemed as though I would be breaking my streak by not being able to announce the 2012 race.

By Saturday morning, I was a hurting case. I showered, then passed out for exhaustion in my bed at 8am. I had to get out to the Athletic Park for 8:30, but it seemed as that would not happen. I dragged myself out of bed, grabbed some of Lor's powdered coffee, and hit the road. Set up of the equipment was a snap and in no time, Aaron and I were pumping out the jams, the first one being this classic by DMX:

I don't know if it was a coincidence, but after that song, I was feeling energized. I made a run to Tim's for a tea and 3 Bagel Belts, one for Aaron, Pete and I. Upon my return, the RCMP had showed up to let us know that a neighbor had called in a noise complaint. Look like this thing had turned into a party!! Jeff spoke with the constable, and things seemed cool as we had the park until 3 pm, with noise from the music/race calling all day long. Perhaps the people of South Surrey are not down with DMX.

As I caffeinated and warmed up the ol' voice box, the citizen/cat3/4 race went off with many people that I did not know, which makes for a tonne of work to get their names down. A short run down of the winners are as follows:

Citizen class: 

1.Ben Schmidt--Former elite rider according to Matt Law, Ben--as I said time on the mic--time to upgrade! You schooled this race!

2.Paul McCarthy

3.Mike Tunnah--Well done! You should ride with the big boys Mike! You got's some quick to you.

Cat 3/4:

Only 4 riders in this cat. What has happened to Cat 3/4 these days? This is the future of CX? We need more riders in 3/4!

1.Adam Cameron

2.Graham Fox

3.Chris Hardwick

Aw and me--both hard at work.

Masters 3/4

Great racing in this category  It came down to the wire, but AW was in the lead group for the whole thing, with Doug Ritchie, Ray and Bob chasing him the whole time. Honorable mention goes to Doug for his gutsy ride, but a bit of disaster saw his second place disappear, and he ended fourth. 

Aaron's second win of the 2012 CX season....

And now overall winner by 1 point!

1. Aaron Weiss-- calling my little brother's win was the highlight of the day for me!

2. Ray Lachance

3. Bob Chew

Open Women

A see-saw battle between Kelly Jones and Jean-Ann Berkenpas. Jean-Ann lead for the first half, but could not fend off Kelly towards the end, and dropped off of Kelly's pace. A solid rider, I can see her from a mile away by her signature glasses.

Master's Women

1. Emily Sportsman--great job Emily. A win is a win. Now just work on your starts! 

2. Isabelle Deguise

Master's 1/2 

Kim Steed was in a league all his own as he made short work of the course on Saturday, and short work of the field. Jason Fluckiger had one hell of a ride making it onto the podium, along with my man Mark Oldenberg who kicked some serious rear on his single speed, coming in front of fast guys Rick Rodland, Pete Holzhuter, and Matt "Huge Calves" Drown. Well done Mark. There is hope for me yet....I think I need another bike, this time a SS.

1. Kim Steed

2. Dave Kvick

3. Jason Fluckiger

Elite Men

An anemic field for this race, everyone must have packed up and gone to Bend or Los Angeles for the weekend of races. Anyhoo, the battle between Bob Welbourn and young Trevor Pearson was the best of the day, with Trevor pushing Bob to the red. Trev had a slip up in the last 800 feet of the race, and Bob snapped into action. That is a trio of 2nd's for Trevor before he heads off to worlds in a few weeks. Bob honored his national champs jersey like a er...champ, and finished his last race of the season. 

The apprentice leading the master. Photo: Peace Arch News

Trevor still has more work to do to stay in shape before the big dance--the biggest race of his life so far. The rest of us can drink beer and eat ice cream through Christmas. Good luck young man. I am happy proud to know you, and wish you all the best on the bike and in life for years to come!! Watch out for Trevor. He has the disposition to be a champion, much like the character of the man he leads in the picture.

1.The Welbourn

2.The Pearson

3.The Sven Sturm

Again the highlight of the day was calling the M 3/4 race and Aaron's win. Too boot, he came over to me after the podium ceremony and showed off his BC Cup Champion winners jersey. We were both shocked that he was able to snag that bad boy by 1 point!! I am so happy for him. Double-plus happy to be honest.

Some other highlights/ low-lights of the race included:

--Heckling Ashley Stotts and Em Sportsman as they made a perfect synchonized crash of their bikes in the sand.
--Nick Berry breaking his carbon handlebar. Nick--I thought you were pro! Get an aluminum bar, for cripes sakes man!! This is cross, not free-riding!

--Tents Blown down all over--someone could have been hurt, or killed! Even pegging them down did nothing. NOTHING!!

--Bacon-Beer-Brandy hand-ups: I missed mine this year. Will have to take some next year during the race season.

--SAND!: I think this was a hit! The sand was awesome this year, as there was more of it.

--Wet Grass: OOOOHH! Like a good rubber burnout, I swear I could smell burning quads the whole day through the grass.

By the end of it all, I was wet, cold, exhausted, and limped my sorry rear home as the adrenalin rush had long passed after the racing was over. The night consisted of a dinner with the team at Uli's, which was great to get out and spend some time with the dudes and wives. Another year of Daryl Evans Racing done. This year was by far, not a success for me, but a huge success for Aaron with his wins and overall CX BC CUP jersey, Matt Drown, as he is the master's Provincial Mountain Bike Champion. Jeff might have not had the best season on the CX bike, but has solidified himself locally and nationally as a great CX race organizer and course designer. Kudos to him. Our team hosted the National Championships and a UCI C2 race! WIN! Everyone has grown a little older and a little better. My cycling may have sucked this year, but my running has gotten faster. Next year? CX comeback!

Right before all hell broke loose. Photo: Matt Law.

At the end of the day. We enjoyed this one!

Check out Matt Law's Pics from the race. Solid, beautiful shots.

Full results can be found at the Daryl Evans Racing site.

It is all over. Now, we sleep.