-1.1°C Cloudy 
Three curious bears were among the observers of the fun at the Whistler Olympic/Paralympic Park (WOP) on Saturday (June 27), when approximately 20 riders produced several competitive rounds of road racing in a criterium event hosted by Team Whistler.
The competition proved to be pretty fierce as the riders worked their strategic magic in three races on the challenging course. In the first event of the day, a traditional-style race with a format of 30 minutes plus three laps on the 1.7-kilometre course, Team Whistler’s Otto Kamstra pushed the pace by taking off on the second lap, with Shani Laxon sticking close to him.
That leap kicked things up a notch, leading to fast and furious action for the rest of the race, but in classic fashion, it all came down to the sprint for the finish line. Squamish’s Dwayne Kress prevailed in that final battle, beating out Kamstra and Team Whistler’s Josh Stott. Mike Rogerson and Laxon rounded out the top five.
“That was a traditional-style race, first across the line wins, it’s pretty straightforward – it’s a really good course, it’s tough and interesting,” Kamstra said on Monday (June 29), appreciating the plethora of places to attack and counterattack on the course.
The second event of the day was a 12-lap points race, where the riders really had to think as the winner of each lap earned one point, plus bonus points for two primes, in building toward the finish. The format led to a lot of sprinting, and kept life interesting for the spectators, according to Team Whistler reports.
James Shaw sprang forward to win the first sprint, but Kress put up a fight by taking the third lap and the first prime, which earned him four points and a solid lead. Kamstra put himself into contention by capturing the second prime, on lap seven, before Jason Fluckiger poured on the heat and powered to the win by collecting eight points.
Kress finished second with seven points, followed by John Perkins and Kamstra tied for third with four points each, and Shaw in fifth.
In the final event of the day, the “devil take the hind man/woman” race, where the last-place rider in each lap is taken out of contention, strategic skills were on display. Laxon stuck with the male riders to finish fifth, and Fluckiger ended up fourth after he was beaten by half of a wheel length.
Kress narrowly prevailed in the final sprint for the finish, followed by Perkins in second and Shaw in third.
“I had a huge amount of fun,” Kamstra said of the day’s races.
Road racing prioritizes strategic riding and intelligence over raw strength, Kamstra said, so “you need to be the smartest” instead of the strongest. He said the WOP venue is well suited for road racing, offering easy course setup to allow more riding and fun, separation of the racecourse from traffic, and an interesting course.
Kamstra said the course is intriguing because it offers opportunities for smart attacking and passing, thanks to the strong winds that sweep through the site to cause both head and tail winds, and to the slight vertical rise that starts to tire out the racers after a few laps.
“You have to play that really smart,” Kamstra said of the wind conditions.
While the calibre of racing was high, the turnout for the club’s second road racing event of the season was still on the low side, but Kamstra guessed that was due to conflicts with other major events such as the Ken Quon Car Wash and Barbecue.
He’s hoping for a surge of interest in the next event in the series, the hill climb scheduled for July 14, again in the WOP, with the course involving a ride from the waste transfer station up to the cross-country stadium.
For more details, visit www.teamwhistler.ca.
