Elitewave.com

Bronze for Sarah at Cyclocross Nationals

2008-10-18T05:49:00.000-07:00

Pepper, Wendy and Sarah share the National Championship podium.

Melanie leads out fellow Elitewave athletes Jaymie McGowan and Christy Love

A year spent working on starts finally paid off for Sarah who earned a Bronze medal at the National Cyclocross Championships in Edmonton over the weekend. Sarah established herself in third place within the first 200m of the race and held on to this position to the end. The field included cyclocross legend Wendy Simms (Kona) and a strong field of proven cyclocross experts - among them Pepper Harelton (Juventus) who finished in second place. Both Pepper and Sarah made huge improvements this year as they were both fighting for 7th and 8th position at the 2007 championships. While Sarah competed mainly on the road to earn her improvements, Pepper went the mountain bike route - even completing the Bow 80 on her cross bike (80km in the Mountains!!). On the third lap of the race, Sarah hit a course marker hard with her hand. She was able to finish but immediately lost all strength in her hand when she crossed the finish line. Xrays would later reveal a fracture of the 4th metacarpal. (Sarah is now back on the trainer and using a set of aero-bars on her cross bike so that she can ride and keep her hand slightly elevated). Sarah hopes to be back in action for the USGP cross races in Portland this December.

Melanie Vaughan and Jaymie McGowan made huge improvements in their performance this year. Melanie, in particular, became a factor in the elite women's race - starting the second day of competition with a world class start that immediately put her into the top of the field. Jaymie rode well and improved on her performance from last year. She was battling a cold all weekend, so it wasn't quite her best, but she showed that her dedication to training is paying off. Christy Love, who has had a very demanding schedule of late showed perseverence and class by putting in a strong effort on both days of racing.

In the Junior Races, we brought the Cycling BC boys up to Edmonton to do some damage. Evan Guthrie won the Junior Men's National Championships and Kevin Thorpe won the Silver Medal. On the second day of racing at Jim Horner, we created a team strategy that saw a third BC rider, Sebastian Sleep, climb onto the podium - hatrick!

Total Restoration's Evan Guthrie sporting the new National Champs Jersey.

See Evan's Full Report HERE

Second Win of the Season for Stewart

2008-10-07T06:42:00.000-07:00

Sarah Stewart (Total Restoration) earned her second cyclocross win in as many weekends at the second stop on the BC Cup Circuit - winning the New Brighton cross race in Vancouver. Katharine Short briefly led the race before being forced to stop with a mechanical. Elitewave's Melanie Vaughn and Christy Love were also active in the race - which included most of the major players on the BC Cross scene.

PODIUM FINISH FOR MCGOWAN
Jaymie McGowan took second place behind Victoria's Dawn Anderson at Cameron Cross at the Juan de Fuca velodrome this past weekend.

NATIONALS NEXT WEEKEND
The entire Elitewave cyclocross team will head to Edmonton on Friday to contest the National Championships and the Jim Horner UCI race. The weather forecast is calling for snow!

Youth Team Expands for 2009

2008-10-05T08:38:00.000-07:00

Cycling BC Youth Team Expands for 2009
By Dan Proulx, Cycling BC

Cycling BC's Youth Team program is set to expand in 2009. Building on the success of our school outreach programs and the success of our cycling athletes at the BC Summer Games; the second year of the Cycling BC Youth Team program will focus on developing cyclists throughout the province by providing more coaching and training opportunities.

Talent Identification: School Visits with Future Opportunities
Cycling BC will continue to offer Youth Team clinics to schools throughout the province. Last year, Cycling BC taught competitive cycling to 480 riders. We will be expanding this effort in the 2008/2009 school year by hosting more clinics and increasing the quality of these experiences. We will be incorporating a Talent Identification plan where the most talented riders from each school are invited to work with a Cycling BC coach or local junior program and to attend other Youth Team events in 2009.

Building Junior Programs
Cycling BC will be facilitating the development of weekly coached workouts and training programs for riders aged 13-16 throughout the province. By working with existing junior clubs and by fostering the growth of new junior clubs, Cycling BC will build a development system for young athletes to learn about the sport with peers their own age. Athletes from distant regions in British Columbia will even have the option of accessing training programs from Cycling BC remotely if there isn't a coach in their area. We want to make sure that every young rider in the province has a simple way to access the sport. When parents contact Cycling BC, we want to connect them with a coach and club that can get the kids started immediately.

Youth Team Camps and Racing Events
The athletes who competed at the BC Summer Games will form the nucleus of the Cycling BC Youth Team. In 2009, we will be providing more opportunities for them to get together for racing and training. The Youth Team is another layer of talent identification where the best young athletes are gradually transitioned into the Provincial Junior Team program under the direction of Richard Wooles. The BC Summer Games experience proved that we need a new approach toward youth development. We need racing and training opportunities that fit the interests and fitness level of the athlete. We need to continually develop new events that focus on speed, technique and strategy. We need to make the sport appealing and accessible to all young athletes. It's a new approach. We need something that is exciting and challenging. The races we put into the BC Summer Games really engaged a new set of athletes and parents in the sport. Canadian Sport Center Pacific's Kurt Innes, an Olympian and former National and Olympic Team coach commented "now that we've had this success [with new events at the BC Summer Games] we can't ever go back".

Cycling BC Youth Team Events 2009
• Ongoing coaching– provided through Youth Team Coaches and Junior Club network
• Designated Youth Series Races TBA
• Spring Camp – Penticton - March 15th-21st
• Summer Training Camp – Kelowna - August 4-7th
• Junior Cycling Festival – Kelowna - August 8 and 9 (Ages 13-16)

Building a System of Coaches
We have so many good senior/elite riders in the province that could be excellent coaches. In 2009 we are going to be recruiting new coaches who have racing experience, strong communication skills and a desire to give back to the sport. We want to show racers that coaching can be a viable career option – one that allows them to stay connected with the sport when their serious racing days are over. We want to help new coaches get started. We also want to show them how to make their coaching careers sustainable. We will be looking for coaches who can deliver Youth Team School visits and for coaches who could organize junior clubs throughout the province. If new coaches are interested in taking part in this initiative, they should contact Dan Proulx as soon as possible at youthcoach@cyclingbc.net

Adapting the Sport
We hope to gain further momentum by engaging riders in a competitive program that allows them to gradually increase their involvement in the sport. In order to implement this, we will need assistance from our racers who have children, from our clubs, community groups and race organizers. It's going to be a team effort if we want to build our sport for the future. Here is the concept:

Ride and Glide Race Series (10 and Under): A series of 5 simple modules that can be taught by a parent, teacher or recreation center. The modules focus on the fundamentals of cycling and incorporate some friendly competitive games based on skill (i.e. Longest glide competition, Obstacle Course, Sprinting, Braking, Relays). This series is designed for riders who will continue to be part of other competitive sports like soccer, hockey, gymnastics etc. At this age we just want them to have a positive first exposure to competitive cycling. Organizing one of these series would be ideal for a Masters Racer who has their own kids and wants to give back to the sport by helping out on an occasional Saturday afternoon. These modules would ideally culminate with a local Tim Bit Challenge – a chance for kids to race and also see what how elite racers ride. KEY INGREDIENTS: SKILL DEVELOPMENT, PARTICIPATION, FUN

Short Circuit Race Series (12 and Under): A series of skill sessions and races held on short loops where kids get to ride/race multiple times in an afternoon (2 hour session). Road events would be held in the parking lot of a recreation center or similar (200-300m loop). MTB events would be held in small parks or trail areas (500m-1000m loop). These events require minimal infrastructure and could be easily organized and run by 1-2 adult volunteers. Cycling BC will provide a suggested format for these events. The hope is that some of our experienced racers will take this opportunity to help get the future of the sport rolling. Ideally, several clubs in a region will each take an afternoon in the spring or summer to host one of these events. KEY INGREDIENTS: INTRODUCTION TO RACING, SKILL DEVELOPMENT, PARTICIPATION, FUN

Youth Development Racing Series (13-16): We want to work with some of our existing criterium and time trial races to create a Youth Development Category for riders aged 13-16. Mountain Biking already has this level available to young riders. On the road, this category would be for new riders and would involve a significantly reduced distance. If the organizer can set aside the time at their venue, Cycling BC can coordinate the organization of the athletes. This would allow a new group of athletes to get started in the sport. Down the road, these athletes and their families will help to build the sport. It's a win-win situation.

We have had young riders show up to road races only to discover that their was no reasonable category for them to ride in. We have even had riders who came out and raced but never returned because the distances were too long and the competition level simply too high. This simple step will create a new avenue into the sport. KEY INGREDIENTS: INTRODUCTION TO RACING, SKILL DEVELOPMENT, PARTICIPATION, FUN, CONNECTION TO AVAILABLE JUNIOR CLUBS AND EVENTS IN THE LOCAL AREA.

How can you get involved in this exciting initiative?
If you have interest in contributing ideas, feedback and time to any of the initiatives mentioned in this article, we need you! Please contact Dan Proulx at youthcoach@cyclingbc.net as soon as possible. We need assistance in the following areas specifically:

1) Ride and Glide Volunteers.
2) Short Circuit Volunteers for both road and MTB.
3) New coaches who are interested in forming Youth Team programs around the province.
4) Coaches who would be interested in running some Youth Team school visits in their area.
5) Teachers who can coordinate a workshop for educators during a Professional Development Day.
6) Road event organizers who would be interested in adding a Youth Development component to an existing race.

About the Youth Team Director
Dan Proulx is the Cycling BC Youth Coach and has worked with development athletes throughout his coaching career. Last year, he taught 480 kids to enjoy cycling in the first year of the Youth Team program. He also organized the BC Summer Games Cycling events. Dan is a Level 4 NCCP Coach and coached two 2008 Olympians. He was also the team manager for Canada in Beijing.

Cyclocross Success

2008-09-29T11:17:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy couple of weekends for the Elitewave Cyclocrossers!

At both Starcrossed and the Rad Racing GP Sarah finished in 9th place after battleing back from being sick for the previous 3 weeks. Her races were strong considering how much training she missed. She was able to duplicate her performance from last year in both races. Jaymie McGowan finished 20th at Starcrossed and 18th at Rad Racing. Jaymie suffered from a series of hard crashes at Starcrossed but stayed upright and smooth for the second race.

This past weekend was the first race in the Seattle Cyclocross series. Sarah won the race by just 6 seconds over multiple National Cross champ veteran Anne Knapp.

STARCROSSED RESULTS
1 Sue Butler MonavieCannondale.com USA19710912 38:02
2 Wendy Simms Kona CAN19720522 38:05
3 athy Sherwin Velo Bella - Kona USA19730527 38:50
4 Dawn Anderson Everti/Oak Bay Bikes CAN19780709 38:50
5 Josie Jacques-Maynes Specialized/KMC pb Cal Giant USA19760404 38:50
6 Emily Van Meter River City Bicycles USA19770915 38:50
7 Wendy Williams River City Bicycles USA19690306 39:14
8 Sarah Kerlin HRS / Rock Lobster USA19740930 39:22
9 Stewart Sarah Total Restoration CAN19701203 39:40
10 Rhonda Mazza Team S&M USA19740204 39:44
20 109 Jaymie McGowan Oak Bay Bikes CAN19760704 42:50

STEILACOOM RESULTS
1 SIMMS Wendy KonaCAN 0:40:49
2 BUTLER Susan Monaviecannondale.Com USA 0:40:55
3. DOMBROSKI Amy Velo Bella - Kona USA 0:42:04
4 WILLIAMS Wendy River City Bicycle Team USA 0:42:06
5 KERLIN Sarah Hrs /Rock Lobster USA 0:42:36
6 VAN METER Emily River City Bicycles USA 0:42:46
7 MAZZA Rhonda Team S&M USA 0:43:08
8 ANDERSON Dawn Everti/ Oak Bay Bikes CAN 0:43:08
9 STEWART Sarah Total Restoratoin CAN 0:43:08
10 JACQUES-MAYNES Josie Specialized/Kmc Pb Cal Giant USA 0:43:10
18 MCGOWAN Jaymie Oak Bay Bikes CAN 0:45:13

Alex Finishes 9th at World Championships

2008-09-27T07:51:00.000-07:00

Elitewave's Alex Wrubleski (Webcor) finished 9th in the elite World Championships on the road just moments ago in Varese, Italy. The top 10 finish was redemption for Alex, who crashed hard at the Olympics in Beijing earlier this summer. I think the performance today is only a return to form for Alex - not a peak performance. In the next four years, she is capable of becoming a World Champion. For 2009, she has gathered together some of the key ingredients to be successful - a good team (Columbia) and good racing calendar that allows her to properly compete against the best riders in the World. Alex has done very well to perform at the World Championships at the end of such a long season in a less than ideal competitive program that often forced her to put the needs of the national team ahead of her own. Alex will now look forward to a little down time before setting a new course for herself in the sport. Alex has shown that she has the potential to be a champion. Congrats. on a solid performance at road Worlds Alex!

Season Highlights for Alex Wrubleski: 2 top 5 finishes at UCI World Cups. National Road Champion. Beijing Olympic Team Member. 9th World Cycling Championships.

14th Edition of Dan's Camp

2008-09-19T11:51:00.001-07:00

Official dates for the 14th edition of Dan's Camp are:

April 19-24th Technical Camp
This camp is focused on personalized technical feedback.
Only 16 spots available.
If you are interested in attending this camp, please email dan@elitewave.com

May 2-10th Training Camp
This camp is focused on endurance training. This camp is very challenging! Only 30 spots available. Please note that returning campers have guarantteed spots in this camp until February 2, 2009. Unclaimed spots will be offered through a lottery system.

Registration forms for the training camp will be available by November.

Registration deadline January 26th.

Elitewave's Alex Wrubleski Riding for Team Columbia in 2009

2008-09-13T08:52:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Alex who recently signed with one of the best professional cycling teams in the World - Team Columbia. She will begin training with the team at a camp in Spain this November. Between now and then, Alex will represent Canada at the Tour of Toscana and the World Road Cycling Championships. The press release from Alex's new team is below:

release by High Road Sports Inc.
September 12, 2008 (San Luis Obispo, CA) - Team Columbia, owned and managed by High Road Sports Inc., is pleased to announce its preliminary roster for the 2009 season. To date in 2008 the team has won 133 races between the men and the women’s teams, with 77 wins for the men and 56 wins for the women.“After such a successful season, we don’t want to make a lot of changes within the team,” says Team Manager Rolf Aldag. “Our riders showed a lot of courage and motivation throughout the season and we saw the team grow closer together as the season went on. We want to stay focused on developing young talented athletes under the direction of experienced veterans, with the ambition of having just as much success as we have achieved in 2008.”As of mid September, the men’s team numbers 25 and includes:Michael Barry, Marcus Burghart, Mark Cavendish, John Devine, Bernhard Eisel, Linus Gerdemann, Bert Grabsch, Andre Greipel, Edvald Boasson Hagen, Adam Hansen, Greg Henderson, George Hincapie, Kim Kirchen, Craig Lewis, Thomas Lovkvist, Tony Martin, Marco Pinotti, Morris Possoni, Frantisek Rabon, Vicente Reynes, Michael Rogers, Marcel Sieberg, Kanstantsin Sivtsov, Mark Renshaw and Michael Albasini.The women’s team, currently ranked number one in the world and leading the women’s UCi World Cup Series will also make very few changes. The ten riders currently confirmed for 2009 are Mara Abbott, Kim Anderson, Judith Arndt, Kate Bates, Chantal Beltman, Emilia Fahlin, Luise Keller, Ina-yoko Teutenberg, Linda Villumsen and Alex Wrubleski.“The team is not final and we will see a few slight changes over the next month, but we are very happy with the line up so far and we are already looking forward to 2009,” added Aldag.For more information about Team Columbia visit www.highroadsports.com.

Elitewave at the Olympics

2008-08-27T08:06:00.000-07:00

Elitewave's Catharine Pendrel, Dan Proulx and Alex Wrubleski at Olympics.

Former Elitewave/Tri-Athletics athlete Josh Riker-Fox (Modern Pentathlon) with Coach Dan

Pendrel 4th at Olympic Games - Six years to an overnight success.

2008-08-23T18:06:00.000-07:00

What a wild day yesterday! For much of the women's Olympic Mountain Bike Race, Elitewave's Catharine Pendrel (Luna) was in third position and fighting to hold onto the Bronze medal over Maja Wloszczowska of Poland. It was a tough battle. In the final km, Catharine missed a shift and that was all it took to slip into 4th. There was no disappointment, however, Catharine's progress toward this result has been nothing short of remarkable.

6 years ago, Catharine was a recreational rider who joined the UVic Triathlon club to stay in shape and make new friends in her adopted home. Catharine began to dabble in cycling a year later - experimenting with road and mountain bike racing. When I was running the Opus team, she was actually not strong enough to make the first edition of the team. Her determination and perseverance paid off with steadily improving results - especially on the mountain bike where she enjoyed many happy miles with her husband to be and riding partner, Keith Wilson.

Catharine's training has progressed steadily over the last 6 years. It has been planned and adapted to bring her up to a new level each year. Last year, most would say that Catharine was the third choice to make the Olympic Team. In 12 months, her steady build-up and peaking plan has taken her to a new level - World Cup winner and medal contender at the Olympic Games.

If I had to characterize her training I would say that it's well planned hard work that focuses on speed, power and intensity. She is not a mega-mile rider. Her training is optimal and not maximal. She has a lot of areas where she can still take her training to a new level. If I were to show you her training plans from 2002-2008, you would see that she has slightly increased hours each year - averaging about 14 hours per week over the course of the year. She has a higher focus on mountain bike specific riding (as opposed to many competitors who do tons of road miles). She is an incredibly hard worker who handles each training session with precision and attention to detail. The level of feedback she provides make my job as a coach a lot easier.

In addition to the incredible genetics that Catharine possesses, she is also blessed with the technical influence of husband Keith and brother Geoff Pendrel (former National Team downhiller) who like to play hard on the dirt. The technical development that has happened while Catharine goes through her program has also been tremendous. Mostly importantly Keith is a consistent and reliable training partner for Catharine (in addition to being her most important support network).

Catharine will now be setting her sites on London 2012. In the next four year cycle, she will be looking for wins at European World Cups, Commonwealth Games and the World Championships. Its going to be an exciting quadrennial.

The best advice I could give to any athletes out there who wish to aspire to Catharine's level is to dream big and pursue your goals with all of your might. For coaches, I would simply say that you can never tell who will be a future champion, so it's important to give every rider an opportunity to develop. Our job, as coaches, is to find the diamond in the rough. It's relatively easy to pick up talented riders who are already fast, but developing one from scratch is the hallmark of a truly successful program. If more coaches took development seriously and stopped the "call me when you are fast" philosophy, Canada could develop even more champion athletes like Pendrel in the future. There is no such thing as a bad rider - just riders who have not reached their personal potential yet.

Congratulations on a great ride and great season Catharine. It is an incredible experience working with such a talented and hard working athlete. You have gone from beginnner to being one of the best in the World in a short six years! The next four years will be even more exciting.

Absalon,Dahle Flesjaa to defend mountain bike gold

2008-08-20T05:21:00.000-07:00

By NAOMI KOPPEL,
Associated Press Writer

Updated August 19, 2008

(AP Photo/KEYSTONE/Alessandro della Valle)BEIJING (AP) Until recently, no one would have bet against Julien Absalon of France to take the men's Olympic mountain biking title. He is still the favorite, but he has shown a few chinks in his armor this year.

The defending Olympic champion won four consecutive world championships through 2007, but this year failed to complete the course in Val di Sole, Italy, blaming heatstroke.

The man who won was the man who has run Absalon close all year in the World Cup, Christoph Sauser of Switzerland, and he will be Absalon's biggest challenger in Beijing, although he is returning from injury. He cut his knee on a rock during a World Cup race in Canada in July and the wound became infected.

"It's much better now. I can still feel it, but I can bend (my knee) all the way back," Sauser said.

Sauser headed an all-Swiss podium in Val di Sole, and the silver medalist, Florian Vogel, is also expected to be in the mix.

Athens silver medalist Jose Antonio Hermida of Spain and Atlanta gold medalist Bart Brentjens of Belgium will also be hoping for glory.

It's a similar story in the women's race, where the longtime number one has had a difficult couple of years. Athens gold medalist and four-time world champion Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa of Norway missed most of the 2007 season with a virus and has been slowly coming back this season. However she was hit by illness again before a World Cup race in Canada at the beginning of the month and it is unclear how strong she will be in Beijing.

"We're a couple of steps away from where I was four years ago," Dahle Flesjaa acknowledged. "But we have shown a couple of times we've been up there."

With Dahle Flesjaa not yet back to strength, veteran Margarita Fullana of Spain took the world championship title this year, her first in eight years, and the Sydney bronze medalist will be seeking to capitalize on her good form.

Irina Kalentieva of Russia, the 2007 world champion, and Sabine Spitz of Germany are also expected to be strong contenders.

Though mountain biking is heavily dominated by the Europeans, there is also good hope for Canada, especially in the women's event, where Marie-Helene Premont will seek to improve on the silver she won in Athens.

"Canada has always had a really good history in mountain biking," said Dan Proulx, who coaches Canada's younger woman hopeful, Catharine Pendrel. "We maybe don't have the depth, but the riders that we do bring to international competition are usually in the running.

"There is a strong connection to mountain biking in our culture, much more than, say, track or road. Especially where these riders are from, in the mountains, it is the culture there."
Chinese hopes lie with Liu Ying, winner of the women's under-23 world championships in 2007.

The mountain bikers have had to wait a long time for their chance at the Beijing Olympics. Theirs is the last of the four cycling disciplines to be contested, after three days of road racing, five days on the track and two of BMX.

The Laoshan mountain bike venue cost almost $10 million to construct. The race will consist of laps of the 4.5-kilometer (2.8-mile) course that climbs 60 meters (200 feet). The exact number of laps will be decided on race day based on the weather, but the intention is that the men's race will last about two hours and the women's 90 minutes.

As a change from the previous Olympics, this year there will be technical assistance zones, where riders can change wheels and other parts, but not get new bikes. They will also be allowed to carry tools with them, which they can share with other members of their team.

Petro-Canada and the Coaching Association of Canada Honour Canada's Olympic Coaches

2008-08-16T05:11:00.000-07:00

Petro-Canada and the Coaching Association of Canada honour Canada's Olympic coaches in Beijing today. Dan Proulx, Team Manager, cycling; Sylvie Bernier, Chef de Mission for the 2008 Olympic Games; and Vincent Jourdain, National Road Coach, cycling, enjoy the Coaches' Recognition Event. (CNW Group/Petro-Canada)

Canada realistic about track cycling chances

2008-08-16T05:07:00.001-07:00

Associated Press - Beijing
14-08-2008 - 16:00

Dan Proulx says the Canadian track cycling team he manages is in "a development phase." In other words, it's probably not going to win any medals.

Which is a disappointment for the Canadians, who returned from Athens four years ago with their first ever cycling gold _ for Lori-Ann Muenzer in the women's sprint.

But Muenzer has retired, and the three-rider squad the Canadians have brought to Beijing doesn't have an obvious star. Still, Proulx remains hopeful.

"Our best medal hope is probably Gina Grain," he said. "If it's really competitive in the points race, the bunch racing for every point, Gina can beat almost anyone in the world."

The 34-year-0ld Grain is probably competing in her final Olympics. But Proulx has strong hopes in four years' time for 26-year-olds Zach Bell and Martin Gilbert, who ride together in the madison. Bell will also take part in the points race.

"We've also got a young crop of riders waiting in the wings," Proulx said. "We've identified track as an important area of cycling for us to develop in."

Though the track may not be fertile ground for the Canadians, they are far from out of contention for cycling medals. Marie-Helene Premont will be seeking to improve on the mountain biking silver she took in Athens, and that event should also offer a chance to Catharine Pendrel, who finished sixth in the world championships.

Beijing Olympics: Interview with Dan Proulx, Cycling Team Manager

2008-08-14T18:27:00.000-07:00

By Rob Jones, Canadian Cyclist

"Everything takes 30 minutes longer."

Dan Proulx, Canadian Cycling Team Manager, made this comment from the road while driving back to the Olympic Village after attending a Manager's Meeting for tomorrow's Time Trial.

"We had to stop and get gas, and then found out that they didn't take Visa, so two employees went with me while I went to find a bank."

Despite that minor frustration, Proulx says that so far the team's experiences have been very positive.

"Everyone is extremely helpful, but the extra protocols that the Olympics have adds to the slowdown. For example, Erinne [Willock] wanted soy milk to drink before the race, so our mission two days before the race became to find a source for soy milk. It is very organized [Ed. Note - Much more so than Athens], but there are always issues and running around."

"What we read in the media before the Games, doesn't match up on the ground; everything is better than we anticipated."

For Proulx, the position of Team Manager came late - two months before the Games - when Sean O'Donnell left the Canadian Cycling association to take a position with Sport Canada.

"It's pretty exciting, and a great honour. I had done the Pan Ams [as team manager], so this was a natural progression, and I was already planning to be here to support Catharine [Pendrel] and Alex [Wrubleski - both of whom he coaches], so it was a pretty easy step."

"My job is a mixture of everything from straight logistics - like organizing vehicles - to coordinating staff, to helping the national team coaches. It's a job that starts at 7 am and finishes at midnight; you are in constant motion."

Proulx also had a chance to fill us in on Time Trial plans, and how Wrubleski is doing after her heavy crash in the road race on Sunday.

"It's pretty much standard operating procedure for the time trial. The women will go in one wave and the men in three waves. The weather at the Wall is much better right now; we saw the mountains clearly for the first time."

"Alex is doing well, she's on the bike and training as normal. She has a bruised right hip and whiplash to her neck, but she will be fine for racing the time trial. The doctor has seen her twice and everything is okay. She is optimistic, although disappointed at crashing, and fortunate to have a second chance to race. Alex is a 24/7 athlete, bound and determined to give her best. Every bit of experience she can gain here can help at the next Games."

British expecting to top the track cycling

2008-08-14T18:26:00.000-07:00

posted 16 hrs ago | 3 Views | View Source: By NAOMI KOPPEL Associated Press

BEIJING (AP) _ Britain team manager Shane Sutton said he will be disappointed if his cyclists don't come out on top at the track at the Olympics.

If the results of this year's world championships are repeated over the next week, Britain can expect to come away with seven gold medals and one silver in the 10 events. However, those championships were held on the team's home track in Manchester, and some other countries have also suggested that the British have peaked too early.

"I think we would be disappointed as a team if we didn't get close to what we did in Manchester," said Sutton, a former Commonwealth Games gold medalist for Australia who is one of the topflight coaches brought into Britain's well-funded cycling program.

"Things are going well. We are the best we can be. Whether that is good enough we won't know. But everything is ready to go and we just want to go in there tomorrow and get on with it."

Success has come quickly in cycling since Britain started pouring money into programs aimed at getting results at the 2012 London Olympics. But Sutton said there was still much work to do in the next few years.

"If you stop looking for marginal gains in any area, you're going to get caught," he said.

Canadian team manager Dan Proulx said he believed that Britain would be the standout nation in track cycling, but there was still room for doubt.

"Countries have known that that would be the case for a while now, and so they have really upped their game," he said. "But the Brits have shown that they are going to be a tough act to beat."

Proulx said there's also a good reason why the British are concentrating on track cycling rather than the other Olympic disciplines of road racing, BMX and mountain biking

"It has the most medals available," he said.

Despite the emphasis on track, Britain already has two cycling medals, a gold and silver in women's road racing, and 19-year-old Shanaze Reade will start as the hot favorite for the inaugural women's BMX title.

Elitewave Rider Wins World Cup

2008-08-08T08:25:00.000-07:00

Catharine Pendrel and Marie-Helene Premont swept the top two places at a World Cup mountain bike race on Sunday at Bromont, Que.

It's the second one-two finish for Canadian riders on the circuit in as many weeks.

Pendrel, of Kamloops, B.C., claimed her first World Cup victory in one hour, 37 minutes and 43 seconds. Premont, from Chateau Richer, Que., and an Olympic teammate of the winner, finished one minute, 53 seconds behind.

Katrina Nash of the Czech Republic was third, 2:39 off the pace.

Premont virtually assured herself of winning the overall World Cup title by increasing her overall lead in the World Cup standings to 1,420 points with two events remaining, while Pendrel moved into second with 973 points.

The two Canadian riders rode away from the rest of the field on the first lap of the four-lap, 18.4-kilometre race, with Pendrel dropping Premont on the second lap. The Quebec rider lost more time with mechanical problems which required a stop in the technical pit.

Nash was able to catch up to her, but then ran into her own technical problems.

Pendrel Featured in New Brunswick

2008-07-27T17:15:00.000-07:00

While New Brunswick produces plenty of potatoes, the province isn't well-known for its Olympic athletes.

Enlarge Photo But a farm near Harvey Station sprouted Catharine Pendrel, one of just two Canadian women competing at the Beijing Olympics in mountain biking.

It's cliché to say "they grow 'em big on the farm," but in Pendrel's case, it wouldn't apply anyway.

At five-foot-five and 109 pounds, her coach Dan Proulx says she's a small package of power that just keeps getting better at her sport.

"She's tiny and she's absolutely a powerhouse," says Proulx. "She's all racer, just built for climbing."

The two first crossed paths in 2002 when Pendrel moved to study at the University of Victoria. She joined the triathlon club as a way to meet people, and ended up meeting both Proulx, and her husband Keith Wilson, who she married in December, 2006.

But Proulx hasn't always thought so highly of Pendrel's ability.

"I was starting a pro women's cycling team and had to pick a sixth rider. I had a choice between two girls on the triathlon team and Catharine just wasn't strong enough so I couldn't pick her," laughs Proulx. "She went from not being strong enough to make that squad to one of the best in the world. Obviously, she had the genetics the whole time and just needed some help to bring that out."

The 27-year-old's athletic bloodline includes grandfather John Pendrel and his brothers Fred and Roy, who were champion speedskaters in Ontario in the 1920s.

Her first major influence in cycling was her older brother Geoff, who gave her an old bike back in high school. Geoff, now a world-class downhill racer, encouraged her to try a race in the New Brunswick Cup series.

"It was a lot of fun," Catharine Pendrel recalls. "People were really great, everybody's camping out of the back of their car, road trips every weekend. "¦"‰Then I realized once I actually started to get good at it, it was fun on a competitive level as well."

Pendrel has been riding for a long time, just not necessarily a bike. She grew up around horses on the farm in Smithfield Settlement and in her younger years, equestrian was her sport of choice.

"As a baby she would sit on the back of a pony," says her father, Bruce Pendrel. "I think without even realizing it she was quite athletic, and the other thing about equestrian is, there's a lot of discipline. You spend 10 times the amount of time taking care of the horse as riding it and having fun."

After changing from hoofs to wheels, Catharine went from the New Brunswick Cup to the 2001 Canada Games in London, Ont., where she finished sixth. But she really didn't get serious about training until she met Proulx.

"When I was in New Brunswick I just rode for fun and did what I thought I had to do," said Pendrel, who now lives in Kamloops, B.C., where the trails are plentiful and her husband teaches high school math.

Proulx introduced her to much more scientific methods, from working on technical mountain bike skills to long-distance endurance rides to interval training, which consists of intense bursts followed by periods of rest. She cracked the national team in 2004, and has continued to squeeze her tiny frame onto an ever-shrinking squad: there were seven Canadian women at the 2004 world championships, compared to just two at this year's Olympics.

Pendrel, a member of the Luna professional team, is ranked eighth in the World Cup standings, and she finished second in a World Cup event in Mont-Ste-Anne, Que. last month. She was behind only Canadian teammate Marie-Helene Premont, who won a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

Pendrel competes on Aug. 22, and won't be heading to China until Aug. 17, skipping the Opening Ceremonies to limit exposure to heat and pollution. She has been working with a physiologist to develop strategies to manage the intense heat during the two-hour race. The team will also have anti-pollution masks available at the Games, although Pendrel doesn't think she'll use one during competition.

She's shooting for a top-five finish, which Proulx says is realistic.

"Every year she's improved at least one big step, from being competitive in Canada Cups a few short years ago, to competing at nationals and world championships. Olympics are the next thing," says Proulx. "She's going to be a top-five, top-six competitor and (if she goes on to the 2012 Olympics in London), she'll be in the medals for sure."

Her husband and parents will be in Beijing, along with Adrian Gill, a cousin who lives in England. Her mother says, if she sets a goal, she'll figure out a way to reach it.

"This is a girl who was brought up in Harvey Station, a community of (350). We live on a farm. And she's been able - through determination and a lot of support - to go all the way to the Olympics," says Bertin. "It's really motivating for kids who think the Olympics are just a dream that's totally unattainable."

Wrubleski wins battle of Olympic-bound cyclists

2008-07-06T02:35:00.000-07:00

Saturday, July 5, 2008 | 9:42 PM ET CBC Sports Alex Wrubleski and Leigh Hobson can only hope they duplicate Saturday's performance at the Canadian national cycling championships when they go to the Beijing Olympics in August.

Erinne Willock led out her professional cycling teammate Wrubleski until the final kilometre, when the Regina native went to the front and outkicked Hobson at the line in the women's road race.

The 114-kilometre event was a race of attrition, with the field of 60-plus riders whittled down to 12 shortly before the halfway point after a series of attacks by favourites, including Wrubleski, Hobson (Cambridge, Ont.), Willock (Victoria) and national time trial champion Anne Samplonius (Montreal).

The group stayed intact until the final few kilometres, when it began to splinter under constant attacks by Willock and Wrubleski.

"Erinne was so strong," Wrubleski said from St. Georges, Que., site of the Canadian championships. "She had me hurting on the climbs. We had discussed a couple of strategies before the race, and we knew that if it came down to a sprint that Erinne would be working to set me up.

"It worked out perfectly. I think it shows that we have a strong team for Beijing."

Felicia Gomez of Fredericton finished third in the sprint to take the bronze medal.

Julie Beveridge of Calgary was seventh and won the under-23 age category title.

With files from the Canadian Press

Canadian Olympic Mountain Bike Team Announced

2008-07-06T01:38:00.000-07:00

Catharine Pendrel becomes the second Elitewave athlete to be officially named to the Olympic Team. Congrats Catharine!!!!

The Canadian Cycling Association has formally released the names of the two men and two women who will represent Canada in the mountain bike events at the Beijing Olympic Games in August. There are no surprises: it will be Geoff Kabush and Seamus McGrath for the men, and Marie-Helene Premont and Catharine Pendrel for the women.

"All four have a history of strong performances at the international level," commented Sean O'Donnell for the CCA. "It is a strong team, a very experienced team, and we feel there is good medal potential."

Both Premont and Pendrel have been on the podium during the World Cups this season, with Premont the current World Cup leader. Premont was the silver medalist at the Athens Games in 2004.

"I knew that I will be on the team for a while, so it's not a big surprise," commented Premont. "But I'm very happy about the team, I think we can do great things at the Games."

This will be Catharine Pendrel's first Olympics. The Kamloops-based rider moved into the ranks of top-10 contenders last year, and has now stepped up to top-5.

"What does being named to the Olympic team mean? That's a big question. It means so many things. It's an incredible honour to go for the number 1 ranked country in women's mtb. I feel like it is my way to give back to the people that have helped me get here. My coach, Dan Proulx, my husband Keith, my parents Bruce and Johanna and my brother Geoff, and many great sponsors present and past: Luna and ClifBar, Norco and the Bike Barn. I know it is going to be an amazing experience."

"As for my Goals & Expectations: Last year the CCA stated that their goal for the women was to earn one medal and one top 5. I have prepared this year with that goal in mind. I didn't just want to make it to the Olympics, but wanted to go, knowing I could do a top 5 there. My goal will be to ride the best race I can. After racing the test event I think I can have a strong performance on that course and after two great Worlds I know I can be competitive when the other women are on the top of their game."

On the men's side, it is a second trip to the Olympics for both Kabush (Sydney, 2000) and McGrath (Athens, 2004). Each finished 9th, and each is looking to improve upon that results.

"It has been eight years since my first somewhat unexpected trip to the 2000 Olympics and since then it has been my primary goal to return to what is the biggest stage in sport," explains Geoff Kabush. "The last couple years have been great but I never take anything for granted; it is a great honor to finally see my name down on paper representing Canada at the Olympics again."

"Since my last trip I have matured a lot as an athlete and I am excited to be heading to Beijing as I am coming into my prime. Team Maxxis has provided me with incredible support leading into this year and I feel very strong mentally and physically as the Games get closer; I feel like I have been saving a little bit of my batteries for this final push in the next couple months."

"I respect my competition but I am not intimidated and I feel like I can really compete at the front of the race if everything comes together on August 23rd. It is a lot of fun racing my bike and I want to say thanks to everyone who has supported my career along the way."

Seamus McGrath, who is about to start the BC Bike Race on Saturday, spoke with us from Victoria. "It's awesome. I'm totally excited about it, and glad to get the call. Obviously, when you go to the Olympics there's a lot of pressure because everyone is looking for a medal. But when I look back now, 9th was a very good result. Now, a top 5 finish is a goal that I have."

"To prepare I will be doing the BC Bike Race to revisit my base; it will be good, hard training. After that I will focus on good rides in Mont Ste Anne and Bromont (World Cups); the timing is very good for my preparation. And the fact that I am used to the summer heat, being from Ontario is definitely going to be a big factor, I hope."

Coach Dan - Olympic Team Manager for Cycling

2008-07-06T01:10:00.000-07:00

Sean O'Donnell, the Manager of High Performance Programs, who has been with the Canadian Cycling Association for seven years, will be leaving the CCA at the end of this month to move to a job with Sport Canada.

Sean came to the CCA with no background in cycling, but a willingness to learn, and has progressed through the years to become a key member of the national team program, with a highlight being the role of Team Manager for Canada's Olympic cycling squad in 2004.

For us at CC, Sean has been an invaluable resource, and one of the first people we have called on with questions about national team projects, rankings, etc.

Good luck with your new position, Sean.

Hi everyone,

As a small number of you have already heard, I recently submitted my resignation to the CCA. I will be working up until July 4 and am leaving to take a position with Sport Canada. After seven years with the CCA, this was a very difficult decision for me to take. My family and I are certainly excited by the opportunity that lies ahead for me.

It has been a privilege for me to work in this office with our staff, to have worked with some outstanding coaches and most importantly to me to have worked with our incredible athletes. I leave with many good friendships and tremendous memories, having been fortunate enough to share in some small way in many of our successes over the last seven years.

Unfortunately, my decision means I will not be on site at the 2008 Olympic Games. My role at the Olympic Games will be filled by Dan Proulx, a cycling coach from Victoria, who has been involved with CCA in the past as a project coach and manager. I have complete confidence in Dan that he will ensure our Olympians have an exceptional level of support on site in Beijing.

As I hope you are aware, the CCA is going through a search right now for a new Chief Technical Officer and hopes to have someone in place this fall. I have agreed to work one-day a week in the office from July 15 – September 30 overseeing the transition and directing some specific initiatives. My position will remain vacant, allowing the new CTO to be involved in the restructuring of the High Performance department within the office.

Thank you for your support and cooperation. Good luck to you all this summer.

Sean O'Donnell

Wrubelski Officially Named to Olympic Team

2008-07-06T01:00:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Alex on being the first Elitewave athlete to be officially named to the Olympic Team!!!!!

The Canadian Cycling Association today released the names of the three men and two of the three women who will represent Canada at the Beijing Olympics in the road events. They are Alex Wrubleski and Leigh Hobson for the women, and Ryder Hesjedal, Michael Barry and Svein Tuft for the men. The third women's spot is under dispute at the moment, and expected to go through an appeal process.

All riders will compete in the road races, with one each selected for the men's and women's time trials. The men's time trial rider will be Ryder Hesjedal, and the women's is to be determined after the National championships, but is expected to be Alex Wrubleski. There is also a good chance that Canada will receive a second men's time trial spot, according the Sean O'Donnell, Manager of High Performance Programs. In that case, O'Donnell says that Svein Tuft will get the nod.

More than in the past, the teams were selected to work in the road races as teams, rather than a collection of disparate riders. All riders have the ability to go the distance on a hard course with a long climb on each lap.

In the men's category, Ryder Hesjedal is an obvious choice, based on his third in the GP d'Ouverture La Marseillaise race in France, his 8th overall at Tirreno-Adriatico and 60th at the Giro d'Italia.

Ryder sent the following e-mail response to being named to the team:

"I am very excited to be going to my second Olympics, this time in different events then the first! I look forward to doing both the road race and time trial. To recieve this news while training for the Tour de France is a real dream come true!"

(Editor's Note: Hesjedal confirmed that he is headed to the Tour de France - "The offical team selection is after Route de Sud this weekend...as I am not racing [Sud], and preparing for the Tour under the team's direction I would say it is a safe bet....")

Michael Barry is Canada's only ProTour team rider, and is well used to the distances and level of competition that will be faced. He was on Canada's squad for the 2004 Games, and came close to a bronze medal with a last lap attacked that was only caught in the final kilometres. Michael provided the following comments on being selected to the 2008 Olympic squad:

"I am excited to be representing Canada - this is always an experience I look forward to and it is a real honour to wear the jersey, especially at the
Olympics. In Athens, I finished the race with some "what ifs" as I came close to the bronze with a late attack in the race. I was alone, then Merckx caught me, I cramped on the final cobbled climb with less than 2 km to go, and that was it, I was caught by the chasing peloton and the opportunity was gone. So, I know what we need to do to get on the podium, to race well, and I am eager to get back to give it another go."

We have a great team for the Games - the best possible - and as a team I think we can fly the flag prominently in the race. Ryder has certainly proven himself at the highest level and has matured as a cyclist. Sven has achieved some consistent and outstanding results this year and last so the team is a complete one - well, as complete as can be with 3 riders. With the right racing and training prior I know we will all be competitive."

The third member of the men's road team is Svein Tuft, whose UCI Americas Tour win last season paved the way for Canada to get three spots for the men. This year, Tuft has taken a slower build up than previously, but still won multiple gold medals at the Pan Am Championships, plus a stage and the overall title at the Tour de Beauce; the first Canadian to win Beauce since 1995.

We also have a video interview with Sean O'Donnell at Mountain Bike Worlds about the men's selection process, and the selections for the men's and women's time trial, but are having difficulty getting it posted with the internet connectivity in Val di Sole.

On the women's side, both Wrubleski and Hobson had a lock on two of the three spots by their top-5 performances in World Cup races this spring. Wrubleski has multiple Canadian titles both on the road and in the time trial, while Hobson has been a long time mainstay of the national team, who is particularly well suited to the climbing course the riders will face in China.

"I am very excited and honored to be part of the 2008 Olympic road team and represent Canada in Beijing," said Alex Wrubleski. "This is the one event I have been working towards for many years, and now it's less than 2 months away."

The third member of the squad was selected after much deliberation by the selection committee, however, the choice cannot be released at this time. Sean O'Donnell admitted that the third spot was a tough choice.

"I can't say enough about what the women have done this year. Each of them have stepped up and they all worked towards that common goal of getting us that third spot at the Olympics. Certainly Leigh and Alex with their results at the World Cups speak for themselves. The hardest decision was the Committee Choice, and when you go to the Games you want to bring the best team. I think to bring together three [riders] who can work towards a common goal was the most important thing."

"If you look at the riders who were in the mix: Erinne [Willock], Anne [Samplonius], Felica [Gomez], Julie Beveridge ... they were all part of the Olympic pool, and you could probably make a good case for each of them. You pick someone who has number of results to back up her nomination."

Melanie Vaughan Wins Ore Crusher MTB Race!

2008-05-12T08:39:00.000-07:00

Elitewave's Melanie Vaughan won her first race of the year this weekend in Squamish. Results to follow.

Tuft Wins Pan Am Gold Again

2008-05-06T22:15:00.000-07:00

By Canadian Team Manager, Dan Proulx

Svein Tuft won a second gold medal at the Pan American Cycling Championships in Montevideo, Uruguay today. Tuft took the gold medal in the Men’s Points Race ahead of Daniel Halloway of the United States and Antonio Cabrera of Chile. Zach Bell was fourth and was an integral part of Svein’s win tonight.

Canada had two strong contenders in the race and two shots at winning. The field was primarily concerned with Zach Bell. Bell launched several attacks in the early part of the race – winning four of the first eight sprints. Zach made several attempts to get away and lap the field but each move was brought back. Bell was a marked rider. Everyone was extra vigilant when he hit the front of the race.

At the midway point of the race, Zach and Svein were part of an eight man break that took a full lap on the field (worth an automatic 20 points). The move included both Cabrera and Halloway. The race was down to eight serious riders in contention for a medal.

Midway through the race, Svein chased down a move that was attempting to take a second lap on the field. Cabrera and Halloway were in it. The group eventually lapped the field for a second time. This move put Svein into the lead by just one point over Cabrera and Halloway.

Three quarters of the race in, a dangerous move got off the front again. It contained Halloway and three lower ranked riders. The group quickly gained a half lap on the main field – threatening to take a full lap and gain a further 20 points. If the move was successful it would have put Tuft into second place with almost no chance to come back.

Zach, Svein and Cabrera chased hard at the front of the main field without assistance from any other riders. Eventually they were able to bring back Halloway’s breakaway. From the sidelines, it was an agonizingly long chase. Tuft remarked, “We knew we could bring them back in. We weren’t going to let them take the lap.”

The breakaway with Halloway was captured with 6 laps to go in the race. Svein was still leading the race by just one point over Halloway at this point. The final sprint was critical to preserving the win for Tuft. Down the back-straight it was Halloway who made the first acceleration – riding for Gold. Tuft stayed calm and powered over top of the sprinters lane drawing even with Halloway’s shoulder midway through turn four. Svein’s momentum carried him through to get second in the final sprint. Halloway finished 5th and did not score points. Gold to Tuft – his second win of the 2008 Pan American Championships!!!

The victory for Tuft was a team effort. Riding breathless around the apron, Bell’s only concern was that Svein had won. Bell rode hard in support of the Gold Medal. It was great to see these two racing so hard out there.

Tomorrow the competition resumes at 2pm with the Madison. The final day of competition will be Thursday where Zach Bell will represent Canada in the Omnium competition.

Competition at the Pan American’s will conclude this weekend with the time trial and road race. The courses will be challenging. The coast line is windy and the competition will fierce. Team Canada is up for the challenge.

Alex Wrubleski 4th at Berne World Cup

2008-05-04T20:20:00.000-07:00

Alex (far right in photo) emailed to say that she finished fourth today at the World Cup in Switzerland. The finish is still under protest because Alex's placing was not recorded on the official results. Alex is confident it will all be worked out.

Catharine Pendrel 9th at Madrid World Cup

2008-05-04T20:11:00.000-07:00

Here is the latest from Elitewave's Catharine Pendrel (Luna) who all but assured her spot on Canada's Olympic Team with a 9th place finish in today's World Cup in Madrid. Here is the race in Catharine's own words "another solid race, and top 10 for all the Lunas. My race felt good. I raced hard i just couldn´t cover some of the moves that would have moved me up a couple more positions. 6th was soo close. It was a pretty tight & fast race. My back is letting me know i worked hard. Mical was pumped to finish 3rd canuck."

Sarah Gets 13th Final Stage Tour of Gila

2008-05-04T20:08:00.000-07:00

Sarah finished her first big pro race in fine style - getting 13th in today's final stage of the Tour of Gila. She finished 21st overall on the General Classification. The race was won by Leah Goldstein (ValuAct Captial) who rides with Sarah on Canadian projects with Total Restoration. Elitewave rider Alison Testroete was second in two of the stages in this year's race.

Svein Tuft Wins Gold At Pan Ams

2008-05-04T20:00:00.000-07:00

By Canadian Team Manager, Dan Proulx

Svein Tuft raced consistently and strongly to take the Pan American Championships in the Pursuit today in Montevideo, Uruguay. Svein rode 4:46 in the qualifier and headed into the final (less than 45 minutes after the qualifier was held) with a time that was nearly six seconds faster than his closest rival from Argentina. In the final, Svein rode another 4:46 to take the Gold Medal – Canada’s first of the championship. Svein rode smoothly and powerfully in the event – finally breaking his opponent in the final kilometre of the race.

It was incredible to see how much honour Svein’s win commanded. The Pan American Championship win is very prestigious. Svein was congratulated over and over again by fellow riders and coaches from many different countries. The podium presentation was held in front of filled to capacity spectator stands. The race was also televised live on National television. Svein’s win was a great start for Canada’s Pan American competition.

The track in Montevideo is an outdoor 333m with a steep banking and a very rough surface. Times in all events were slowed by the windy conditions this evening. Svein rode a very good time tonight.

Zach Bell and Svein Tuft were both set to ride the scratch race this evening which was set to begin after the Pursuit, Team Sprint, 500m and Opening Ceremonies. The race was scheduled for 7pm on the official program (confirmed at the managers meeting held in the morning). Suddenly, the scratch race was moved to immediately follow the medal presentations for the pursuit, team sprint and 500m (over one hour earlier than officially scheduled). Svein was in doping control (and prohibited from leaving for his event) when the riders went up to the rail. Zach was just arriving at the track with over an hour to prepare for the published start time of the race. Many teams were caught off guard by the sudden change and had to scramble to get riders to the start. Unfortunately for both Zach and Svein it wasn’t possible to get to the start in time. No official protest was possible. I spoke with the Chief Commissaire who simply stated “schedule change”. I showed him the official schedule that had been given to managers in the morning (showing Pursuit, Opening Ceremonies - then Scratch Race at 7pm). Again, the only reply was “schedule change”. It was a very frustrating situation to say the least. No official Communiqué was ever released regarding the schedule change (despite all changes for Monday’s program being done with standard Communiqués.)

The Opening Ceremonies were to feature over 50 performers who were to be the entertainment at the ceremony. They had arrived before 5pm to prepare for the scheduled 6pm start. They were moved because of the “schedule change” to the end of the night’s program – performing after most of the riders and staff had already left for dinner. The schedule change had obviously come as a huge surprise to more than just the riders!

The frustration from this event will be put to good use in the remainder of the championships where Svein and Zach will be solid medal threats in every event they ride. The circumstances surrounding the scratch race has further strengthened their resolve to do well in the Championships.

Despite today’s difficulties, Svein’s win sets the tone for how Canada expects to do at these championships. Svein is coming off some very tough racing at the Tour of Georgia and his form will only improve as the competition progresses. Zach continues to improve each day as he recovers from a shoulder injury suffered prior to the World Championships.
Zach Bell’s chiropractor, Jenn Turner of Vancouver, has volunteered her expertise at the Championships here in Uruguay – looking after Svein and helping Zach with daily therapy on his shoulder. According to Turner, “Zach is healing at a remarkable rate”. This bodes well for Zach’s continued success on the track this summer.

Monday is a rest day for the Canadian endurance riders at the Pan American Track Championships. They will compete again in the Men’s Madison on Tuesday.

Testroete Podiums Again

2008-05-03T20:22:00.000-07:00

Elitewave's Alison Testroete (Aaron's Pro Cycling) earned another podium position - taking second in Stage 4 of the Tour of Gila - the Silver City Criterium. Sarah Stewart (Proman) continues to gain strength each day - earning an 18th place today! Great work girls!!!

Stage 4: Downtown Silver City Criterium

Pro/1 Women - 43.5 km (25 laps)
1. Rachel Heal (GBr) Team TIBCO 1:05:31
2. Alison Testroete (Can) Aaron's Professional Women's
3. Suz Weldon (USA) PROMAN Racing
4. Leda Cox (Gbr) America's Dairyland all s.t.
5. Joanne Kiesanowski (USA) Team TIBCO 0:08
6. Anne Samplonius (Can) Cheerwine Cycling
7. Virginia Perkins (USA) PROMAN Racing
8. Kristin Sanders (USA) Aaron's Professional Women's
9. Kristin McGrath (USA) Colavita/Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light
10. Felicia Gomez (Can) Aaron's Professional Women's
11. Linsey Bradshaw (USA) DeWalt
12. Betsy Shogren (USA) America's Dairyland
13. Leigh Hobson (Can) Cheerwine Cycling
14. Julie Beveridge (Can) Aaron's Professional Women's
15. Rachel Lloyd (USA) PROMAN Racing
16. Melanie Meyers (USA) Specialized D4W/Bicycle Haus
17. Amber Rais (USA) Team TIBCO
18. Sarah Stewart (Can) PROMAN Racing
19. Helen Kelly (Aus) Team TIBCO
20. Megan Hottman (USA) America's Dairyland

Alison Testroete Second at Gila Stage 2

2008-05-02T17:27:00.000-07:00

Elitewave's Sarah Stewart (Proman) and Alison Testroete (Aaron's Pro Cycling) are competing at the Tour of Gila this week. After a tough winter in Calgary (with less than ideal training), Alison almost got herself a stage win yesterday. Sarah rode hard in support of her teammates on the Proman Cycling Team and was active in helping the ValuAct Team reel in the main break - which Alison and breakway companion Amber Rais survived.

Story from www.velonews.com

Held on nearly the same course as the men, but a few hours later and in perhaps even more wind, the 88-mile women's race featured a successful long breakaway of three riders.

The NOAA reported winds from the west at 33mph — gusting to 45mph — on Thursday afternoon ... the race's final 18 miles were headed straight into the wind.

Tibco's Amber Rais outkicked Alison Testroete after a long breakaway.
Photo: Action ImagesAmber Rais (Tibco), Anne Samplonius (Cheerwine) and Alison Testroete (Aaron's) got together off the front after the hair-raising Sapillo Crossing descent, about 28 miles into the race.

Testroete, from Abbotsford, British Columbia, was the best placed of the three, at 5:03 behind race leader Leah Goldstein.

On a tailwind ride down the Mimbres Valley, the trio built up a maximum lead of more than 4 1/2 minutes, which had Goldstein's team nervous. Goldstein had just two teammates with her in the lead group and they got little help from the other teams.

Testroete, who used her descending skills to initiate the break on the Sapillo descent, said she never would have taken off if she had known what the last miles were like, once the course turned into the wind and hills on the wide highway leading back to the start/finish at Fort Bayard.

"We came up the first hill at the feedzone and I thought, ok, I can make it. And then we got to the top and I could see another hill, and then another. But we just kept trading pace and we kept moving somehow," she said.

In the final miles the gap came down to about two minutes, just enough margin for the three women in the break to engage in some cat-and-mouse tactics in the final kilometer.

Rais finally jumped with about 200 meters to go and held off Testroefe and Samplonius.

"It was what you might call an exquisite suffer fest," said Rais, a Reno, Nevada, native who lives in Austria but is racing this summer in the U.S.

"On the last few hills we were getting blown all over the place and it felt like we were moving at a snail's pace," she said.

Goldstein finished in the middle of the pack and will maintain her overall lead.

"We pulled it off," she said. "Now we just will to look forward to the time trial, the crit and another day of hell," she said, referring to the Gila's last stage, the Gila Monster, which will take the women 72 miles and the men 106 miles.

Sarah's First Big Race

2008-05-01T17:42:00.000-07:00

Sarah is competing in her first big race with a pro team at the Tour of Gila. She will be a worker for the Proman Cycling Team. According to the team manager, Sarah had a really strong day and was able to do some great efforts in support of the team. She also climbed well up the course's final 25km climb. Elitewave's Alison Testroete is also competing in the race - her first since a stellar early season performance at Redlands.

Pro 1/2 Women - 115.8 km
1. Leah Goldstein (Isr) ValueAct Capital Cycling Team 3:45:18
2. Kristin McGrath (USA) Colavita/Sutter Home p/b 0:28
3. Leigh Hobson (Can) Cheerwine Cycling 0:55
4. Kristin Sanders (USA) Aaron's Professional Women's 1:31
5. Andrea Dvorak (USA) Colavita/Sutter Home p/b 1:49
6. Kelly McDonald (USA) Touchstone Climbing 1:53
7. ? Asplund-Owens (USA) Cheerwine Cycling 2:06
8. Leda Cox (GBr) America's Dairyland 2:13
9. Stacy Marple (USA) Cheerwine Cycling 2:29
10. Sharon Allpress (USA) ValueAct Capital Cycling Team 3:03
24. Rachel Lloyd (USA) PROMAN Racing 5:03
25. Alison Testroete (Can) Aaron's Professional Women's 5:03
26. Sarah Stewart (Can) PROMAN Racing 5:03
27. Amber Rais (USA) Team TIBCO 5:06
28. Julie Beveridge (Can) Aaron's Professional Women's 5:06

Catharine 8th at Offenburg World Cup

2008-04-28T17:12:00.000-07:00

Catharine moved one crucial step closer to securing her Olympic spot today.

Here interview on Canadian Cyclist tells the story best.

Results - Unofficial

1. Irina Kalentieva (Rus) Topeak Ergon Racing Team, 2:00:19
2. Marie-Helene Premont (Can) Rocky Mountain, at 0:33
3. Ren Chengyuan (Chn) Chinese national team, 1:21
4. Margarita Fullana (Esp) Massi
5. Ying Liu (Chn) Chinese national team
6. Sabine Spitz (Ger) Central Ghost Pro Team
7. Lene Byberg (Nor) Specialized Factory Racing
8. Catherine Pendrel (Can) Luna Womens MTB Team
9. Elisabeth Osl (Aut) Team Ghost International
10. Nathalie Schneitter (Sui) Colnago Cap Arreghini

Sparling and Stewart Take 4th Place at Race the Ridge

2008-04-27T17:15:00.000-07:00

Elitewave's Jamie Sparling and Sarah Stewart both claimed fourth place overall respectively the Pro Men's and Pro Women's category at Race the Ridge Stage Race this weekend. Sparling won the Road Race. Sarah was 3rd in the road race (after riding 3 laps alone between the pack and eventual race winner Leah Golstein) and 3rd in the time trial. Sarah went into the criterium second but was out maneuvered by a strong and tactically asstute Giant team who took intermediate sprint primes to move ahead in the overall omnium. Jamie's criterium was ridden in support of Rob Britton who was narrowly edged out by Zach Bell on total points.

Wrubleski 6th at GP Prijs Stad Roeselare BEL

2008-04-26T15:34:00.000-07:00

After riding in a break all day long, Alex completed yet another top level European professional race in the top 6. Alex will compete in the Bern World Cup next weekend before taking on the Tour de L'Aude - essentially the women's Tour de France.

129 km
1. Loes Markerink (Team Flexpoint) 3:31:00
2. Annemiek Van Vleuten (Vrienden v/h Platteland)
3. Kimberly Anderson (Team High Road Woman)
4. Laure Werner (AA - Drnk CT)
5. Karen Steurs (VLL Topsport Vlaanderen-Thompson Ladies)
6. Alex Wrubleski (Canadian National Team)
7. Edwige Pittel (Team Pro Feminin Les Carroz)
8. Catherine Delfosse (Lotto Belisol Ladies Team) all s.t.
9. Ina Teutenberg (Team High Road Woman) 0:17
10. Kristen Wild (AA - Drink CT)

Pendrel in Contention for Olympic Team

2008-04-24T10:32:00.000-07:00

Catharine Pendrel (Luna) is in a close competition for a spot on Canada's Olympic Mountain Bike Team. After placing 13th at the Houffalize World Cup on the weekend, Pendrel is currently holding the second Olympic team spot behind 2004 Olympic silver medalist Marie Helene Premont. Catharine's main competition for the second spot on the Olympic team is close friend (and often roommate on the National Team) Kiara Bisaro of Courtney B.C.

Catharine had an exciting race in Houffalize. She rode hard at the beginning of the race to find herself at the very top of the field - climbing ahead of legends like Gunn-Rita Dahle. Pendrel said she just got excited. She went out strong and faded slightly in the closing laps of the event. According to Pendrel "I just have to pace myself better. I can ride with the top girls, but I don't have to be leading them up the climbs".

This weekend, Catharine will have a second qualifying event in Offenburg, Germany. It's a climber's course which is well suited to her style. As Catharine gets used to racing again (after a long winter in Kamloops) I know she will steadily improve her performance and ride at a higher level. Houffalize was a good test and a reminder of what it will take to make the Olympic team - and race among the world's top elite riders.

If she is successful, Catharine will become the second Elitewave rider to qualify for the Olympic team in 2008.

Check out Catharine's Blog at http://cpendrel.blogspot.com/

Wrubleski 4th Fleche Wallone World Cup

2008-04-23T13:10:00.000-07:00

Alex finished fourth in one of the oldest classics on the UCI schedule this morning - Fleche Wallone (the Wallone Arrow). I just talked talked to her on the phone and she was very happy with how the race went. She said there were 35 girls all together at the bottom of the Huy (the final climb of the race). She said it was one of the toughest finishing climbs she has ever done. After the finish it took her an unusually long time to catch her breath. She said she was just bent over the handlebars trying to recover. The hill at the finish is so steep that Michelle had to actually push her after the finish. Now that she has recovered, she was feeling great and also feeling very relieved to have guaranteed herself an Olympic spot.

http://www.dailypeloton.com/displayarticle.asp?pk=12526

http://www.dailypeloton.com/displayarticle.asp?pk=12522

Results
1 Marianne Vos (Ned) Team DSB Bank 2.46.42
2 Marta Bastianelli (Ita) Italian National Team 0.01
3 Judith Arndt (Ger) Team High Road Women 0.02
4 Alex Wrubleski (Can) Canadian National Team 0.09

Sparling 4th at Tour of Walla Walla

2008-04-23T12:22:00.000-07:00

Elitewave's Jamie Sparling (Trek Red Truck Racing) rode strongly in the defense of the yellow jersey (held by teammate Rob Britton) at the Tour of Walla Walla this past weekend. Sparling rode very strongly throughout the event - benefitting from a two month stint in Hawaii in February. With the racing season underway, Sparling's speed will return. He is focused on performing well at the Mt. Hood and Tour de Beauce.

Sarah Stewart (Total Restoration) also rode well in the Tour of Walla Walla. After claiming a second place finish in the Friday race (not included in total G.C.) she went on to place 8th in the TT before getting third place in the stage 2 road race. After a 9th place finish in the criterium, she finished 7th overall. This was a great race for Sarah who recently battled back from a knee injury that temporarily sidelined her training.

Sarah was third in the Queen of the Mountain Competition

Sarah will be riding with the Proman Cycling Team at the Tour of Gila, New Mexico at the end of the month. http://www.promanracing.com/

Second Place for Sarah in Walla Walla

2008-04-19T08:06:00.000-07:00

Sarah Stewart (Total Restoration) battled her way back from a knee injury to take second in the Kellogg-Hallow Road Race in Walla Walla, Washington. The event was a prelude to the Tour of Walla Walla which begins this morning under cold temperatures.

Yesterday's road race saw a series of breakaway attempts from many different teams - with 4 riders eventually going clear - including Sarah and Giant's Jessica Hannah of British Columbia. Sarah, Jessica and their breakaway companions were eventually joined by two riders from the Wine's of Washington team. The breakaway steadily gained ground throughout the extremely wind and hilly course. The roads meandered through endless green fields of Walla Walla onions. The scenery was dramatic. In the end it was a sprint finish (pictured). Sarah finished second. Her knee seems to be holding up well and she is looking forward to today's time trial and a second road race this afternoon. The stage race concludes tomorrow with a criterium in downtown Walla Walla.

Harbour City Flyers First Practice

2008-04-19T06:36:00.000-07:00

The Harbour City Flyers program was officially launched on Tuesday. The athletes (age 10-15) started with an easy "slurpee spin". Riders came from as far away as Cumberland to attend the inaugural practice. The club is offering two weeks of free practices. Team cyclocross bikes arrive on Wednesday and jerseys will be here early in May. It's a small but enthusiastic start for the first program of it's kind in the region. http://www.nanaimojuniorcycling.com/

Some Photos from April Technical Camp

2008-04-19T06:17:00.000-07:00

Alex Wrubleski Leads Women's Prestige Series

2008-04-19T06:15:00.000-07:00

Mara Abbott (High Road) seemed well on her way to defending her double win of the Individual and Best Young Rider classifications in the 2007 Women's Prestige Cycling Series at the 2008 Series kickoff at the Redlands Bicycle Classic. She cruised to an impressive 25 second win in an 11 minute time trial on the opening day. Alex Wrubleski (Webcor) narrowed the gap from 29 to 19 seconds with a second place finish in the Beaumont Circuit race, moving from 5th to 3rd overall. Then another second place in the Redlands criterium brought her to 2nd overall, within 11 seconds of Abbott. Wrubleski delivered the coup de gras at the Sunset Road Race, where her win gave her a one second margin over Abbott."With a history of close finishes at Redlands (a one-second win in 2005 as well), Webcor devised a gutsy plan of attack to risk it all for the win rather then defend Alex's second place", wrote team director Karen Brems in a post-race E mail.

"This success came despite having four riders suffer broken bones in the last six week."Wrubleski's win, and the steady way she did it by strong performances in three consecutive stages of the Redlands Bicycle Classic, have marked the young Canadian as the rider to watch in the North American women's circuit for 2008. And the rider for the future, possibly challenging the rock star status that Abbott achieved in the 2008 season.Wrubleski's dominance is emphasized by the number of jerseys that she claimed on that fateful Sunday at Redlands. By the time the podium ceremonies were complete, she was wearing the Redlands leader's, sprinter's and climber's jerseys along with the individual, best young rider and sprinter's jerseys for the Women's Prestige Cycling Series.

The current leaders in the Women's Prestige Cycling Series are:Individual Classification
1. Alex Wrubleski, Webcor Builders
2. Mara Abbott, High Road
3. Katharine Carroll, Aaron's
4. Leigh Hobson, Cheerwine
5. Kim Anderson, High Road

Alex 6th at Drenthe World Cup

2008-04-13T05:39:00.000-07:00

Alex Wrubleski (Webcor) (2nd from right in photo) rode courageously today to secure Olympic Qualification points for herself and Canada at the Drenthe World Cup today. As you can see from her report...it was a gutsy performance.

Today was definitely the fastest and most furious race I have ever done! After Thursday's race, I didn't think it could get much harder. The pace wasn't as hard for me because I wasn't in a break all day but the terrain was unforgiving and need for good positioning was crucial. The race was 136km and consisted of 3 sprints at the end of 3 cobble sections, 3 premier sprints and 3 G.P.M sprints. People went full on from the start, I guess because the first G.P.M was 9km into the race. I clipped handlebars and hit so many wheels before that GPM just to stay in good position, that I really started to scare myself. Now when they said that there were 3 cobble sections in the race bible, we all thought that it meant like 500meters or so. But each section was 2-4km, and they were more like boulders! Haha I was sure that something had to be broken after that, either on my bike or my body. Going into the first Cobble section 38km into the race, I was probably top 40 (out of about 170), and the rest of the Canadians were a bit behind me. The gaps opened up immediately and by the end of the first cobble section the breaks were formed!! The first break had about 10-12 riders, the second had about 10 and I was in the third with about 8 riders. We could see the other groups 15-20 seconds ahead, and we were all working to catch them. The rest of our team were one group behind me with 40+ riders (including Suzanne Do Geode, and Marianne Vos). Since those 2 girls missed the breaks their teams drove it. After 2 more nasty cobble sections, and after over half the race had passed, we were caught by the large peleton behind us, which Anne was with. Now Nurnberger and DSB Bank went to the font for Suzanne and Marianne, to try and catch the front group. It didn't seem like it would be possible because the winds were so strong and there weren't that many of them chasing. But when a break of 3 riders went off the front break, they slowed, and we eventually caught them! So now there were 3 riders off the front and about 40-50 riders in our pack. So the fight for position never ended. Right before we entered the city circuit, we caught 2 of the girls. Chantal Beltman had attacked them and dropped them. Now some teams were sort of chasing and some were attacking, and it split up the field into 2 , I was in the front bunch with about 24 riders.. In the last 5km, I went with nearly every attack because I didn't want to lose any opportunity. None of them stuck and the moment I saw the 500m sign I jumped and into the turn before the finish, I knew that I went fairly early but didn't want to wait and risk getting boxed in or anything. I saw Vos, Ina, Suzanne pass me by 200m, and then Rochelle Gilmore passed me on the line. So I ended up 6th.I don't think this race report really sums up what we went through out there today, but I just wanted to bring up the main points. I was very happy with this result, as was the rest of the team. CiaoAlex

April Technical Camp a Success

2008-04-11T07:54:00.000-07:00

The first annual Elitewave.com Technical Camp has been great. We are in sunny Penticton while Calgary enjoys a late blast of winter. The group has been wonderful and the weather continues to warm-up as we head into the weekend.

The campers have been working hard on their early season fitness. We have also been doing a lot of video feedback and personalized technique coaching. I am confident that all of the campers have really benefited from this camp.

Look for next year's Technical Camp to take place April 6th to 10th.

Alex Reports on First European Race - Drenthe

2008-04-11T07:30:00.000-07:00

Today was our first race here in Holland, Drenthe. We arrived 2 days ago with the national team after Redlands and so not quite recovered from the jet lag, we knew today was going to be a tough day. The course was a 25km circuit of 5 laps, with 5 sprint lines per lap, 95% cobble stone, narrow and windy roads and of course completely flat.

The race started out really fast since the first sprint was only 3km into the race. After that there were some attacks that, Erinne, and Leigh were covering. At about 18km in a girl attacked into the a section with a few sharp turns, I was near the front and decided to go with her, shortly after there were 6 of us with a gap that was slowly growing. We kept a very high tempo, and since High Road missed it they were launching off girls from the main peleton to try to bridge, but nobody would let any of them go.

The tempo stayed high for the rest of the race, we never let up, the only chance i had to rest was when the girls went for the sprint lines, i just sat on to save some energy. The US team and a few others kept a steady pace back in the main peleton. When the gap was at about 3:50 and at about 2 laps to go High Road started chasing. We were all getting really tired, and a couple girls would occasionally stop pulling through which really started to frustrate a couple of the other girls. Since the gap was getting closer, (now at less than 2 minutes) one of the girls in our group attacked and nobody wanted to close it, then another girl went with her. So the other 4 of us just stayed working together about 15 seconds behind the other 2. Our group got caught at about 12km to go and they kept chasing hard until they caught the other 2 out front. I stayed near the front so I could be there for the final sprint, but with about 8-9 km to go as we entered the 1 meter wide nasty cobble section there was a crash right in front of me which i couldn't avoid! So i did a total flip over the handle bars and landed into the bushes right along side Alison Powers. It took a while to get unstuck,and fix my bike. The pack was long gone. Once i got on my bike, i noticed my radio was missing, and we were given strict instructions from Vincent before the race not to lose it! So i went back to get it. About 10 of us rode in the rest of the race together. Erinne and Leigh finished about top 25.

So unfortunately we didn't get top 12 where the UCI points are but we all got in some good hard miles in our legs! And i have to say that might have been the hardest race i've ever done... I've never held that hard of a tempo for 100km before !

We are all resting up now for the World cup on Saturday. Gina sat out today and will be racing on Saturday as well.

Wrubleski Takes Redlands Cycling Classic

2008-04-10T20:00:00.000-07:00

Elitewave's Alex Wrubleski (Webcor) earned her first win of the season in a classic American stage race - Redlands. She steadily progressed through the field throughout the four stages of the event. On the final stage she worked hard with her Webcor team to secure the overall general classification by just one second. Alex reported "I couldn't have done this without my team". Taking the final stage earned Alex the sprinters jersey, climbers jersey and the overall yellow jersey for the win. This victory is proof that Alex's new program is working. She's having fun and riding with some fire again. This is a good motivator as she heads into a two month tour with the Canadian National Team. "I had so much adrenaline and focus and I knew everyone was counting on me. I knew all I had was one job and that was to ... win the stage in order to win the overall."

Alison Testroete (Aaron's Pro Cycling), Elitewave's newest rider, finished 14th overall and was pleased with her result. "It's a good result for this time of year considering the weather I have been training in". It has been a tough winter for Testroete who has been living in Calgary's cold climate while finishing her post-secondary work. She hopes to rise even further up the pro ranks as she returns to her home on the lower mainland for the remainder of the season. "I have a great team and I am so excited about the season", said Alison.

Final GC
1. Alex Wrubleski (Can) Webcor Builders 7:07:50
2. Mara Abbott (USA) High Road at 0:01
3. Katharine Carroll (USA) Aaron's 0:16
4. Leigh Hobson (Can) Cheerwine 0:19
5. Kim Anderson (USA) High Road 0:21
6. Tiffany Cromwell (Aus) Colavita-Sutter-Cooking Light 0:41
7. Anne Samplonius (Can) Cheerwine 0:42
8. Christine Thorburn (USA) Webcor Builders 0:43
9. Julie Beveridge (Can) Aaron's 0:57
10. Kristin Sanders (USA) Aaron's 1:10
11. Stacy Marple (USA) Cheerwine 1:15
12. Leah Goldstein (Isr) Value Act Capital 1:21
13. Andrea Dvorak (USA) Colavita-Sutter-Cooking Light 2:56
14. Alison Testroete (Can) Aaron's 3:00
15. Suz Weldon (USA) Wines of Washington 3:02
16. Erinne Willock (Can) Webcor Builders 7:27
17. Meredith Miller (USA) Aaron's s.t.
18. Laura Van Gilder (USA) Cheerwine 8:22
19. Robin Farina (USA) Cheerwine 11:34
20. Rebecca Much (USA) Webcor Builders 12:52

66 Finishers

From http://www.cyclingnews.com/

Webcor's former Canadian national champion Alex Wrubleski slowly picked away at the time bonus sprints to claim the overall victory in the Redlands Classic. Wrubleski sealed the overall lead after she won the final sprint in the Sunset circuit race to take the ultimate stage victory ahead of Leigh Hobson (Cheerwine) and Kim Anderson (High Road).

Current US national road champion Mara Abbott led the Redlands classic with a twenty-five second cushion after the Sun prologue. However, after a tactical battle through the final stage, Wrubleski earned the necessary twelve seconds needed to overtake Abbott for the overall win, while Katharine Carroll (Aaron's) maintained her unthreatened third place position. While using her sprint to pick up time bonuses, Wrubleski captured enough points to solidify her lead in both the points and QOM jerseys.

"We were definitely the underdogs after the prologue," said triple jersey winner Alex Wrubleski. "So we knew it wasn't going to be impossible to win the overall but that it would be hard. I also knew that Mara was a really good climber but after the first climbing stage I was pretty sure that I was really close to Mara in terms of climbing ability. Because I knew that she wouldn't be able to get away from me on the climbs, our plan was to have me slowly pick away at all the time bonuses everyday and keep moving ahead on GC."

While Abbott expressed her disappointment in coming up short on seconds, she commended her team on their effort to hold onto the leader's jersey. "My team was amazing this week, they did everything perfectly," said Abbott. "It comes down to seconds some times in these races and unfortunately I wasn't able to get enough of those in the right places. I love Redlands and I'm looking forward to this race next year."

The women's nine-lap Sunset circuit race started in a heated battle to the top of the first QOM, where Wrubleski was able to win and reduce her time difference to Abbott from eleven to nine. "After winning the time bonus I knew that coming into the finish all I needed to do was win the stage and that would give me the additional ten seconds I needed to win."

Shortly after the crucial QOM the field split into a decisive front group of twenty riders. Anne Samplonius (Cheerwine) launched an attack that separated herself from the field for nearly six laps. The solo rider was later joined by Meredith Miller (Aaron's) until the pair was reabsorbed into the peloton with two laps to go.

"I really wanted to test my legs today but I knew that it probably would not stay away," said Samplonius, delighted that her Cheerwine team won the overall team competition. "It was important for us to force High Road to chase, which might have allowed Leigh Hobson to move higher up on GC."

With two laps remaining Stacey Marple (Cheerwine) and Erinne Willock (Webcor) set out on another breakaway, however Willock was called out of the break on the final lap to help her Webcor team-mates set up a stage victory for Wrubleski. "Erinne came back from the break to help us chase Stacey Marple and to help prepare our lead-out for the final time bonus," said Wrubleski.

Marple remained off the front until three kilometers to the line when Kim Anderson surprised the group and jumped early in an effort to capture the stage victory and the bonuses needed to keep Abbott in the lead. "We were happy to have the Cheerwine rider off the front at the end because if she had won she would have taken the time bonus and that would have been great for us," said Abbott. "Webcor really pulled it all together in the end."

Webcor's Willock and Thorburn brought Anderson back and Wrubleski into the position she needed to call Redland Classic her own. "I had so much adrenaline and focus and I knew everyone was counting on me. I knew all I had was one job and that was to ... win the stage in order to win the overall."

Pendrel starts season with best NMBS finish.

2008-04-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Catharine Pendrel began the 2008 Olympic campaign with a training racing in Fontana, California. Catharine competed with her new Luna teammates against some of the best competition in the United States. Pendrel finished in 4th place - just behind fellow Canadian Wendy Simms - her best finish ever in this type of racing. It's a great start to the season and excellent training for the speed and power need to qualify for this year's Olympic Team.

Pro Women
1. Georgia Gould (USA) Luna Women's MTB Team 1:57:40
2. Katerina Nash (Cze) Luna Women's MTB Team at 2:51
3. Wendy Simms (Can) Kona Les Gets4:21
4. Catherine Pendrel (Can) Luna Women's MTB Team4:26
5. Emily Batty (Can) Trek Bicycle Store Toronto 5:32
6. Kelli Emmett (USA) Giant MTB Team 5:33
7. Heather Irmiger (USA) Subaru-Gary Fisher 6:44
8. Lea Davison (USA) Trek/VW 6:55
9. Mical Dyck (Can) Trek/Terrascape Racing 7:04
10. Monique Sawicki (USA) Ellsworth 9:55

Top Cyclists Will Be Discovered

2008-04-01T14:26:00.000-07:00

National-level coach has no doubt he'll turn Nanaimo talent into elite riders
Krista Charke , The Daily NewsPublished: Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Junior cyclists in Nanaimo have a rare opportunity to learn from the best.
Dan Proulx, a national elite cycling coach, has moved to Parksville and he's all geared up to get kids to spin their wheels.

Proulx has no doubt he'll be able to turn at least one Nanaimo rider into a junior world championship contender within four years.

"The best thing about cycling is that it rewards someone who puts in the effort. Effort matters more than talent in this sport," said Proulx, who is starting up the Harbour City Flyers Junior Cycling Club in Nanaimo on April 15.

Proulx speaks from experience. During his 15-year coaching career he has moulded dozens of junior novice cyclist into Canadian and world champions as well as Olympic hopefuls.
His long resume of accomplished riders includes Calgary's track cyclist Ryan McKenzie, who is currently racing at the World Championships in Manchester, England.

McKenzie was 13 and had no cycling experience when he joined Proulx's cycling stable 11 years ago.Now 24 years old, McKenzie is just a sliver away from qualifying for the Olympic Games.
Victoria's Catherine Pendrel and Alex Wrubleski, who are both competing for a spot on Team Canada, are also products of Proulx's expertise.

"I've never coached a junior group where at least one kid didn't make it to worlds," said Proulx.
He figures Nanaimo will have a great pool of junior cyclist due to the solid Nanaimo BMX Association program run by Marie Davidson. The agility and bike handling skills developed by the young BMX riders are a huge asset and transferable to other cycling styles like mountain biking, road cycling and track riding.

In partnership with PacificSport, Proulx wants to pool together all the junior cyclists from every club in Nanaimo to help produce one solid junior cycling club that will explore different types of cycling.

"I'd like to connect the dots between all the different clubs and programs and give kids a place where they can pursue cycling," said Proulx.

Nanaimo's Curran Jongsma is looking forward to riding with kids his own age.
Jongsma, 11, has been racing for two years, but usually finds the person in the saddle next to him four times his senior."There's not a lot of kids who race," said Jongsma, who has been the youngest rider to compete in the Vancouver Island Cross on the Rocks cyclocross series for the past two years. Jongsma hopes the new cycling club will spark an interest in other kids his age to learn how to race their bikes instead of just riding them for fun.

Proulx said Jongsma is a perfect example of a young cyclist with the potential to be a great cyclist if given the right opportunities.

"Cycling isn't taken as seriously here as it is in other countries. In Europe, cycling is like hockey is here," said Proulx.

"The hardest nut to crack will be to get parents to see cycling differently."

The Harbour City Flyers is open to youth, 11-16 years old, with any level of experience and any type of bike.

For more information go to www.nanaimojuniorcycling.com.

KCharke@nanaimodailynews.com
250-729-4245

Interview with Pendrel

2008-03-31T10:56:00.000-07:00

Catharine Pendrel Interview
By Amy Smolens

Photos from the Luna Team Camp, by Amy Smolens

After two years with Norco, Catharine Pendrel has transferred to Team Luna for the 2008 season. Clif Bar is based in the Bay Area of California so Luna recently had its team camp in Mill Valley, just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. The four days in beautiful spring weather included “meet and greet” for the team members so Catharine could get to know the women she'd be spending a good part of the year with. The racers also got their Orbea bicycles (each gets a road bike, a full suspension and a hard tail,) Luna team kit, casual clothing, Avia sneakers for down time and Oakleys - all the things necessary to get ready for a long season that perhaps, will include a trip to Beijing this summer.

There were also plenty of photo shoots so the world could see just how stylish and professional Team Luna is. I was able to get a few minutes with Catharine before she and her teammates went out for a training ride in the hills of Marin County, the birthplace of Mountain Biking back in the 1970s.

Amy Smolens: Tell me about what you are doing here in the Bay Area?

Catharine Pendrel: I'm here to join up with my new team for 2008, the Luna women's mountain bike team. So we're just taking lots of photos and getting to know our teammates and preparing for the race this weekend in Fontana.

AS: And what do you think of your new Orbea bikes?

CP: They're awesome! Just a couple of little changes, a really hot paint job this year, and they feel really nice, they're really nice riding bikes so I'm looking forward to it.

AS: Tell me a bit about Team Luna - the organization, the riders and the ambience, for example.

CP: Luna is a super professional team. It's really cool to come down here and have phenomenal teammates that I'm hoping to learn a lot from. Everyone's really friendly and really welcoming and it feels really good to be here. I look forward to learning more about the Luna program as we go.

AS: Less than five months from now, August 22, is the Women's Mountain Bike race at the Beijing Olympics. Selections will be made by the end of June. There are 2 spots available for Canadian women. What are your thoughts and your approach toward making the team?

CP: I guess the way I like to look at it is if I can be the top Canadian then I for sure get to go (laughs!!) I think that always has to be your goal, to strive to be the best. But you know, there are a lot of selection events and it's gonna be a really tight competition with a lot of talented women out there, so I'm just gonna try and ride my best at each event. And you know, whether I make the Olympics or not I hope to have a really awesome season and if it just happens that a bunch of Canadian women have a great season…

AS: What do know from the CCA about what it's going to take to be selected?

CP: There are two women's spots and the first spot will go to the person with the highest UCI points taking her top two results. That includes the first five World Cups and the World Championships. And then the second spot will go to committee choice, which will be weighed heavily on the same criteria.

AS: When do you head to Europe for those World Cups and where will you be based?

CP: Our first World Cup is April 19th and 20th so the Luna women will head over the Wednesday before that. I'll be traveling with Luna while we're over there so we're going over for the first three, and then we'll actually come back in between for about three weeks to rebuild our training base and then we'll head back over for the next two World Cups and the World Championships.

AS: Will you target specific races which suit you best or will you try to be consistent and race as hard as you can from now until Olympic selections are made?

CP: I think that to be one of the best in the world and to deserve an Olympic spot you have to be good at everything. Definitely there are some courses that suit me well, like Fort William, I had an excellent Worlds there (6th place last year) and I hope to have a really strong race there again (June 7 & 8). Two of the courses will be new for me so I'm not totally sure, but just seeing some clips on video I think they're good courses for me. So yeah, I'm just gonna try and ride well at all of them, make the most of every race.

AS: Is there a danger of working TOO hard to qualify and getting burned out for the Games themselves, as happened to Team USA four years ago?

CP: I mean, there's always that possibility. You just have to pay attention to how you're feeling for the season. But what's different from 2004 to this year, is that in 2004 it was based solely upon cumulative UCI points for the U.S. team and now we're taking our top two results so as long as we have two phenomenal races then we're ok. It's not like we have to travel all across the world chasing points, we have to do six races and at least have two of those be really good.

AS: And the CCA can make selections before the end of June, right?

CP: Yeah, you could be preselected based on previous years. For example, Marie-Hélène (Prémont) is pretty much preselected for Canada because she has been a consistent podium contender for years now, and she was our Olympic Silver Medallist in 2004. So definitely she is considered to be part of the team already I think, so that allows her to focus her training specifically on being there for August.
AS: So basically Marie-Hélène has one spot locked up and the rest of you are going for the other?

CP: Yeah, exactly!

AS: In World Cup races is it a bit awkward that you're racing for Team Luna yet you're keeping an eye on the other Canadians vying for that Olympic spot?

CP: Not really. I mean every race I go into I'm going for my own personal best performance so I want to be beating people that I need to beat for those Olympic team spots but I also want to be beating them just because I want to do the best I can in that race. That's how I can keep doing what I'm doing.

AS: How is your confidence level and how do your performances at last year's Pan Am Games and World Championships give you confidence that you can make the Olympic team?

CP: Definitely last year was a great season for me and above my expectations. It gave me confidence that yeah, I CAN, I should be aiming to ride at the front of a World Cup because I know I can be there. And I definitely think that confidence is part of being able to actually ride up there because you have to feel like you belong there and that you have the ability to be riding there and that has helped for sure.

AS: I read an interview with you from a few years ago in which you said the Olympics were a dream to you. With what you've accomplished over the past year what are they now?

CP: Definitely the Olympics are still a dream but they are a realistic dream and one that I hope comes to fruition this summer!!

Busy month for Elitewave

2008-03-24T08:34:00.000-07:00

This month has been the busiest of my entire coaching life. In the last month I have been to Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary and also hosted 3 Youth Team clinics at various locations around BC. It has been fun, but life on the road has it's challenges. I am happy to finally be back in Parksville where I can get some riding in with Sarah before the regular racing season begins.

I am coaching an incredible group of elite athletes this year. I am continuing (6years plus now)to work with Olympic hopeful Catharine Pendrel, who is riding for Luna this year and about to head south for a training camp. Joining Catharine is fellow Olympic hopeful Alex Wrubleski (Webcor) who finished 9th at the Elite World Cycling Championships last year. I am also working with aspiring National team rider Alison Testeroete (Aaron Capital). Along with these riders, I am happy to continue coaching Jamie Sparling (Trek/VW), Dan Skinner (Total Restoration) and of course Sarah (Total Restoration). It's great to see so many good riders continuing to improve year after year. It's going to be a very fun year!

Next month we start with the first Elitewave.com Technical Camp for triathletes. From April 6-12th, I'll be in Penticton working with Ironman athletes on their preparation for Ironman Canada 2008. The focus for this camp is on technical feedback. I will be providing the athletes with detailed feedback on their bike fit, cycling technique, swim technique and run technique. There are only 8 athletes in this camp. I am looking forward to a relaxed and productive week with these athletes.

Juston Laprairie is participating in the April camp. It's great to see him finally take on Ironman. Juston was one of the first strong Juniors I coached back in Calgary (circa 1993). He made Worlds in Cinncinati and then retired from sport to pursue his education and career. For the past 15 years, he has been a successful realtor in Calgary. This year, he has decided to go for Ironman, one of his life's goals. I think he will be surprised at how fast he goes. Interestingly, from the first group of triathlon juniors I started working with in 1993, four riders have represented Canada at the Elite level in Cycling. Two have represented Canada at the World Triathlon Cahmpionships. At Ironman Canada this year, 4 other athletes from the original Triathletics Sport Club will compete. It's amazing to see the long term impact sport has on people.

In April, I will launch the next phase of junior cycling in Nanaimo. If you are interested in learning more, please check out http://www.nanaimojuniorcycling.com/

Thanks for reading.

Wrubleski 5th on Stage 3 at Tour of Geelong, 8th place on final general classification.

2008-02-20T22:36:00.000-08:00

Elitewave's newest athlete, Alex Wrubleski (Webcor) took 8th place overall in the Tour of Geelong in Austrlia. Alex had a strong time trial and very good road race (115km) on the final day of the event. This is a solid performance for Alex and a sign that she is on track for a great season.

STAGE 1 - Time Trial

1 Christiane Soeder (Aut) Cervelo-Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 11.28 (41.858 km/h)
2 Susanne Ljungskog (Swe) Menikini Selle Italia 0.36
3 Ina Teutenberg (Ger) Team High Road 0.37
4 Leonie Burford (Aus) NSWIS - CBD - Degani 0.49
5 Katheryn Mattis (USA) Webcor Builders Cycling Team 0.54
6 Kristin Armstrong Savola (USA) Cervelo-Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 0.55
7 Katherine Bates (Aus) Team High Road 1.00
8 Judith Arndt (Ger) Team High Road 1.00
9 Alex Wrubleski (Can) Webcor Builders Cycling Team 1.01
10 Linda Villumsen Serup (Den) Team High Road 1.06

89 Starters

________________________________________________________
STAGE 2

Alex now sits in 10th place overall on the GC at just over one minute behind race leader Christine Soeder. Alex finished 41st on the stage - which ended in a field sprint.
________________________________________________________

STAGE 3

Alex took fifth place today on the final stage of the Geelong Tour.

Results1 Ina Teutenberg (Ger) Team High Road 2.32.16
2 Oenone Wood (Aus) Team High Road
3 Regina Schleicher (Ger) Equipe Nürnberger Versicherung
4 Peta Mullens (Aus) Australian National Team
5 Alex Wrubleski (Can) Webcor Builders Cycling Team
6 Lauren Franges (USA) US National Team
7 Amanda Spratt (Aus) Australian National Team
8 Carly Hibberd (Aus) MB Cycles Womens Cycling Team
9 Rochelle Gilmore (Aus) Menikini Selle Italia
10 Tiffany Cromwell (Aus) Australian National Team
11 Lorian Graham (Aus) Vrienden Van Het Platteland
12 Miho Oki (Jpn) Menikini Selle Italia
13 Judith Arndt (Ger) Team High Road
14 Belinda Goss (Aus) VIS
15 Susanne Ljungskog (Swe) Menikini Selle Italia
16 Katheryn Mattis (USA) Webcor Builders Cycling Team 0.05

80 Finishers
_______________________________________________________
FINAL GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

1 Christiane Soeder (Aut) Cervelo-Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 4.41.14
2 Ina Teutenberg (Ger) Team High Road 0.10
3 Susanne Ljungskog (Swe) Menikini Selle Italia 0.25
4 Oenone Wood (Aus) Team High Road 0.45
5 Leonie Burford (Aus) NSWIS - CBD - Degani 0.49
6 Kristin Armstrong Savola (USA) Cervelo-Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 0.51
7 Katheryn Mattis (USA) Webcor Builders Cycling Team 0.52
8 Alex Wrubleski (Can) Webcor Builders Cycling Team 0.54
9 Judith Arndt (Ger) Team High Road 0.55
10 Alexis Rhodes (Aus) Team High Road 0.57

April Technical Camp Schedule Released

2008-02-18T08:26:00.000-08:00

The schedule for the 2008 April Technical Camp has been released. The schedule will feature video feedback sessions, bike fitting sessions and technical/interval sessions in addition to a unique menu of road rides. The goal of the camp is to provide a personalized camp experience for each athlete. We want to give the athletes a lot of tools to take home with them. After the camp, the athletes should know exactly what they need to do to improve.

The camp is targetted at Ironman and Half Ironman competitors. A limited number of spots are still available for this camp. The schedule is posted HERE

Total Restoration Cycling Team

2008-02-12T21:31:00.000-08:00

This year, Elitewave will partner with the Total Restoration Cycling Team. I will be working as the manager for the Women's Team which includes Israeli National Road Champion Leah Goldstein and Commonwealth Games triathlete Gillian Kornell. Sarah is also riding for the team and looking forward to joining up with the girls for another hyper competitive BC Superweek in July. The Total Restoration team is the brainchild of Cory Forrest. Check out the team's website HERE.

Life In The Fast Lane

2008-02-12T21:07:00.000-08:00

Cycling season is just around the corner. This year is going to be an exciting one with the Beijing Olympics just around the corner and Elitewave athletes battling for positions on the team. The year is shaping up to be one of the busiest cycling seasons ever.

Sarah and I have finally settled into our new house in Parksville. We are also looking forward to our Mt. Washington wedding at the end of August.

We just welcomed Buddy the scooter into our garage. He's cooler than he appears in the photo above - and he's the ultimate motorpacer. Sarah and I went out this morning for a training ride in the rain and she couldn't wipe the smile off her face...even with Buddy dropping her at 55+ km/hr. The scooter is going to be invaluable for Sarah's training because we can simulate racing more accurately and she won't have to worry about missing the weekly crits. in Vancouver. Buddy will also be showing up at Dan's Camp to provide the riders with a little more contact between them and the coach. If you are interested in a Buddy of your own check out Scooter Underground in Victoria.

I am working for Cycling BC out of PacificSport Nanaimo and enjoying the new office and surroundings. Nanaimo is an incredible place for riding. I think the riding is even better than Victoria. The roads are quiet and there are plenty of very long loop options available. The mountain biking in the area is superbe. This will be the perfect back-drop for the new junior cycling center I am creating at Malaspina University. The people around here are keen and extremely helpful. There is a lot of energy for sport here.

Dan's Camp Sold Out

2008-02-06T17:16:00.000-08:00

Dan's Camp 2008 is officially sold out. Thank you for your interest in the camp.

Please consider coming to the April Technical Camp. 8 spots are still available.

REGISTER FOR DAN'S CAMP FEBRUARY 6th at 6:00pm MST

2008-02-04T21:45:00.000-08:00

Hello Campers,

The instructions and registration form for Dan's May Camp are HERE

Remember, you cannot enter before February 6th at 6:00pm Mountain Standard Time.

All entries are handled on a first come, first served basis. Entries processed via email.

Camp and Accommodation Package Fees: $950.00

Camp Includes:
9 Nights at Spanish Villa Resort – Penticton, BC
8 Days of Coaching and Training Support (Workouts Sunday to Sunday)
Feedback on technique in all 3 sports with an emphasis on cycling
Private Pool Bookings
Pasta Fest
Ride Food
Car and Scooter Support
Professional Cycling Jersey

Entries must be sent to dan@elitewave.com after 6pm on Wednesday Feb 6th, 2008.

April Camp: Technical Camp 2008

2008-01-14T14:42:00.000-08:00

Location: Penticton, BC
Dates: Sunday Evening (April 6th) to Saturday Afternoon (April 12th)

Camp Features:
7 Nights at Spanish Villa ResortSmall coach to athlete ratio (18 athlete limit)
Video feedback on technique in all 3 sports with an emphasis on cycling
Personal Bike Fitting
Private Pool Bookings
Pasta Fest
Ride Food
Car Support
Cycling Jersey

Registration:
Registration is simple and easy for this camp. Send an email to Coach Dan indicating your wish to register. You will be sent registration forms which will be handled via snail mail.The camp will be filled in the order that the initial registration emails are received.

Cost: $810.00

Registrations accepted after 7:00pm Mountain Standard Time January 14th, 2008 mailto:dan@elitewave.com

Dan's Camp 2008

2007-12-28T19:12:00.000-08:00

We will be offering two camps this year.

Camp #1 "Early Season Base Camp" April 6-12th, 2008 (Sunday evening to Saturday afternoon) - Registration begins Jan 14th at 7pm (Mountain Standard Time)

Camp #2 "The Original Dan's Camp" May 10-19th, 2008 (Saturday evening to Monday) - Registration begins Feb 4th at 7pm (Mountain Standard Time)

The detailed information for both camps will be posted at http://www.elitewave.com/ and at http://www.danscamp.ca/

Catharine Joins Luna Pro Team

2007-12-20T21:05:00.000-08:00

The number-one ranked Luna Pro Mountain Bike Team is pleased to announce the addition of Canadian Olympic contender Catharine Pendrel (Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada) to its already formidable roster.Pendrel joins returning Luna Pro athletes Georgia Gould, Katerina Nash, Chloe Forsman, Shonny Vanlandingham, Alison Dunlap, Marla Streb and triathletes Terra Castro, Linda Gallo and Cathy Chesky for 2008.

Despite only racing four years at the elite level, Pendrel had a breakthrough ride at the 2007 World Mountain Bike Championships, finishing sixth on the technically challenging course. Her sights are now set on the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China."Being a part of the Luna Pro Team presents an incredible opportunity to progress as a racer," says Pendrel. "Luna offers excellent team mates and support and yes, lots of Luna Bars. Aside from being an ambassador for women's health and sport, Luna will help me continue to improve and perform as a world class racer. I see this as an exciting challenge and great motivation going into 2008."Team Manger Waldek Stepniowski notes, "Catharine is one of the most promising athletes on the circuit today and a great addition to the Luna Team. With Luna's support I think we can bring her up another level."

The Luna Pro Team has added 2006 XTERRA World Championship silver medalist, Danelle Kabush. She joins Shonny Vanlandingham, the winningest rider in NORBA National Series history, on the newly-formed Luna Pro XTERRA squad.Vanlandingham and Kabush will compete on the national and international XTERRA circuits, the Sea Otter Classic and selected National Mountain Bike Series events.This is the second significant expansion for the all-women's Luna Pro Team, which was founded in 2002 as a professional mountain bike team and now includes pro triathlon and XTERRA squads.In August of 2007 Vanlandingham approached team owner Gary Erickson proposing a switch to XTERRA racing as her primary focus in 2008. Gary agreed on the new direction and was quickly rewarded when Shonny placed fourth in the 2007 XTERRA World Championships two months later - A result that was the catalyst for Erickson to sign Kabush and form the Luna Pro XTERRA Team.A former competitive runner and an avid Nordic skier, Kabush scored a silver medal at the 2006 XTERRA World Championships. After completing her doctorate in sports psychology and taking last year off to have her first child, Kabush is focusing on the 2008 XTERRA circuit and World Championships."Very few people believe that it is possible to successfully balance an athletic career with full time Doctorate studies, a career as a mental training consultant and raising a child," said Kabush, continuing, "but with the support of the Luna Team I know that I will be able to once again race at the highest level in XTERRA...and I can't wait to hang out with Marla and our kids at the Sea Otter."

Cycling BC Youth Coach - Dan Proulx

2007-11-08T22:05:00.000-08:00

Elitewave Head Coach, Dan Proulx has been appointed as the Cycling BC Youth Coach. One of the first projects underway is an extensive series of camps for young cyclists. All of these camps will prepare athletes for the upcoming 2008 BC Summer Games.

Cycling BC news item HERE.

Oak Bay Junior Cycling Team Announced

2007-11-07T14:21:00.000-08:00

Elitewave is proud to announce the formation of the Oak Bay Junior Cycling Team. The new program will begin November 26th, 2007.

The program will guide new cycling athletes between the ages of 13-16 to from the beginner level to the Provincial Team and beyond.

For detailed information click HERE

Turkey Cross - Change to Master Men's Category

2007-10-06T15:50:00.000-07:00

The Master's race will now be held at 1pm. They will race at the same time as the women's field.

Please see Norm's technical guide for this change...sorry I can't change it on the Turkey Cross site at this time.

2007 Junior Cycling Festival

2007-09-20T18:54:00.000-07:00

The 2007 Junior Cycling Festival will be hosted by Elitewave and Dr. Walker's Cycling Club on Monday, October 8th, 2007. The event will be held at Juan De Fuca Recreation Center.

Click here for details.

Turkey Cross - Presented by Elitewave.com

2007-09-20T07:39:00.001-07:00

Elitewave.com is proud to present the first annual Turkey Cross Race on Monday, October 8th, 2007. Details of the event are posted HERE.

Pendrel 6th at World Championships

2007-09-08T08:20:00.000-07:00

Catharine Pendrel continued her upward path with an incredible 6th place at the World Mountain Bike Championships this morning in Fort Williams, Scotland. Pendrel, the Pan American Games Champion, has had an incredible season where she has edged ever closer to being selected for the Olympics in Bejing next year. This result is incredible as it is the 3rd time this year that Pendrel has had to produce a peak performance. Pendrel has shown that she has the potential for much greater things in the near future. Congrats Kika!!

Catharine will now focus on a pre-Olympics test event later this month in Bejing. It will be a key event in her preparation program for 2008.

Premont and Pendrel to Headline MTB Nationals

2007-07-20T07:59:00.000-07:00

07.18.07 - Prémont, Pendrel headline 2007 Tim Hortons Mountain Bike NationalsMontreal, July 18, 2007 (Sportcom)

– Mount Washington, B.C., on Vancouver Island is ready to host the 2007 Tim Hortons Mountain Bike Nationals July 19-22.Marie-Hélène Prémont, a three-time World Cup medallist this season, is the heavy favourite in the women’s cross country competition scheduled for Saturday. Her top challengers include Kiara Bisaro (B.C.,) and Catherine Pendrel of Kamloops. Pendrel, originally from Fredericton, won the cross country gold medal at the Pan Am Games this week.

‘’Marie-Hélène is a notch ahead of everybody but Kiara consistently provides strong performances. Catherine has had time to rest since the Pan Ams and she’ll be ready for nationals,’’ said Kris Westwood, the high performance program director for the Canadian Cycling Association.

In men’s competition, Geoff Kabush is the favorite. Seamus McGrath and Max Plaxton are his top challengers. All three riders are from B.C. ‘’Seamus can deliver strong performances and Max can keep close to other two, although his main focus is the under-23 title,’’ said Westwood. ‘’Mathieu Toulouse, sixth at the Pan Am Games, is another one to watch.’’In the women’s downhill, a new champion will be crowned with the absence of last year’s victor Michelle Dumaresq. On the men’s side, Tyler Morland seek to successfully defend his title.

BC Super Week

2007-07-19T08:17:00.001-07:00

Sarah (yellow) and Alena (2nd from right) along with teammate Jenny Trew.

It's been a very busy week. We are in the middle of BC Superweek - 9 races in just 7 days. Alena Radomsky (Giant Canada), Dan Skinner (Total Restoration) and Sarah Stewart (Symmetrics) are competing.

The week kicked off with the White Rock hill climb. It features a 1km climb that is steep and fast. Riders run this in heats - with the top 5 competitors competing in the final. Dan Skinner was the only Elitewave rider who really pushed this event finishing 22nd in the 64 rider field. Alena just rode up the climb in an effort to save her legs for the gruelling races to come. Sarah elected not to start due to a bit of sickness she has been struggling with lately. The Superweek events are an omnium style competition which means that riders can pick and choose their stages as they accumulate points. There is not total time as you might see in a traditional stage race such as the Tour de France. Alena Radomsky leads the field.

On Saturday the Tour De White Rock Criterium was held. In the women's race, Alena was in full attack mode for her team. Her job was to force the pace early and to string the race out - forcing other teams to chase and to work harder than they would like. Early in the race a break formed with all of the heavy hitters, but it was brought back. A lone Jazz Apple rider, Rushlee Buchanan (NZl) finally managed to escape from the field. Despite the strong riders in the pack, none of the teams were willing to work together to bring her back. She soloed to victory by over half a lap. In the field sprint it was Shelley Olds (USA) PROMAN/Paradigm followed by the new National Road Champion Gina Grain (Can) Expresscopy.com and Sarah Stewart (Symmetrics).

Sarah with teammate Marnie Hambelton

Sunday featured Canada's toughest road race. The Tour de White Rock road race winds its way up and down the bluff above the beach in scenic White Rock. It's a race of attrition. Riders are fall off the pace on each lap and it comes down to being a good climber and being tough as nails. In the women's race, it looked as though the selection for the lead group would be made on the first lap with Leah Goldstein (Symmetrics) leading the charge and coming through the first half lap with a strung out group along with some significant gaps to the chasing riders. Luckily for the field, the leaders were brought back and the back entered into the second lap together. On the first big climb of the second lap, the winning break was formed with Goldstein in command of a group that included Buchanan, Shelley Old, Erin Willock and Allison Testerote (Expresscopy). In the end, Goldstein (pictured above in the blue Israeli National Road Champs Jersey) was able to break free from this group of five and take an extremely well deserved win. The other girls from the break came in to the finish by themselves with the main field several minutes back and waiting for the final sprint. Gina Grain was the field sprint for 6th place.

In the men's race, it was an all Symmetrics affair with the team going 1,2,3 on the podium. The race was won by Will Routley - followed by Christian Meir and Cameron Evans. Only 23 riders out of the original 100 or so riders were able to complete the gruelling race.

Dan Skinner in the middle of the men's pro field.

PAN AMERICAN CHAMPION!!!!! KIKA WINS!!!

2007-07-14T13:32:00.000-07:00

Elitewave's Catharine Pendrel (Norco) was successful in her bid to win a gold medal at the Pan American Championships in Brazil. This is the highest performance ever achieved by an Elitewave athlete. This performance will surely be a stepping stone to greater performances at the international level as we approach the Olympics in Bejing!!

2007 Pan American Games - Elite Women’s MTB XC Flash - Canada's Pendrel Wins GOLD!
by http://www.pedalmag.com/

July 14, 2007 (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) – Canada’s Catharine Pendrel from Kamloops, BC, has won the gold in the Elite Women’s MTB race at the 2007 Pan American Games today in Outeiro Hill - the first medal at the Games. Here are some quotes from Pendrel after her win courtesy of MPCcommunications:

"It feels great to be the first medal of the Games."(On the Brazil Canada tight race for 3rd place) - "Obviously I want Canada to win the most medals, but I wish Brazil luck in their endeavours because it's exciting to win medals in your own country."

"I really enjoyed the course. It was well constructed and had a little bit of everything to challenge the riders. I was leading the event from the second lap and was keeping a good pace. On the last lap, Mary McConneloug (USA) managed to overtake me, and I thought I would lose. I gave my best and recovered the lead on one of the last curves of the track."

CBC Coverage

Vancouver Sun Coverage

Pan American Games MTB tomorrow!

2007-07-13T11:14:00.000-07:00

Catharine Pendrel (Norco) will be going for gold at the Pan American Games tomorrow in Rio. She will face a very tough level of competition. Based on her recent results and dramatic improvements this year, she should be on track to be on the podium at this prestigious competition.

Since joining Dan's program 5 years ago, Catharine has represented Canada at the World Championships three times. She won the silver medal at the Pan American Mountain Bike championships last November. She is also a likely candidate for her fourth World Championship team this September.

This year has been Catharine's most precise year of training to date. The program has be calculated to address each particular physiological performance area required for success at the international level. Catharine has worked extremely hard and has been very dedicated to the training program. She has also benefitted from the immense level of support of her technical advisor, husband and best riding buddy Keith Wilson.

In the coming years, Catharine will most certainly advance to the top level of international competition in mountain biking. She has the right ingredients to be a top contender.

Catharine's greatest strength has been her ability to keep both feet on the ground. She is a down to earth person with a passion for riding. She trains hard, but uses good judegment and is seldom swayed by "what everyone else is doing". Since Catharine has begun this journey, the process has always been focused on longterm development. She has trained optimally - not maximally as so many athletes are apt to try and do. Her workouts have purpose and they fit well within an overall multi-year progression. She has been methodical and consistent in following her training plan and adding her own judgement and personality to the program. She isn't out there doing anything crazy - she has just followed a good program, and kept things fun, consistently over a period of several years. As a result, there are so many tricks left in the training tool bag that can be brought out to make Catharine improve even more over the coming years.

Also competing at the Pan American Games this week will be two other athletes who got their start in cycling in Dan's Junior Program at the Olympic Oval National Cycling Center. Ryan McKenzie and Cameron McKinnon will be competing at their first Pan American Games. Dan coached Ryan from his entry into the sport (and even before that as a swimmer with Cascade Swim Club when he was eight) to his first Junior World Track Championship competition. Dan also coached Cameron for the first four years of his cycling career - from the first day he came out to the track to his first taste of National level success as a junior.

Best of luck to Catharine, Ryan and Cam on their journey at the Pan American Games. You are on your way to even bigger things in the future.

Catharine's Blog

Interview with Catharine on Canadian Cyclist

Stewart Takes First Win

2007-07-10T11:08:00.001-07:00

Sarah Stewart (Center) sprints to her first road win.

Sarah Stewart (Wedgewood) took her first ever road win this past weekend in Redmond, Washington during Derby Days. She took the lead with a hard attack on the final lap - going clear for the final 600m to take the win over Annette Hanson (First Rate Mortgage).

Redmond Derby Days, which celebrated its 67th anniversary on Saturday, is a summer tradition that came to life at the end of the Depression. It began as a drive to raise money for downtown holiday decorations and school athletic equipment. The Redmond Bicycle Derby was the outgrowth of a small town's community spirit and is now the nation's longest running bicycle race.

Road Nationals - Geoff MacDonald Report

2007-07-10T10:59:00.001-07:00

Hi Dan,

I finished 10th in the TT. Felt good heart rate was around 184 for most of the race and got to 195 for the final 1 km. First time this year that I could get my hr to 180 mark. I missed a few places due to a mistake - when I thought the turn was two intersections sooner than it was. Lost a few seconds and a few places because of this.

In the Crit I followed your directions and actually led the race for the first two laps making the group work to chase me down. I then sat in for a while and took another break. With six laps to go I was on the break ... a good waysout when I took the turn too hot and pulled an Ullrich . I hit the ditch over the handle bars. Got back on the bike and headed up the hill where a buddy was yelling to tell me to take my lap... Oh yeah I thought... and did. Got back on and took off again but felt like a Reggie due to the free lap so thought the sporting thing to do would be to sit in for a lap. Did so. Two of my teamates( Jon and Dan Woods) are great sprinters and were both feeling good. Dan asked if I could get him up to a short breakaway and I said I thought I could. So at the bottom of the hill I punched it and got them 80 % of the way and then faded to the group. I finished middle of the pack with Dan getting 5th and Jon getting 7th.

Next morning feeling 80 %. Started coming around later. Our team had 3 guys in the Master A RR. Dan Jon and myself. Chris MacNeil (Hand R Block )and I set the pace at the front of the group of around 90 racers.We hit the hill pretty hard and then sat in for a while ( a great way to clear the legs I thought). Spent the first half of the race fighting for position in the peloton - between the front and back. Nothing was getting away so I sat in for a while.I chased down a few breakaways, MacNeil and I tried bridging to a break that looked to have two fast Ontario guys in it but the peloton would have nothing of us trying to get there. I was beginning to cramp around three laps to go. Was worried but had some accelerade and enervit pills and told myself that I wouldn't get dropped.

In the last lap I got in the front leading through town to make sure that I hit the hill in the front of the group. It hurt but I was still in the front of the bunch by the top. I knew I could do some damage if I could hang on at that point.

On the long downhill I felt strong and many were hurting. I got to the front and saw Dan Wood but couldn't find Jon ( my two teammates). It was raining hard and the pavement was sketchy. Guys were yelling braking and freaking out. I thought I should get the hell out of the group. I attacked. As I'm going by Dan he's yelling at me "Go Geoff get out front " he said it two or three times. I got a gap with two other guys. We were flying. I looked ahead and saw another ERTC jersey and said "shit" there's Jon. I had to sit up. I would've pulled two strong guys up. We left the headsets for our radios at the hotel so couldn't communicate well during the race. Bummer, but the right thing to do. Good news ...Jon won. He got the jersey and we all celebrated...HARD.

Good news is that the Peak and training worked. I felt stronger than most in all days. Just some bad prep on the TT and some stong teamates made me makesome unselfish decisions. Time to start preparing for Provincials. I'll start training Thursday.

Thanks Dan.

Yaletown Criterium

2007-07-02T10:26:00.000-07:00

Start of Women's Elite Criterium

Elitewave riders took to the streets of Yaletown in Vancouver over the weekend. Alena Radomsky (Team Giant), Dan Skinner (Total Restoration) and Sarah Stewart (Symmetrics) were all part of the action.

Elitewave sponsor, Stephen Kim of the Bike Gallery waits for the racing to begin.

The event was held in the yuppy surroundings of Yaletown and featured a tight chicane turn that dealt it's fair share of good crashes. Prior to the Women's Elite Race, the course hosted a cruiser race in celebration of Canada Day and the conclusion of Bike month. The lady pictured below was one of the racers in the cruiser event. The dress was the actual one she wore to her high school graduation.

Cruiser Bike Race at Yaletown

Once the real racing began, it was a tough event. In the Elite women's race, it was a tough fight between Team Giant, Symmetrics and Express Copy's Gina Grain. After the winning break was formed with Marnie Hambleton and Sarah Stewart (both Symmetrics), Jenny Trew, Leah Guleon, Lisa Howard (all Giant), and Grain it became a tactical race.

The Winning Break (Trew at front, Stewart, Guloin, Howard, Grain, Hambleton)

In the end it all came down to the second last turn. With Jenny Trew and Marnie Hambleton in winning position, Gina Grain swept from the inside of the turn to take the lead in a place where only one line was possible. At the line it was Grain, Trew and Hambleton respectively.

Sarah Stewart was active throughout the race for her new team - Symmetrics. Her job was to stay with Marnie to the finish and to launch a big attack with two laps to go. She was successful in both of these tasks and also helped to keep control of the race when Leah Guloin put in a threatening surge with 3 laps to go. If Leah had gotten away, the race would have been over for the sprinters.

Stewart leads Jenny Trew and Gina Grain into the chicane. Photo by Mac MacDell.

Alena Radomsky was in the second half of the split and was forced to play a tactical role for her Giant teammates. Unable to attack until the break was not in danger of being caught, she rode in the second group without having to put in much effort. When her team manager finally gave her the word over the race radio, she was off and put in a huge solo effort for the last six laps of the race - finishing 7th overall.

Lisa Tasa (Trek) and Alena Radomsky (Giant) try to escape the second group.

In the Elite Men's race it was an all Symmetrics show with Continental Champion Svein Tuft and Andrew Pinfold lapping everyone to take the win. Pinfold nudged out Tuft at the line to take the event.

Tuft and Pinfold hit hyperspace.

Dan Skinner continues to improve his skills in Criterium racing - making it to the end of this hard charging and techincal race. Dan was part of the third group on the road which included powerhouse riders from a variety of teams and Ironman World Champion Peter Reid.

Peter Reid (2nd) and Dan Skinner (4th)

All in all, it was a great day of racing for all of the Elitewave riders. It was a great preview of the action coming to BC Superweek.

Dan Skinner and Sarah Stewart Hanging After the Race.

Pendrel in Olympic Pool

2007-06-25T11:48:00.001-07:00

Elitewave's Catharine Pendrel qualified for the Olympic pool with an exciting 11th place finish at this weekend's World Cup in Mont Ste Anne, Quebec. Despite starting on the back of the grid (due to an error on the CCA's part), Pendrel moved into the upper echelon of the race, finishing just outside the top 10!

In Catharine's own words:"Dan, you have now officially coached an athlete into Olympic pool qualification!!! I had a great race, again very consistent laps. Had to start in dead last position ...but his helped me avoid a big crash off the start and I can't complain about finishing 6 seconds off 10th...especially since 10th place also started beside me at the back due to late entry."

Catharine will now head to the Pan Am Games where she will compete as Canada's only entry in the Women's Pan American Mountain Biking Championships.

If all goes well, Catharine will head toward the World Championships in early September, 2007 and on to Bejing for the Olympics in 2008.

Excellent work Catharine!

New Balance Half Ironman

2007-06-19T15:31:00.000-07:00

Photo: Sarah Stewart and Rosemarie Gerspacher discuss the race.

Sarah Stewart finished fifth overall and second in her age group at the 2007 New Balance Half Ironman in Victoria, BC this past weekend. Sarah was very surprised with her race after only putting in a handful of workouts in swimming and running prior to the event. The race was won by Heather Wurtele who successfully defended the championship for the second year in a row. Dan's Camp participant, Rosemarie Gerspacher of Calgary, had a very strong race to take 2nd place overall in the event.

Women's Results: New Balance Half
4:15.11 Heather Wurtele
4:19:29 Rosemarie Gerspacher
4:19:58 Christine Fletcher
4:25:47 Charlene Waldner
4:37:26 Sarah Stewart

Coach Dan got into the mix in this race - shaving over an hour off his personal best for the New Balance course. It was a fun day out there. The swim course was easy to navigate with over cast skies. The bike was hilly, but the wind was minimal. The clouds hung around to provide some welcome shade on the run. It was nice to see myself getting faster. I have spent the last 10 years focused solely on making other people fast. It was nice to start working my way back to the level of fitness I used to have. I still have a long way to go, but hopefully Ironman Canada will be one of my fastest times ever.

It was great to catch up with a few old friends at the race - including Dennis Weins and John Bodnaruk from the University of Calgary Triathlon Club where I coached for several years. It was also great to see Mike Neil's Human Powered Racing crew out on the course. Thanks for the cheers guys!

Pendrel to Pan Am Games

2007-06-12T14:59:00.000-07:00

Catharine Pendrel was recently notified that she will be part of Canada's Pan American Games team. The games wll take place in July and will be centered around Rio. The Games will be the first multi-sport international competition for Pendrel - who won a silver medal at the Pan American Mountain Biking Championships last November. The Pan Am Games will feature athletes from 42 countries - competing in a variety of Olympic style competitions.

Pan American Games

Coach Dan to Western Canada Games

2007-06-12T09:16:00.000-07:00

Coach Dan has been assigned to coach with Team BC at the Western Canada Games August 7-11th in Edmonton, Alberta.
He will be joining former British National Team Coach, now Team BC Technical Director – Richard Wooles and Tanya Camponsano from Cycling BC.

The Team BC contingent has been announced officially. Please click HERE to see the riders.

The Games website is HERE

Congratulations to all of the young riders who qualified to represent British Columbia at the Games.

Stewart Makes Podium at Flora Glo BC Cup

2007-06-11T21:06:00.000-07:00

Sarah Stewart (Wedgewood) rode aggressively and made the winning break of the Atomic road race this past weekend. Escaping with Leah Guloin (Giant), Marni Hambleton (Symetrics) and Leah Goldstein (Symetrics), Sarah rode hard in the break until all hell broke loose during the 4th lap of 6. First Leah Guloin flatted with the wheel vehicle no where to be seen. Next, Stewart was dropped by the two Symetrics riders on the 4th lap of the race - leaving her just 30 seconds in front of the main peleton with 20km to go. Sarah rode solo to the finish. She extended her lead over the main peleton by another 30 seconds to finish up 3rd with a minute to spare over the main field. The race was won by Marnie Hambleton who rode in comfortably with teammate Goldstein.

Pendrel 13th at Swiss World Cup

2007-06-11T21:00:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Elitewave's Catharine Pendrel who broke into the top 15 at the World Cup in Switzerland this weekend. Pendrel finished 13th overall and was the 3rd Canadian. For the full story, please check out Catharine's blog at http://cpendrel.blogspot.com/

Results and Photos at www.canadiancyclist.com

ARCHIVE NEWS ITEMS

2007-06-11T20:57:00.000-07:00

ELITEWAVE NEWS AND HIGHLIGHTS

This is a compilation of the news items found on the original Elitewave site. I will post a link to the formatted version of this information soon.

Pendrel named Kamloops Female Athlete of the Year
April 16, 2007
Catharine continues her ride to the top of the cycling world with a well deserved award. At a gala banquet on Saturday night, she was awarded Kamloops Female Athlete of the Year.
This is an incredible compliment to Pendrel who has only lived in Kamloops since August. Kamloops is a well recognized sport community who has played host to at least 4 National cycling championships in the last 5 years.

Pendrel finishes Norba with 2 solid races.
April 2, 2007
Catharine Pendrel (Norco) started the season with some fine performances in the first Norba event of 2007. Pendrel raced against some of the best riders in North America this past weekend – finishing 9th in the short track event and 13th in the cross country event. Catharine is still in the early phases of her preparation for the season and showed that she is well on track for this season’s demanding schedule. Pendrel normally does Sea Otter as her first race of the year in April. The Arizona race, nearly a month earlier, has given Pendrel renewed confidence and motivation as she heads into the 2007 season. Pendrel will be contesting for one of only 3 spots (selection spots were reduced from 6) for the World Championships.

Andrew Wilson Starts Season with Strong Performance at Devo Spring Series.
March 31, 2007
Elitewave’s newest rider, Andrew Wilson (Atomic) rode well in his first race of the 2007 season – taking 10th place in the B Category this past weekend. Andrew commented: “I didn't get to contest the sprint because there was a nasty crash about 600 meters before the finish. I didn't crash, which was a miracle as it happened all around me. 10 guys went down very hard. I had to move off the road onto the grass to avoid going down. I unclipped and came to a complete stand still.” Despite the rough finish, Wilson was inspired by his strong ride. He felt that it was one of his best races ever.

Junior Cyclist Continue to Improve – Team Coastal Update
March 20, 2007
Team Coastal junior riders continue their accelerated progression into the world of track cycling. Since beginning the track program in January, several juniors have continued to meet at the Burnaby Velodrome each Monday for a 2 hour training sessions. These riders are quick learners who have begun to full adapt to their new sport. Riders have dropped an average of 2-3 seconds from their flying 200m times (used mostly to gauge pedal coordination and technique). They have also begun to master the subtle art of paceline riding and team trialling. Currently, they are developing skills in the match sprint event. All of the athletes are having fun and progressing well. Coastal athletes will be racing at the BVC Summer Meet on May 5th, 2007.

Pendrel prepares for Norba in Pheonix.
March 27, 2007
Catharine Pendrel (Norco) will be kicking off her fifth season as an Elitewave athlete with a Norba event in Pheonix, Arizona. Catharine is excited about the season ahead and looking forward to an early season warm-up and test of her hew bike from Norco. Catharine will be competing in both the short track and cross country events. She has reported feeling very strong with improved wattage during compu-trainer testing. She feels like she can already push herself to a higher level than last season. Much of this improvement has come from the Aerobic Power phase we pursued over the course of the past month. It was the most intensive interval training that Catharine has done to date. It will be interesting to see how this influences her racing performance in the early season. Racing begins this Saturday!

Blizzard Bike Club - Fort St. John, BCMarch 25, 2007Elitewave’s Geoff McDonald of Grande Prairie edged out team mate Blaine Richter to win the first road race of the Blizzard Club's 25th season of racing, Sunday. Geoff came in all alone to win the 68 km Cecil Lake road event with a time of 2:10:46. Blaine was second at 2:11:35 and Gary Hilderman capped off an excellent performance with a sprint for third place at 2:19:38, from Pat Ferris and Bob Andrews.

Geoff has been a member of Elitewave since January. He has trained very well over the past few months and is confident that he will have a great season ahead of him. Geoff completed his trip from Grande Praire, Alberta with a couple of cold and snowy training days in Jasper following the Fort St. John race. Elitewave is proud to have such a motivated and inspired rider on our team.

Impact Magazine Features Coach Dan
March 1, 2007

Coach Dan is featured in Impact Magazine’s special focus on running in the March issue. His article features a workout for time strapped athletes looking to get the most benefit from the least amount off time. You can see the feature and a photo of Coach Dan working on track-side (page 39). Photos were shot at the Oak Bay Track in Victoria, BC. The photos were taken by Simon Desrochers.

"Teen Coastal" gets started at the Burnaby Velodrome
Jan 21, 2007 - Courtesy Team Coastal
January 12th, 19th and 26th mark the evenings the TeenCoastal group hits The Track for the Learn-to-Ride (LTR). Several young, new members of Coastal were out learning to ride the "fixies" (with no brakes I might add!). Taking them through the paces were some Burnaby Velodrome instructors along with our own coaches Elmar and Dan.
var imagesPath = "/download/resources/com.atlassian.confluence.extra.gallery:gallery/images";

'Becca on the track!

"Theory" session

Coach Dan

If you know some kids who would be interested in joining TeenCoastal email Todd todd.hansen@teamcoastalcycling.com

Penticton Camp Fills in 30 minutes
The 2007 Edition of the Penticton Training Camp is now full.
Thank you to all athletes who expressed an interest in the camp.
If you would like to be added to the wait list, please email Dan@elitewave.com

PinkBike.com Shares the Christmas Spirit.
Radek Burkat of www.Pinkbike.com spread the Christmas spirit to 100 needy families in the lower mainland this week. Burjat, owner of Pinkbike, bought 100 new Norco kid’s bikes for needy families in the Vancouver region. Burkat and friends built up the bikes and distributed them to the families over the weekend. The kids enjoyed their first pedal strokes on brand new bikes in their choice of color. This is a great story and a great way to share the love of cycling with kids who may have not been able to ride a bike this year. Congratulations to Radek and the generous folks at Pinkbike.

Race Organizers Form Grass Roots Mountain Bike Association of British ColumbiaSquamish mountain bike race organizers have taken the next step to support grass roots mountain bike activities in British Columbia by forming the Grass Roots Mountain Bike Association of British Columbia (GRMBA). The not-for-profit association is designed to fill a void in recreational grass roots mountain bike event sanctioning.The void was created when the official provincial sanctioning body, Cycling BC, began to move toward supporting higher level competitive events, and away from their past support of recreational mountain biking. Newly created sanctioning policies led to the need for GRMBA, which is spearheaded by Test of Metal and GearJammer race directors Cliff Miller and Curtis Roberts.The purpose of the newly formed Association is to provide insurance to grass roots mountain bike clubs and race events that concentrate on providing race experiences to recreational racers. One goal of the Association is to encourage recreational clubs to hold events where members of other clubs are welcome to attend. See full article HERE…

Elitewave Sponsors Coaching Development Series with Sungod Swim Club
The Delta Sungod Swim Club, under the guidance of Head Coach Michelle Wilson, has recruited Coach Dan to provide a series of cycling specific workshops for the Sungod coaching staff. Wilson has been an active supporter of swimming, waterpolo and triathlon for years. In 2007 their program is planning to do a major expansion into the world of junior triathlon. The Sungod coaches have started their training early with the first of several clinics being held on December 3, 2006. 4 coaches took part in the event which focused on skill development for junior cyclists and triathletes. In addition to safety and route planning concepts, the coaches were also exposed to their first taste of skill development through a series of drills and games designed specifically for young riders. For Elitewave, this is an exciting group to be involved with. In comparison to swimming, the sport of competitive cycling is relatively simple. By taking Level 2 and 3 swim coaches and showing them how to teach cycling, it is easy to see that they will be successful. These coaches will be able to break the sport down and make it accessible to a wide audience. They already have professional coaching experience which is the most important elements in the development of young athletes. These clinics will allow the Sungod coaches to hone their coaching skills in cycling at an accelerated rate.

Coach Dan Shares His Coaching Experience with Team Coastal
Coach Dan met with Team Coastal President Kerry Kunzli to discuss the development of a junior cycling program in the White Rock/Sout Surrey region. Team Coastal is already one of the largest teams in the lower mainland. Their latest initiative will put a substantial junior program into an area that encompasses many different riding areas and a host of young families who will benefit from exposure to the sport. Kunzel outlined their approach to the development of the program and also spoke with Coach Dan about his experience with the development of Junior programs at the Olympic Oval National Cycling Center and Pacificsport. This was a great opportunity to pass on the knowledge gained through the successful development of some of Canada’s best young riders. Currently there are 4 riders, developed through the Junior program that Dan created, riding for Canada at the Senior National Team level. These riders were brand new to cycling when they began their immersion in the sport in Calgary nearly 10 years ago. Passing along tips on program structure, costs, facilities and outlining an approach to long term athlete development should help Coastal get off on the right foot as they begin to work to develop the sport. It is great to see a strong club like Coastal take pride in contributing to the sport at the junior level. Through this initiative, Coastal will demonstrate leadership and a commitment to growing the sport in the future.

Elitewave Partners with Spoke n’ Motion to Provide Velodrome Training Clinics.
The Burnaby velodrome was the site of Coach Dan’s most recent track training seminar with the athletes of Spoke n’ Motion who work under the guidance of Level 3 Coach and former National Team rider Judy Latoski. Coach Dan shared his track coaching experience with Latoski’s athletes during the first of several two hour workshops. Five riders took part – ranging from Elite women like Moriah MacGregor and Heather Lamson to experienced Cat 2 and 3 men. During the clinic athletes focused on riding proper lines for maximum speed on the Burnaby velodrome. Athletes also had a lot of time to talk about the finer details involved in successful bunch racing on the track. It was great to work with Latoski’s riders who are all very competent and fit. Most of the Spoke n’ Motion riders use the track as a way to train for their road season. Adding some of the detail to their track program will really compliment the great work that Latoski is already doing with them. In addition to the athletes benefiting, it was also a great chance for Coach Dan and Coach Latoski to compare notes on training, bike fit and the current state of cycling in BC. It was great to work with another cycling coach in a collaborative setting. This type of colleagial atmosphere is rarely seen in the sport of cycling. It was a nice chance to share and learn for all coaches and athletes involved. More clinics with Spoke n’ Motion are planned for the New Year.

Elitewave’s Catharine Pendrel Earns Pan American Cycling Championships Silver Medal
Canada Wins Silver at Pan American ChampionshipsCourtesy CCACatherine Pendrel (BC) won the silver medal in the elite women's 2006 Mountain Bike cross-country Pan American Championships competition in Camboriu, Brazil, on Sunday (October 15th). American Mary McConneloug took the gold medal and Argentina's Jimena Florit finished third.The Penticton, BC rider, who was aiming for a top-five finish (which she had captured in the 2005 Pan Am Championships in Mexico), was full of joy after her race: "I worked my way up and in the second lap already found myself in third position. I rode consistently and was feeling really good. Conditions were way better than the training conditions over the past few days, with lots of sunshine and the course much drier. Before the race, I said to Michel (Leblanc, CCA mountain bike coach): I'm going to medal today!""It's so exciting, when you imagine that Catherine just learned one week prior to the event that she was selected to replace Alison Sydor (who could not make it to Brazil from the Roc d'Azur in France ñ which she won - in such a short period of time)," added Michel Leblanc, Canadian National Team mountain bike coach.

October, 2006
Sparling signs with Giga-Bike for 2007
Courtesy Giga-Bike
October 11, 2006 (Victoria, B.C.) – In an ongoing bid to snap up Canada’s best talent for the 2007 cycling season, Giga-Bike Cycling Team signed Jamie Sparling, who rode with Bicisport – Alberta in ‘06. Jamie had a great year with a 2nd place finish at Canadian Track National Championshps in Dieppe, NB and had some early season wins in BC’s Spring Series on the lower mainland.“I am really excited to be racing with the 2007 Giga-Bike race team. The team has so much talent and so many good people involved with it. I was more than impressed with how things turned out last year; everything was well planned and there was a real professional feel to it. I am confident the team will make another giant leap in ’07 and turn a lot of heads," said Sparling.“Jamie is a great all ‘round rider. He first caught our eye in a great performance at BC Cup #1, where he played a big role in driving the winning break. He is a great athlete to have on the Giga-Bike Cycling Team. Jamie will bring a tremendous amount of horse power that will see him stick it out with the best of them," said Director, Calvin Straathof, Giga-Bike Cycling Team.Giga-Bike Junior-Espoir Development Cycling Team is Vancouver Island’s only cycling trade team dedicated to the development of Junior and Espoir cyclists and is based out of Victoria, BC. Giga-Bike Junior-Espoir Development Cycling Team participates year round in road racing events in Victoria and Vancouver, British Columbia and the North West Coast.

Radomsky and Trew sign with Giant Canada
Giant Canada Sponsors Elite Women's Team for 2007Team Release:In keeping with Giant Canada's mandate to support cycling in B.C., seven riders will compose the Giant Canada Elite women's team. Chelsea Bilsbarrow, Claire Cameron, Jenelle Cassidy, Leah Guloien, Alena Radomsky, Katherine Short, and Jenny Trew will join forces for the 2007 season. This seven-person team boasts top credentials with a strong focus on development as well.Katherine Short (16) and Chelsea Bilsbarrow (19) are two of the most exciting young prospects in cycling on the BC scene. Katherine wins just about everything in her age group and is a strong contender even at the elite level in mountain biking while Chelsea stormed onto the scene in 2006 taking the BC Jr. road championships and 7th at Nationals in her first season. Claire Cameron (24) is an elite track and road racer and a National Paralympic team member having raced in 2004 at Athens as a blind tandem pilot. Leah Guloien (25) is a very strong local road racer who is rarely off the podium in any event she enters. Jenny Trew (25) is a track and criterium specialist having won multiple medals at Track Nationals. Alena Radomsky (24) is a seasoned rider, and excellent team player with experience racing internationally. Jenelle Cassidy (29),while relatively new to road racing, made a quick ascent up the ranks in 2006 and brings a wealth of experience from being a National team downhill racer.Giant Canada's Elite women's team riders possess skills that will complement each other, giving the team a deep and balanced attack for 2007. The tentative race calendar for the Giant Canada Elite Women's Team will be comprised of local BC and NW road, track, and mountain bike races including the BC Cup Road/Off road Series, BC Superweek, and the National Road/Track/Off Road Championships.Giant Canada's operations manager Wayne Bleakley says, "The formation of our elite women's team was a logical step towards our vision. Our women will be a dominant force on the Northwest cycling scene. Giant Canada looks forward to supporting women's cycling and specifically Leah, Jenelle, Claire, Jenny, Alena, Chelsea, and Katherine in pursuit of their goals and is very excited to have the opportunity to develop a women's team."

Pan Am Cycling Championships for Pendrel
Catharine Pendrel was recently notified that she will be heading to Brazil on Monday to represent Canada at the Pan American Cycling Championships. Pendrel, who competed at the Championships for the first time last year, will represet Canada in the Cross Country Mountain Biking Race. This race falls during Cathatrine’s normal off-season training program, so she will be calling up all of her energy reserves and experience to challenge for a medal in this competition.

Stewart Wins Bayside Cross Classic
Sarah Stewart (Wedgewood Cycling Club) took the top spot on the podium at the Bayside Cross Classic in Crescent Beach. Jenny Trew (Giant) was second in the event. Elitewave’s Tom Skinner suffered through the race with a badly cut knee after crashing into the barriers after lap 1 of the elite men’s race which was won by Sugoi’s Andrew Kyle.

Radomsky and Stewart Take on Starcrossed
Alena Radomsky and Sarah Stewart battled some of North America’s best riders at the Star Crossed cyclocross race at Marymoor velodrome. Both riders competed in a top notch field under the stadium lights near Seattle. The race featured an intricate course that included stairs, sand, veldorome sections, grass sections and a large wooden ramp constructed specifically for the event. Both riders competed strongly and completed the pro women’s event which was won by Kona’s Wendy Simms. See Complete Results Here

West Point Grey Cyclocross – Third for Stewart
Kelly Jones (Sugoi) was the winner of the first annual West Point Grey cyclocross race hosted by Escape Velocity. Jones raced hard over the European style course which featured substantial amounts of climbing in each lap. Victoria’s Lisa Ludwig (Oak Bay Bikes) was second in the race with a very strong performance throughout the event. Sarah Stewart (Wedgewood Cycling Club) took third place.

Stewart Second at Fort Langley Cyclocross
Battling over the Aldor Farm course for a second year in a row, Sarah Stewart claimed second place on the Podium to Kelly Jones (Sugoi) in the first stop of the Giant BC Cup Cyclcross Competition. Alena Radomsky of Elitewave finished in 4th overall. Tom Skinner, also of Elitewave, completed the elite men’s race in 11th place. Complete results Here

Septemeber, 2006
Pendrel Qualifies for CCA Carding
Funding a world class mountain bike career just became a little easier for Elitewave’s Catharine Pendrel who was recently informed that she has met the criteria for carding from the Canadian Cycling Association. This funding will help Pendrel to travel and train throughout the year. While the carding money is modest in Canada, this support will allow Catharine to pursue her ambitions without the hardship of also having to work full-time.

Sparling and Mackenzie earn Silver Medal in Madison at Track Nationals
Elitewave’s Jamie Sparling earned a silver medal with teammate Ryan McKenzie in the Madison event at the National Track Championships. According to Sparling, “Ryan can really ride this race…he put me into great position on every sprint and I could just ride into the points.” Both Mackenzie and Sparling used to be teammates as Juniors in Calgary where they both trained under the guidance of Elitewave head coach – Dan Proulx.

Sparling Earns Bronze Medal at National Track Cycling Championships
Jamie Sparling is finishing off his season with a stong campaign at the National Track Championships in Dieppe this weekend. Sparling started the weekend by earning a Bronze Medal on the Team Pursuit with Matt Barlee and Ryan McKenzie. Next, Sparling qualified for the bonze medal final against Christian Meir – where he finished 4th in a photo finish. After that, Sparling took 8th place in the Points Race –scoring 23 points in total. The results so far have been great for Sparling who had only 2 weeks to prepare for the Championships after an incredibly tough road season.

August, 2006
Pendrel Completes Amazing Season at World Mountain Bike Championhips, New Zealand
Elitewave’s Catharine Pendrel successfully represented Canada for a 3rd consecutive year at the World Elite Mountain Bike Championships in New Zealand. Pendrel felt strong throughout the event, with some minor fading on the last lap – completing the event in 31st place. The completion of the World Championships ends an amazing year for Pendrel who had two top 10 finishes in Norba events and a very solid 4th place at the National Mountain Bike Championships. With the support of Norco and fiancé Keith Wilson, Pendrel has had her best season to date.
Next season will be an ambitious one for Pendrel who will strive to increase her training load and commitment to the sport in the hope of qualifying for the 2008 Olympics in Bejing.

Stephanie Mathieson Completes Ironman Canada
With only 10 months of preparation, Stephanie Mathieson of Calgary completed the Ironman Canada in late August. After 6 or 7 years away from endurance training, Stephanie returned to training and racing to “knock this one off her list” of life ambitions. Combining training with her job as an administrator at the National Coaching Institute, Calgary was always tough but somehow Stephanie managed to fit all the training in. Stephanie had some serious history in sport as a young triathlete with the Tri-Athletics Sport Club in Calgary (where Dan coached her as a junior), but this race literally forced her to return from “out of shape student” to Ironman in a very short time span. Mathieson joins a growing list of athletes who have completed the Ironman on just one year of training with the help of Dan and Elitewave. In 2007, Stephanie will again be joining the Ironman fraternity to contest the 25th Anniversay edition of this challenging and prestigious race.
July 31, 2006
Speed Theory Presents: Triathlon Deconstructed Seminar Series
Elitewave.com has joined forces with Calgary based Speed Theory.ca to provide a series of training seminars and workshops dedicated to aspiring triathletes. The first session will be held August 14th at the Vancouver location. For details look Here.

August 7, 2006
Catharine Pendrel earns best ever Norba Result
Elitewave’s Catharine Pendrel earned her best Norba result ever with an 8th place finish in Brian Head, Utah this weekend. Pendrel is on a two week road trip through the Norba circuit that will take her to Colorado next week. This weekend’s performance is a nice result heading into Catharine’s final preparations for the World Championships.

Angela Naeth 12th overall in Bridgeport, Conneticut ITU Triathlon
Angela Naeth had a great race in Bridgeport this past weekend at the Pan American ITU Championships. In Angela’s typical style, she came out of the water near the very back of the field and was forced to ride and run her way back into contention.

Angela’s next race will be Kelowna on August 20th. In the meantime Angela will focus on her swim in the hope of bringing her performances more in line with her world class cycling and running prowess.

July 27, 2006
Pendrel qualifies for the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM for a third consecutive year!!!!
Catharine Pendrel (Norco Factory Team) qualified for the World Mountain Bike Championships for a third consecutive year. Pendrel, who was notified of her qualification following the Canada Cup inWhistler, will join a team of five riders and one alternate for the competition in New Zealand in late August. For Pendrel, the award was somewhat of a surprise as the CCA recently created a more stringent qualification process. Pendrel also faced some extremely tough competition from an ever improving Mical Dyck and Wendy Simms who was seriously intent on making the team for this year's competition. Catharine has had to improve her riding in every possible dimension this year in order to keep pace with the competition. It gets tougher and tougher to make the team each year with all of the girls pushing each other to new limits. The caliber of riders like Sydor and Premont keep pushing the envelope and Canadian women are being forced to respond. This year, Elitewave's Catharine Pendrel proved once again that she can rise to the challenge. Watch for Catharine to be on the Olympic team at some point in the not too distant future. See World Championship Team Announcement Here.

Jamie Sparling Completes Tour of Toona, Pennsylvania
Elitewave’s Jamie Sparling (Bicisport) capped off a great year of consistently strong performances by completing the grueling Tour de Toona – one of North America’s best stage races. Over a week of racing, Jamie competed with the very best teams in North America. His form continued to improve from Canadian Superweek where he proved to be strong and able to make critical moves in the right situation. Jamie will take these positive results into the 2007 race season where he will surely be part of some winning breakaways at major events in Canada and the United States!

July 20, 2006
Tour of Gastown
The Wedgewood Cycling Club hosted another exceptional race at the Tour of Gastown in Vancouver this week. Some 35,000 spectators took in the event on Vancouver's East side – the famous cobbled streets that have played host to many of North America's top pros including Lance Armstrong.

Dan Skinner (Total Restoration) and Jamie Sparling (Bicisport) rode in the Men's Pro event with Jamie Sparling going the distance to finish mid-field in the grueling and hard charging event. In the women's race, Sarah Stewart (Wedgewood) fought through some hard attacks and sketchy corners to take a commendable 12th place overall in the event.

See Complete Results Here.

June 16, 2006
Pendrel 4th at National Mountain Bike Championships
Catharine Pendrel had another incredible weekend of racing at the National Championships in Kamloops. Facing Canada’s top world class riders, Pendrel surprised even herself with a performance that demonstrated she is truly at a new rung on the high performance ladder.

See the full Results Here

June 25, 2006
Solid Performance for Pendrel at World Cup
Catharine Pendrel rode strongly to take 24th place overall in the Mount Ste. Anne World Cup in Quebec on Sunday. Facing a truly World Class field, Pendrel demonstrated again that she is one of the top Canadian riders and a solid choice for National Team projects this season. Congratulations Catharine!

World Cup Results

June 18, 2006
Pendrel Breaks Through at NORBA
Catharine Pendrel raced aggressively to take 9th place at the Mount Snow NORBA XC event in Vermont on Saturday. Pendrel charged to the front of the field and rode strong in 2nd place for much of the race...eventually fading in the closing laps to take 9th overall.
On Sunday, Pendrel demonstrated even more fight during the Short Course race. This was a tough event that focused more on power and speed in the technical terrain. Pendrel proved that the previous day hadn't been a fluke by take 12th place overall and recording the best finish by a Canadian on the day.
This was a break through performance for Pendrel and her sponsors at Norco. Pendrel has plenty of reserve left in the tank and will hope to perform at an even higher level later in the season.

Norba Short Course Results Norba XC Results

Angela Naeth Second to Olympian Gillian Kornell
At the Oliver Sprint Triathlon this weekend, Elitewave's Angela Naeth had an outstanding race - finishing 6th overall in the 156 athlete field (men and women included) and second overall among elite women. The women's race was won by Gilliam Kornell who raced for Canada at the Athens Olympics. Naeth finished a mere 11 seconds behind Kornell after closing the gap on the bike - riding nearly 2 minutes faster than Kornell on the 20km course in order to make up for a lackluster swim. This is the second podium race of the year for Naeth who now looks forward to the National Triathlon Championships in Brampton, Ontario.

Oliver Sprint Triathlon Results

Trew finishes strong in Nature Valley Grand Prix
Jenny Trew completed the gruelling 5 day Nature Valley Grand Prix this week in Minnesotta. It was a tough and demanding week for Trew who bounced back from an extreme case of fatigue to finish in 54 place out of 130 starters. Trew was also 15th in the Best Young Rider category. The race is especially sweet for Trew who began racing harder U.S. events in 2001 - only to find herself outmatched by the high level of racing at the NRC level. 5 years and 30-40,000km of hard work later, Trew now finds herself finishing with North America's best. Her forte remains crtiterium riding and one day races...Nature Valley should put her in good step for the National Cycling Championships in 2 weeks time.
Nature Valley Results

Test of Metal - Skinner 19th
The Squamish Mountain Bike Festival hosted the Test Of Metal endurance mountain bike race on the weekend. Elitewave's Tom Skinner (Giant/Sugoi) took a solid 19th place finish on the day - riding among the best throughout the race. The gruelling event takes the riders through some of the best single track cross country in the Squamish region. The race was won by Neil Kindree (Kona/Les Gets).

June 4, 2006
Angela Naeth Defends Title at Hinton Triathlon
For the second straight year, Angela Naeth of Prince George, BC won the Hinton Triatlon. Along the way, Naeth nearly clinched the course record for the Olympic Distance comeptition in 2:07. Naeth was also second place overall among the men and women competiting.

May 27, 2006
Pendrel WINS Canada Cup #2 - Mount Tremblant
Still waiting for the official results to be published, but Catharine Pendrel won Canada Cup #2 today in fine style - taking over one minute out of the field. Great racing Catharine!

Tom Skinner (Sugoi/Giant) also competed in the Canada Cup and estimates that he finished in the top 25 riders in the pro men's division.

Trew WINS in Tennessee
Jenny Trew won Stage 2 of the Edgar Soto Memorial Stage Race yesterday. Trew and her teammates placed 1-2-3 in the criterium with Trew attacking the field and getting a gap to take the win. Trew also raced stongly to earn place 2nd in the Time Trial in Stage 1. There are two stages remaining in this event.

Tough Break for Radomsky
Competing in her first World Cup, Alena Radomsky (Coastal) got tied up in a crash at the start of the World Cup in Montreal yesterday. Riding with a good cut on her knee, Radomsky chased for 4 laps before finally abandonning the race in hopes of recovering for the Tour of Montreal which begins tomorrow. The race was won by Judith Arndt of Germany. Only 48 riders finished this year's event.

May 22, 2006
Elitewave's 11th Edition of the Penticton Training Camp Complete
Forty athletes completed the 11th annual training camp in Penticton last week. The camp featured nearly 900kms of riding over 8 training days. The camp was a huge success with all athletes pushing themselves beyond what they thought was possible. One rider summarized the camp by writing "I just wanted to thank you for a great week of riding! Not only did I love the training, but I met some great friends as well!"

Thank you to all participants and coaches for an amazing week. Special thanks to SpeedTheory for their second year of outstanding support for this event.

Radomsky to Montreal World Cup
Elitewave's Alena Radomsky will leave for the World Cup in Montreal with her Coastal Teammates. The road race features many laps up Montreal's famed Mount Royal climb. Add a World Class field to this gruelling event and you have one of the toughest one day races in the World. Upon completion of the World Cup, Radomsky will compete in the Tour of Montreal - a four day event that races through the neighbourhoods of Montreal and its environs.

Sparling 3rd at Bikes on Broadway
Elitewave's Jamie Sparling took third overall at the Bikes on Broadway Stage Race in Saskatoon. On his way to the podium, Sparling racked up a 3rd place finish in the Time Trial as well as taking 7th in the road race and criterium. The G.C. was won by veteran Alberta racer Bruce Copeland (Juventus).
Final GC
1. Bruce Copeland (Juventus)
4:13:52
2. Devon Smibert (Synergy Racing Club)
4:13:55
3. Jamie Sparling (Bicisport)
4:14:43
4. Matthew Walker (Giga Bike/LaZBoy)
4:14:47
5. Daniel Nemetchek (Woodcock)
4:14:56
6. Jesse James Collins (Bicisport)
4:15:45
7. Bradley Kerr (Regina Cycle Club)
4:17:22
8. Nathan Underwood (BCW/ Cycledelia)
4:17:42
9. Shawn Bunnin (Cycledelia/ Spoke n Sport)
4:18:44
10. Mike Bidiak (Juventus)
4:19:33

May 21, 2006
Pendrel 3rd at Canada Cup #1 - Bromont
Catharine Pendrel (Norco Factory Team) took third place at the first stop of the Canada Cup series in Bromont, Quebec. Pendrel fought hard to maintain position on the muddy downhills in each lap - with Pendrel's stongest competitor of last season Mical Dyck (Terrascape Racing) taking the win.
Senior Elite Women - 26 Finishers
1. Mical Dyck (Terrascape Racing Racing/)
1:49:06
2. Karen Dewolfe (Cannondale)
at 0:23
3. Catharine Pendrel (Norco Factory Team)
1:02
4. Sabra Davison (Indépendant)
4:42
5. Jean Ann McKirdy (Rocky Mountain Business Objects)
6:46

In the men's race, Elitewave's Tom Skinner (Sugoi/Giant Bicycles) took 25th place in the Elite Men's race - won by Victoria's Max Plaxton (Rocky Mountain Business Objects).

May 19, 2006
Tri-Peaks Stage Race, Russellville, Arkansas
Another tough NRC stage race took Elitewave's Jenny Trew (Kenda Tire) to Arkansas for the Tri-Peaks Cycling Classic. Trew continued to improve her performances in this gruelling test - finishing 30th overall in the solid North American pro field.

Women1. Rachel Heal (GBr) Victory Brewing2. Alisha Lion (USA) Webcor-Platinum3. Leigh Hobson (Can) Victory Brewing4. Kate Sherwin (USA) Victory Brewing5. Brooke Ourada (USA) Colavita/Cooking Light6. Kristin Sanders (USA) Cheerwine7. Sarah Tillotson (USA) Colavita/Cooking Light8. Sima Trapp (USA) Colavita/Cooking Light9. Tara Ross (Can) Victory Brewing10. Kirsten Robbins (Can) Victory Brewing19. Audrey Lemieux (Can) Colavita/Cooking Light29. Jenny Trew (Can) Team Kenda Tire30. Laura Yoisten (Can) Victory Brewing

May 14, 2006
Trew Completes Joe Martin Stage Race, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Jenny Trew completed the challenging 4 stage NRC road race event last week in Arkansas. The Joe Martin Stage race challenged North America's best riders to a difficult menu of speeds and distances over 3 gruelling days of racing. The final GC found Trew in 54th position overall.

Stage 3 Results
Stage 3: Time trial, 2.5. miles/4km
1. Erinne Willock (Webcor-Platinum Women's Cycling Team)
2. Dotsie Bausch (Colavita/ Cooking Light Cycling Team)
3. Alisha Lion (Webcor-Platinum Women's Cycling Team)
4. Felicia Gomez (Webcor-Platinum Women's Cycling Team)
5. Kori Seehafer (Team Lipton)
6. Alison Powers (Rio Grande/Sports Garage)
7. Sue Palmer-Komar (Colavita/ Cooking Light Cycling Team)
8. Brooke Ourada (Colavita/ Cooking Light Cycling Team)
9. Kathleen Billington (TRIA)
10. Kristen Lasasso (Team Lipton)
11. Leigh Hobson (Victory Brewing Team)
13. Betina Hold (Webcor-Platinum Women's Cycling Team)
16. Kirsten Robbins (Victory Brewing Team)
39. Tara Ross (Victory Brewing Team)
48. Gina Grain (Colavita/ Cooking Light Cycling Team)
49. Audrey Lemieux (Colavita/ Cooking Light Cycling Team)
61. Laura Yoisten (Victory Brewing Team)
62. Jenny Trew (Team Kenda Tire)
71. Audrey Carmical (Team Joy Rides/Austin Flyers)

April 30, 2006
Trew gets solid result in Athens, Georgia
Jenny Trew finished a solid 17th place overall in the Athens Twilight Criterium in Georgia. The Criterium was held late lastnight and featured a top notch field of U.S. and international criterium stars. Jenny's longtime friend and former teammate from the Olympic Oval, Laura Yoisten, finished in 7th.

Pro Women: 47 Finishers
1 Jenn McCrae (Conex Train) 2 Tina Pic (Colavita Cooking Lite) 3 Shannon Hutchison (Aaron's Furniture) 4 Kelly Benjamin (Diet Cheerwine) 5 Gina Grain (Colavita Cooking Lite) 6 Brenda Lyons (Victory Brewing) 7 Laura Yosten (Victory Brewing) 8 Christina DeKraay (TEam Fuji) 9 Mackenzie Dickey (Aaron's) 10 Victory Brewing rider 11 Lara Kropesch (TEam Lipton) 12 Laura Bowles (Victory Brewing) 13 Unidentified 14 Taitt SAto (McGuire RAcing) 15 Unidentified 16 Katherine Caroll (Victory Brewing) 17 Jenny Trew (Team Kenda Tire) 18 Kathleen Billington (Connecticut) 19 Laura Van Gilder (TEam Lipton) 20 Candace Blickem (Aaron's)

April 30, 2006
Sparling 5th at Bicisport ITT
Starting his Alberta racing season in style, Jamie Sparling was whisked from the airport in Calgary to the start line of the Bicisport Time Trial. Sparling finished in 5th with several of Alberta's time trial veterans putting the hammer down on younger riders like Sparling and National Team Member Phil Abbott.

Category 1/2 (24 Finishers)
1. Bruce Copeland (Juventus)
28:48.0
2. Robert Veroba (bicisport)
29:35.0
3. Devon Smibert (Synergy)
29:57.3
4. Kyle Marcotte (Speed Theory)
30:01.0
5. James Sparling (bicisport)
30:07.0
6. Philippe Abbott (Italpasta-Transport Belmire)
30:45.0
7. Shawn Taylor (Rundle Mountain CC)
30:49.0
8. Jeff Bolstad (H and R Block)
31:08.0
9. Gary Anderson (TRS Racing)
31:29.0
10. Shawn Goulet (Pedalhead Roadworks)
31:59.0

April 9, 2006
Pendrel finishes Sea Otter Classic with strong showing in XC Race.
Catharine Pendrel (NORCO)completed a very solid stage race at Sea Otter Cycling Classic in Monterey, Califronia this past weekend. Finishing in 15th overall, Pendrel showed that her training is on track after a long winter of skiing and cross training at her home near Kamloops. Her performance shows some real potential for the future. Sea Otter features many of the best international and north American racers.
Sea Otter Classic - Cross Country - 53 Finishers
Women
1. Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa (Nor) Multivan Merida Biking Team
2:56:00
2. Sabine Spitz (Ger) Specialized Factory Racing
at 4:39
3. Kiara Bisaro (Can) Gearsracing.com
7:49
4. Wendy Simms (Can) Velo Bella - Kona
9:08
5. Pia Sundstedt (Ger) Rocky Mountain/Business Objects
9:50
6. Jimena Florit (USA) Luna Women's Mtb Team
11:00
7. Sue Hayward (USA) Trek VW
11:03
8. Katerina Nash (USA) Luna Women's Mtb Team
11:54
9. Mary McConneloug (USA) Seven Cycles/Kenda
12:03
10. Dara Marks Marino (USA) Titus/Kenda
12:34
11. Alison Sydor (Can) Rocky Mountain/Business Objects
15:20
12. Sabrina Enaux (Fra) Lapierre Factory Team
16:22
13. Georgia Gould (USA) Luna Women's Mtb Team
17:07
14. Willow Koerber (USA) Subaru-Gary Fisher
17:29
15. Catharine Pendrel (Can) Norco
17:42
16. Monique Sawicki (USA) Sho-Air/Team Mata
18:57
17. Melanie McQuaid (Can) Orbea
21:57
18. Lea Davison (USA) Unattached
22:41
19. Kristin Danielson (USA) Velo Bella - Kona
23:38
20. Kathy Sherwin (USA) Ford Cycling
24:46

March 5, 2006
Devo/Escape Velocity Sisu Spring Road Race Series opener.Courtesy Jeremy Storie www.canadiancyclist.com
The start of the road season opened today in BC with the first of five weekends of racing in the dEVo/Escape Velocity Sisu Spring Road Race Series. Under cool and cloudy skies and later a very light rain a new season opener record of 243 riders contested the traditional 6.2 km flat opening course. The C group saw nearly 100 competitors in their group with Jeremy Srothers taking the win followed by Ryan Cousineau (Escape Velocity), Stephan Ball, Brad Bisset (Coastal) and Paul Falcon (Coastal). It became evident very early on that in this category there are many riders who will be forced to move up to maintain the role and integrity of the C group as a development category for new and novice riders. The opening laps saw the C group post lap times very close to the B's and A's causing the novice riders to be shed very early from the group. It was the fastest race in the history of the C group.In the B race it was a fast and steady pace throughout the 13 lap, 80 km race ending in a large group sprint. Taking top honours went to Ron Klopher followed closely by Anselmo Rossiello (Coastal) and Viktor Brudov with Brian Griffin and Mike Boehm rounding out the top five. The A race saw a few breaks come and go with the most significant being a solo break of 2 laps, gaining up to 50 seconds by BiciSport rider Jamie Sparling (Elitewave). Sparling was eventually brought back by a chase of 8 riders who when catching Sparling formed the winning move. Sparling then attacked again with about 2 laps remaining and stayed away solo with Western Washington University rider Nicolas Clayville taking the sprint for second and Jason Flukinger (Bayside), Carl Jacobson (Masi-Adobe) and Peter Kerklaan rounding out the top five. Apologies for incorrect name spelling and missing/unknown team or club.

Note: Elitewave's Dan Skinner finisher strong in 7th overall for the A Race and was active in all of the major moves in the competition. Congrats guys!

March 3, 2006
Trew Completes Trust House Tour in New Zealand
Jenny Trew continued her fine riding in the southern hemisphere with a successful completion of the Women's Tour lead up event in New Zealand. Trew competed over is four gruelling stages with a field of the best female riders in the World. We are still awaiting final time trial results, but Trew appears to be on track for a top 70 result in this event! Good Work Jenn!
February 26, 2006
Trew completes Geelong World Cup in Australia
Congratulations to Elitewave's Jenny Trew who completed the Australian stop on the World Cup Tour in Geelong. Trew finished 76 out of 144 starters. This is an excellent result for Trew who will now compete in a World Cup tour event and World Cup race in New Zealand this week.

Trew, along with teammates Chris Reid and Alena Radomsky have spent the entire winter in Australia as part of their preparation for the upcoming season. The extra miles and touring they have done should spark some great performances when they return to North America at the beginning of March.

February 26, 2006
Speed Theory: New Sponsor for Penticton Camp
Way Past Fast is changing names in 2006. To help celebrate, Elitewave welcomes their new store -Speed Theory - as an official sponsor of the 2006 Elitewave Penticton Training Camp. Congratulations to Mark Kaltenbach and everyone at the store. Watch soon for the opening of their Vancouver location!!

November 24, 2005
Rebecca Wilkinson Reports from Lance Armstrong's Ride for Roses - Austin, Texas
It all began about a month ago when I emailed Brian McGregor. Like Lance Armstrong, Brian is a testicular cancer survivor. Last year, Brian came up with the idea of forming CTAPP, the Calgary to Austin Peloton Project, which is a charity organization that raises money for the LAF, as well as cancer centers here in Calgary . This year would mark their first ride down to Austin and I wrote him inquiring about joining the ride next year. Within a day, he said he had a way for me to take part in this year’s event....... FULL STORY

November 21, 2005
Stewart Takes 2nd at Provincial Cyclocross Championships
Sarah Stewart (Wedgewood Cycling Club) capped off a great first season of cyclocross racing by taking second place in the elite women's race at the BC Provincial Cyclocross Championships. The course was very muddy and challenged competitors with a very long run-up followed by a very technical switch-back section. On skinny tires, the course was difficult to negotiate.

2004 Ironman Canada winner, Tom Evans of Penticton was also in attendance at the race. As you might expect, he dominated the field on the run-up section. The winner of the race was Ricky Federeau from Gears Racing.

November 10, 2005
Mount Doug High School Cycling Team is Launched
Coach Dan will be coaching a team of young riders at Mount Doug High School in Victoria this year. The Boy's and Girl's teams will be focused on the Provincial High School Mountain Bike Championships in Squamish. The team includes 13 athletes ranging in age from 14-17. It's a great group of rookie and experienced riders. Training sessions and lectures will take place on a regular basis throughout the year. Elitewave's Catharine Pendrel will be the honorary coach (and big sister) for the Girl's Mountain Bike Team.

October 31, 2005
Pan Am Mountain Bike Championships - Mexico City

Congratulations to Catharine Pendrel on her strong race in the Pan Am Mountain Bike Championships this past weekend. The race marks the 3rd occasion that Pendrel has represented Canada on the international level as a member of the Elitewave program.
Canadian riders finished in the top-5 in every category at the Pan American Mountain Bike Championships on Sunday. High altitude (2500 metres) and air pollution proved to be factors in the event. In the Elite Women's three lap race American Mary McConneloug won, with Victoria riders Patricia Sinclair fourth and Elitewave's Catherine Pendrel fifth. Ricky Federau of Abbotsford, B.C. was fourth in the men's four lap race, five minutes behind Deiber Esquivel of Costa Rica. Max Plaxton of Tofino, B.C., the Canadian national Under-23 age champion finished third in his race, while Neil Kindree of Squamish, B.C. and Raphael Gagne of Lac Beauport, QC were second and third respectively in the Junior Men's race, behind Alejandro Dario Gasco of Argentina.- www.canadiancyclist.com

Elite Women's Results
1 Mary McConneloug USA2 Kelli Emmett USA3 Willow Koerber USA4 Trish Sinclair Canada5 Catherine Pendrel Canada

October 30, 2005
Sarah Stewart, riding for the Wedgewood Cycling team, took home another cyclocross win at Jericho Park in Vancouver yesterday. The race was part of a weekend of festivities that featured a banquet with cycling legends Eddie and Axel Merckx. The Wedgewood team raised $100,000 for cancer research through their efforts.

In other team news: Victoria's Mike Neill has brought the Ohio based Human Powered Racing team to Victoria. This team will offer Victoria based athletes a chance to join forces in pursuit of ultra-distance training goals. The group is about to begin serious training for Ironman Canada 2006! Best of luck to Mike and all the athletes on this fine initiative.

October 24, 2005
Cyclocross Win
Sarah Stewart won the Vanier Park BC Cup cyclocross race this past weekend in Vancouver.

October 24, 2005
Team News
Elitewave's Jenny Trew, currently training in Australia, will be riding for the U.S. based Kenda Tire Cycling team in 2006.

Catharine Pendrel leaves this Friday for Pan Ams and will be racing Sunday evening at 6:00pm.

September 26, 2005
Pendrel to Race at Pan Am Mountain Bike Championships
Elitewave's Catharine Pendrel is preparing to compete for Canada again - this time in Mexico at the Pan American Championships Oct 27-30th. This will be Pendrel's third opportunity in the past two years to represent Canada at a major international competition.

September 17, 2005
Sparling wins Oak Bay Criterium
Jamie Sparling racked up another win this morning in Victoria. Jamie won the inaugural Oak Bay Criterium in fine fashion - after capturing most of the primes on his way to the top of the podium. Sparling was vigilant and at the front all day. He kept track of all the small breaks that gambled off the front of the main field. Each break was brought back with the help of Jamie's little brother Jeff Sparling. In the end, it came down to a lead out from the younger Sparling who propelled Jamie into the lead. Jamie crossed the line with both arms raised enthusiastically. Great work Jamie!

September 12, 2005
Pendrel takes 15th at World Cup
Elitewave's Catharine Pendrel earned her highest World Cup placing yet with a solid 15th place at the final UCI World Cup in Fort Williams, Scotland. The race capped an incredible season of success! Congratulations Catharine!

Fort Williams World Cup Results

September 4, 2005
The Pendrel Report from the World Championships
Well I just finished one of the toughest races of my life! It got off to a good start where I was able to climb my way into the thirties, but the steep and relentless climbs eventually took their toll and girls just seemed to keep passing me. I did my best on the day, but was not able to pull off the result i would have licked ending up 52. man those girls are fast!
The trip has been wonderful so far though and definitely a valuable experience. i have spent the last week rooming with Alison sydor and have had the oportunity to see a lot of very beautiful countryside.
Tomorrow we will pass anonther day in Livigno...actually a couple of us are thinking about doing a 2hr ride to switzerland to blow the rest of our swiss francs;) We'll see how the legs feel.
World Cup finals is supposed to be a technical course and will be at sea level. Both of which I'm looking forward too.
ciao
Catharine

September 1, 2005
Subaru Ironman Canada
The city of Penticton played host to the 22nd annual Ironman Canada Triathlon last weekend. Over 2200 starters took to the water in the biggest triathlon start ever held. As usual, the day offered an incredible mix of athletic miracles and emotional moments. The Ironman is unlike any other athletic event I have witnessed.

Sarah Stewart won her age group and placed 13th overall in a time of 10:31.27 - smashing her previous personal best by nearly 50 minutes. Most of the time was made up on the bike where she rode 30 minutes faster than last year. Here run time was only 25 minutes slower than her personal best for a marathon. It was a very tough race with temperatures on the run course reaching almost 30 degrees with high humidity. Stewart came off the bike in 22nd position and ran through those extreme conditions and her competitors to claim the Age Group win and a coveted Hawaii Ironman World Championships Qualifying Spot.

The race was won by Chris Lieto (8:33.32) of Danville California on the Men's side and Karen Halloway on the Women's side. Lieto fought off the 5x World Short Course Champion - Simon Lessing. Lessing, who was comfortably in 2nd place with 3 miles to go, succumbed to the heat and faded to fourth place behind Stephan Vukovic (Olympic Silver Medalist) and Nigel Gray respectively. Halloway finished the women's event in 9:51 - ahead of Paolina Allan (9:54) and Christine Fletcher (9:58). Former Opus team rider, Marilyn MacDonald took fourth in a time of 10:00.39.

Further back in the race, Laura Thurgood and Elaine Davidson who have been training with Elitewave since the May training camp were thrilled to complete their first Ironman race in a time of 16:44. The pair were never sure if they would be able to make the 17 hour cut-off time and have spent the last 13 weeks kicking it up a notch in the hope of making it. Both athletes can wear their finishers medals with pride! Cheryl Johnson was the final official finisher of the day - making the cut off by a mere 2 seconds. I spoke with Cheryl at 5km to go and it was already close. It was 11:11pm when she reached the 5km mark - unable to take any more running. Cheryl somehow managed to walk the final 5km of an Ironman in just over 44minutes to make the cut! A very long day indeed. At Ironman, even if you miss the cut-off by 2 seconds you are not listed as an official finisher. You don't even get your t-shirt or finishers medal for the effort.

Several records were set during the race. Chris Lieto shattered the bike course record set by Thomas Hellreigal in 1996 (4:27) with a 4:25:26. Sister Madonna Budder became the oldest woman to ever complete an Ironman by completing the event in 16:46 at the age of 75! The Ironman Canada race set a new world record for the largest swim start ever at 2200 athletes.

The Elitewave IronSpirit Award
We already knew this guy was a saint. At the Elitewave Penticton Training Camp, this guy is known for being the one that helps everyone and sacrifices whatever he has (food, water, tubes, bikes) to make sure others have a good time. During this year's Ironman he volunteered to accompany a friend through the entire swim course in the hope of making him feel safe amongst the 2200 thrashing swimmers. Acting as an aquatic body-guard, Dave came out of the swim in about 1 hour and 44 minutes. Dave normally swims closer to one hour. After the swim, Dave went on his own way through the course - finishing in 13:35. At the banquet on Monday........a woman sent her heart felt appreciation to the anonymous athlete who helped her to recover from a nasty crash that broke her collar bone. All the woman knew was that the person who helped her was named Dave. Whether is was our Dave O'Neill or not we will never know - all we can say is that such an act of selflessness is completely in line with Dave's character and spirit. For all of these reasons, Dave is a natural choice for the Elitewave IronSpirit Award. Great job Coach Dave! Thank you from all of us!

August 17, 2005
BC Provincial Crit Championships
Alena Radomsky took a hard earned 4th place at the BC Provincial Criterium Championships this past weekend in Vancouver . Alena was involved in a hard chase with Leslie Tomlinson (Rocky Mountain Business Objects) who was working for Alison Sydor (who was in the break with Marni Hambelton of Symmetrics). Radomsky was unable to break free of Tomlinson who helped the chase to maintain it's advantage over the peleton - but would not allow it to close the gap on Sydor's group. It was a great race for Radomsky who has improved drastically as a tactical rider this year!

August 17, 2005
Jewell of the Wilderness - Sudbury , Ontario
Chris Reid completed a great season with a strong ride in the 3 Stage - Jewell of the Wilderness in Sudbury this past weekend. Reid surprised himself with an exceptional criterium that propelled him into 16th place overall at the Canada Cup event. In the road race, he made several significant splits and even joined in on a few small moves off the front. Reid paid for his aggression with 2 laps remaining in the race. He was dropped and forced to chase with 8 other riders. Reid lost most of his series points through a miscommunication between race officials and the riders in this group. Despite the unfortunate timing of this error, Reid was very pleased with his race and surprised with how well he was riding at this point in the season.

August 14, 2005
Pendrel 2nd at Canada Cup Final
Wendy Simms of Nanaimo , BC was on fire Saturday in the Canada Cup Final at Sun Peaks Resort near Kamloops . Simms captured the win ahead of Elitewave 's Catharine Pendrel who had a strong race to take home the silver. This race was the final training event for Pendrel who will leave for an altitude camp in France next week.

August 14, 2005
Trew Wins Twice, Sparling Takes Provincial Championship Omnium
Day 2 of the Provincial Track Championships in Alberta saw Jenny Trew take 2 wins - the Women's Points Race and the Women's Keiren. In the women's 500m Trew was narrowly defeated by Monique Sullivan (39.7 and 39.5 respectively). The 500m was Trew's only loss of the meet and her first loss since returning to Alberta two weeks ago.

Jamie Sparling recorded a life time best ride in the Kilo - going 1:11.3. Sparling followed that up with a win in the Points Race where he double lapped the field to become the new Provincial Champion for the event. In the Keiren, Jamie won his qualifying heat, but was pushed out of position during the aggressive final. Sparling has now claimed the overall omnimum and is the official Provincial Champion in 3 events.

Jenny Trew , despite being a Calgary resident for most of her life, is ineligible for the official Provincial Championships because she now holds a BC racing license. Nevertheless, she was thrilled with her wins!
August 13, 2005
Sparling and Trew Dominate Alberta Provincial Track Champs - Day 1
Jamie Sparling won the Individual Pursuit and the Scratch Race at Alberta 's Provincial Track Championships in Calgary . Jamie recorded a personal best time of 4:57 to take the win. Soon after, Sparling claimed another victory in the Scratch race. After being in a 2 man breakaway which lapped the field - Jamie attacked the field again and went solo for the win! Sparling also recorded a personal best time of 12.2 in the flying 200m event earlier in the morning.

Jenny Trew claimed 3 wins today! In the Women's Individual Pursuit she set a new personal best time of 4:10.0. Trew later won the Match Sprint event over Monique Sullivan of Calgary who is a multiple event National Junior Champion and was the fastest female 200m qualifier at Nationals and in this morning's qualifiers (12.2). Later in the day, Trew also claimed victory in the Women's scratch race.

August 5, 2005
BC ITT Champs
Alena Radomsky claimed 5th place today at the BC Provincial Time Trial Championships near Vancouver . Radomsky was pleased with her effort but was disappointed at not getting to the podium.

August 4, 2005
Trew Wins Tour de Bowness
Jenny Trew won the Tour de Bowness Hill Climb and Criterium this past weekend in Calgary . After a controlled start, Trew accelerated to the win on the challenging COP climb. In the Criterium, she faced strong competition from Alberta 's Canada Games cycling team. In both stages, Trew came out with the win and the leader's jersey for the Tour.

Canadian Cyclist Coverage of the TourdeBowness

August 4, 2005
Ride for Wild Roses
Congratulations to Elitewave 's Rebecca Wilkinson who successfully raised money and awareness for the Lance Armstrong Foundation by Directing and Promoting the Wild for Wild Roses cycling event in Canmore this past weekend. Rebecca's hard work, compassion and enthusiasm for cycling lead to a well organized and well attended event. Plans are underway to make the ride much, much bigger in 2006! Way to go Rebecca!

August 4, 2005
Pendrel Suffers Crash and Mechanicals;
Altitude Camp in Chamonix , France with National Team
Adding to her year of mechanical mishaps, Catharine Pendrel suffered a crash and damaged derailleur at the Canada Cup in Fernie this past weekend. Pendrel was delayed by the incident and struggled home in 8th place.

On the bright side, Pendrel was offered a chance to compete at Mountain Bike Worlds as part of the Elite Women's National team and was also offered one of 4 prestigious spots at a select pre-worlds camp in France . Pendrel will be living at altitude for the 2 weeks at Chamonix - leading into Worlds which will be contested at over 1800m above sea level.

July 25th, 2005
An Incredible Month for Elitewave
The Elitewave results in July just keep coming!

This week we were notified by the CCA that Catharine Pendrel has been named to the Women's Elite National Team for the 2005 World Championship in Livigno , Italy . This is the second consecutive year that Pendrel has made the team.

Angela Naeth took a podium position at the ITU World Cup U-23 race in Edmonton this past weekend. She came out of the water near last and then worked her way up to 3rd with a strong bike and fast run. This result is owed in part to her 14th place finish in the Elite Women's National Road Cycling Championships earlier this month in Kamloops . Naeth has been Elitewave 's rookie sensation - making waves in both the cycling and triathlon world at the same time! Next up - the National Triathlon Championships and hopefully qualification to the World Triathlon Championships.

Jenny Trew had a month of ups and downs - taking 8th in the National Criterium Championships. Following that, she spent a couple weeks battling sickness - yet managed a strong 6th place at the Tour of Delta Criterium. Finally feeling better, Trew qualified in third for the Hill Climb competition at the Tour de White Rock (5th in final) and finished 5th in the TdWR Criterium the following day. Trew finished the TdWR in 5th overall on Omnimum after completing the grueling road race on Sunday. Trew has become a marked rider in all of the criterium events and now rides with the confidence of knowing that on the right day she can win - not matter who is in the field and regardless of their caliber or racing resume.

Alena Radomsky was my pick for most improved athlete this month. Her racing highlights were found mostly in the contributions she made to Coastal teammates Trew and Sweeney. Alena worked very hard for them and gave up several of her own chances at high placings in order to assist the other girls in reaching the podium. Alena found a new level of fitness this month and the confidence to know that when the right breakaway forms - she will be able to stay with it to the line. Objective results included a 4minute improvement in her 30km time trial at Nationals in Kamloops compared to 2004. She placed 6th in the Tour of Delta Hill Climb, 9th in the Criterium and made the race announcer's highlights several times in Superweek. At Tour de Gastown the Race announcer called out "there is Alena Radmosky, she just pulled out the pain stick and is beating the peleton with it" - impressive when you are racing such a strong field of elite riders in a dynamic and attacking race!

Chris Reid was very strong in criterium riding in the month of July. He really improved in this discipline - which has been his Achilles heal throughout his life as a cyclist. Chris performed better and better with each event in Superweek and gained the confidence needed to perform well in the future. Chris' goal has been simple from the beginning - to become proficient enough at Crits to limit his losses in Stage races. With improved confidence and a willingness to throw the bike deeper into the turn - he is gradually moving into the position he will need to make the goal a reality in the Elite men's field. Racing strong domestic pro teams at Superweek really helped Chris to hone his skills!

Dan Skinner showed a glimpse of the talent he possesses by finishing in the main field at Tour of Delta and placing well in the hill climb event. Dan finished the road race, despite being shown as DNF in the results. Dan did receive an official apology from the organizers for this error - but it was not a concern. Skinner has steadily improved this season and should be on form with teammate Sparling in the 2006 racing season.

Jamie Sparling propelled himself into the Elitewave history books by becoming the first elite male to ever finish in the front group at the grueling Tour de White Rock classic road race. Sparling rode the hilly course in good position all day - making several crucial splits and surviving big attacks from teams like Navigators, Health Net, Symmetrics and a host of star riders like Gord Fraser, Kirk Obee, Davidenko and Farrar. Sparling came through with the biggest ride of his young career on Sunday! Jamie is becoming a true elite rider and it was great to see him fulfill some more of the potential he has always shown he was capable of. Great racing Jamie!

2005 National Road Championships Results
Canadian Superweek Results
Nationals and Superweek Photos
Andrea Brewer Photography

July 4, 2005
Loster - National Sprint Champion
Breanna Loster won the National Sprint Championships in Calgary this past weekend. For the first time in 15 years, the record books will show a name other than Dubnicoff and Meunzer as the National Champ. Loster won the race in a nail biter over local favorite Anne-Brit Carter (Team Alberta ). Loster took home the jersey and a shiny gold medal to add to the Keiren Championship she won last year. See the photo sequence of the Women's Sprint here - Bre is pictured in the final 3 photos.

Jenny Trew ended a 3 year medal drought at track nationals - taking home the bronze in the Keiren, the silver in the 500m and the bronze in the National Points Race Championship. Trew was proudest of her Bronze in the Points Race where she faced several national team riders, 3 former National Points Race Champs and last year's U.S. Pro Champion on the Road - Gina Grain of Victory Brewing. The 3 medal haul was the first hardware won by Trew since 2000 where she won a silver against Lori-Ann Meunzer in Sprints. This was Trew's 15th National Championship cycling medal!
See the photo sequence of the Women's Point Race and the podium. Trew is in orange with the red and black helmet.

Jamie Sparling and Chris Reid were so solid on the weekend! They were both in aggressive endurance races against the very best. Jamie earned a 5th place finish in the men's elite scratch race by bridging up to the breakaway and helping to propel the break to a full lap advantage over the field. Sparling also placed 11th in the points race. Sparling also survived a kamikaze ride in the men's madison event.

Chris Reid placed 12th in the Points Race and finished in the bunch for the Scratch event after dangling off the front of the peleton - attempting to bridge the gap to the break - for nearly 4 laps. It was an impressive ride. Reid was the only rider in the 34 man field who attempted to cross the large gap to the winning breakaway.

In total, Elitewave brought home a National Championship and 3 other medals in the 4 day Championship. We also recorded 4 other top 5 finishes in the meet. Considering that we only brought 4 riders to the event - it was an impressive showing! Elitewave riders managed to eclipse the medal count for several major teams and provinces - even outperforming Victoria 's own National cycling center.

Breanna Loster becomes the 13th National Champion coached by Dan Proulx . The total count for medals won at the National Cycling Champsionship, by athletes under Dan's guidance, is now 35 - since 1997. This does not include GVVA athletes under Dan's guidance who won medals at this year's event.

In the 2005 season, Elitewave riders have ridden World Cups on both the Mountain Bike and Road. They have won Canada Cup mountain bike races; won National Championships and placed highly in so many provincial level races that we have long since lost count. The credit goes 100% to the fine athletes who have banded together with a mission to reach their ultimate potential in the sport. They are well on their way!

July 4, 2005
Radomsky 4th at Yale Town
Alena Radomsky continued her tune up for road nationals with a great ride in Vancouver on Friday. She got into the winning break with Olympians Leah Goldstein and Alison Sydor during the fast and crash filled criterium event. Marni Hambleton, who was also in the break, claimed the victory.

Photos are here... Alena Radomsky is in orange with white helmet in the break.

July 4, 2005
Naeth to Canada Games
Angela Naeth has continued her learning curve in the sport of cycling by being named to the Canada Games team for Cycling BC . Naeth will compete against Canada 's best young riders at the 2 week multi-sport games in Regina this August!

June 29, 2005
Pendrel Report
Ah, back at home… and this time for more than a week.
Last weekend I competed in my first World Cup and I’m excited to say I think the developing Canadian gals could catch the USA race scene a little off guard if we were to show up at a Norba. Which is exactly what’s next on the race plan.
It was another hot weekend at Mont St. Anne . They elongated the course from what we rode at Nationals, adding another tough climb and some tough single track. With the added distance we did five rather than six laps this weekend. Although the humidity made the air heavy, the rain clouds held off so the course was in good condition.
The start loop hurt. I had to set my own pace, but my legs turned around before the first climb and I worked my way up to the top 20. Racing can turn into a blur where you just remember pushing, and memories of each lap mix together. By the top of the climb on lap two I remember thinking I couldn’t do it any more, I just didn’t have the legs. But then I was told I was in 14th position and the hurt went from suffering to just the good hurt of a fast race.
I felt great in the single track and was riding in a line with Trish Sinclair and Shonny Vanlandingham for the first 4 laps, hovering between 12th and 14th. Knowing Trish to be an experienced racer she was a good gauge for pace. I was hoping with a strong final lap I could get ahead, my goal being to finish in the top 3 of Canadians and as well as I could overall. Unfortunately on the 4th lap I flatted on the first big descent and moved from 13th to 23rd and 8 minutes back. Gotta work on those tire changes! On the last lap I was able to pass three women and move back into the top 20. Although I had some bad luck I feel great about the way I rode the race and excited for more big races to come.
In the end there were 7 Canadian women in the top 20. Not too shabby. With Marie Helen Premont scoring her 2nd World Cup win, Kiara Bisaro 9th, Trish sinclair 11th, Mical Dyck 15th, Amanda Sin 17th, Julie Sanders 18th and me in 20th.
I’m now back home where I’ll follow the wisdom of my coach Dan and put in a couple weeks of training before starting the next set of races. Next stop will be the Norba xc and short-track in Sandpoint , Idaho July 16th and 17th.
Thanks again to my wicked support crew. The Bike Barn for ensuring I’m out there on the best equipment, Norco for your tech and race support, Mom and Dad – my trusty feedzone crew, Dan at elitewave.com for your coaching & advice and Keith – whose acceptance of a full time teaching position next year will allow me to concentrate more on training.
Later,
Catharine

June 25, 2005
Pendrel 20th at World Cup MTB
Catharine Pendrel spent most of Saturday's World Cup race in Mt. Ste. Anne hovering between 11th and 13th position. She was riding alongside fellow Canadian Trish Sinclair (Scott Racing) and feeling excited about the prospect of a high placing. Murphy's law struck Pendrel on the final lap where she suffered a flat tire that took nearly eight minutes to repair. Despite the misfortune, Pendrel still finished in the top 20 riders on the day. The race was won in an upset victory with Marie-Helene Premont of Canada winning over Olympic Gold Medalist Gunn Rita Dahle.
June 25, 2005
Radomsky to Provincial Team at National Championships
Elitewave 's Alena Radomsky (Team Coastal) has been named to the Cycling BC Provincial Team for the National Road Championships in Kamloops this July. Radomsky will join 5 other riders from various BC teams who will represent the province in the time trial, criterium and gruelling road race.

June 20, 2005
Stewart Wins National Title in New Balance Half Ironman
Sarah Stewart earned a well deserved victory in her age group at the National LongCourse Championships in Victoria . Sarah also took 3rd place in the Elite Women's race - which was won by Charlene Waldron. The Silver medal was won by Rachel Joyce of Victoria . Stewart qualified for Ironman Canada 2005 with this result. Her placing also qualified her for a spot on Canada 's National Age Group Team for Worlds in 2005 and 2006, however she decided to turn down this honor.

June 20, 2005
Naeth 3rd at Provincial Short Course Triathlon Championships
Angela Naeth won her age group and placed third overall at the Provincial Short Course Triathlon Championships this past weekend. After a decent swim, Naeth pulled closer to the lead on the bike before running through the field to take a hard earned 3rd overall in the Elite division. Naeth is now contemplating the World Cup triathlon in Edmonton this July.

June 20, 2005
Pendrel Goes Head to Head With Sydor at Test of Metal.
All BC riders know of the Test of Metal in Squamish. This is proven by the fact that the 800 available spots were filled by January, only 1 week after registration opened.
The Test is a 800 (plus elite) rider mass start marathon mountain bike race. It involves over 9 miles of climbing and lots of fun challenging single track. Usually accompanied by heat, this year it was wet with the rain of the last couple days.
Hoping to earn a little cash to put towards racing and student loans I have to admit I was a little disappointed to see Alison Sydor show up. I quickly saw all my fantasies of winning the 10 primes fading. But you can’t really get disappointed about that caliber of rider showing up. It only makes racing better. So before the anthem was quite finished we were off. 800+ people jockeyed for position heading into the first paved climb. I crept my way up to where Alison was positioned near the front by about 2/3 of the way into the long starting climb. Seeing as I was feeling good and the first prime was coming up I decided to go for it and at least make it difficult to get. I entered the dirt first and was a little disconcerted when Alison didn’t storm by me as the minutes clicked by.
A lot of thoughts go through your head when your leading a race with a World champion on your tail. Am I going too hard and gonna blow? Disappointment- is she just letting me lead? …I think I actually wanted her to pass me so I could wrap my head around the idea. But then I decided that would be silly. I felt good and liked the idea of trying for a couple more primes.
I had people cheering me on as Alison or Sarah Noble (last year’s Test winner and Bike Barn racer) and enjoyed the look of surprise & excitement on Keith’s face as I passed him at Alice lake (1min 30 up) and then the feed zone at more than an hour in still in the lead. I felt great all 40+ minutes of climbing and worked my way from 35 to 22 position. Alison and a group of guys caught me on the descent after the first climb of 9 mile hill. She was content to sit on my wheel and I was content to have her there. I wasn’t about to just give up my lead to draft, I wanted her to have to take it. At the top of the last climb Alison and I had ridden away from the men in our group.
Alison attacked before we dove into the plunge. I was able to stick with her for a bit, but then messed up and she got a gap. Although 2+ hours in at this point I still felt strong and went on to put in my best Test ride of 3hr 12min 34sec. Alison motored through the last hour putting 2 min and 10 secs into me and breaking the women’s course record.
Wendy Simms, Eron Chorney and Meghan Kindree finished 3rd,4th and 5th. All ten primes were won by…meJ Turns out that having Alison there made it a more exciting Test of Metal than I could have imagined.
- Catharine Pendrel

June 14, 2005
Skinner on Podium
Prairie Steamer Stage Race - Calgary
Elitewave 's Dan Skinner travelled to the other side of the rocks from his summer home in Salmon Arm. Skinner captured 2nd Place overall in the Prairie Steamer Stage race near Calgary . Dan moved into the lead after placing 8th in the Road Race and then claiming victory in the Hill Climb. Skinner said, " I felt really strong, like I had another gear. When I was hurting, I could just dig so much deeper than before". Teammate Jamie Sparling was in a 2 man break with a 2 minute advantage on the field when he flatted. The follow car did not have wheels for the breakaway. Jamie was forced to wait for the main peleton to pass and then for neutral service. Shortly after, Sparling's chain crunched into the spokes of the neutral wheel. He crashed hard into the pavement - requiring several stitches for his injuries.

June 12, 2005
Radomsky and Naeth on Podium in Lower Mainland
Elitewave 's Alena Radomsky captured 2nd place in the Brockton Criterium on Saturday in Stanley Park - Vancouver . On Sunday, teammate Angela Naeth took 3rd overall in the Langley BC Cup road race. Both riders were excited about the weekend's races. Radomsky commented "it was just such a fun weekend". Chris Reid did not have a fun weekend however. After getting into a good breakaway that included Marsh Cooper and Derek McMaster, Reid flatted. Following a quick change, the wheel pulled and jammed - causing Reid to crash into the wheel vehicle. All part of bike racing and next week offers another opportunity to race at the Wedgewood classic in downtown Vancouver.!

June 12, 2005
Mountain Bike Nationals
Catharine Pendrel took 6th overall at the Canadian Championships in Mount St. Anne Quebec . Pendrel was in a very tough race with some of the best mountain bikers in the world - including 2 Olympic medallists(Premont and Sydor) and the current World Cup leader (Premont).

1. Marie-Helene Premont (Rocky Mountain), 1:54:412. Alison Sydor (Rocky Mountain) at 1:25 3. Kiara Bisaro ( Gearsracing), 4:31 4. Patricia Sinclair (Scott Usa) 10:55 5. Melanie Mcquaid (Orbea) 11:27 6. Catharine Pendrel (The Bike Barn) 14:09 7. Amanda Sin (Bay Cycle/ 3 Rox Racing) 15:43 8. Sandra Walter (Adventurebound.Ca) 18:03 9. Jean-Ann McKirdy (Rocky Mountain ) 18:24 10. Julie Sanders (Xprezo) 20:42

44 Starters, 35 Finishers

June 7, 2005
Pendrel Report
Hey all,
I`m glad to be the bearer of more great race news. This past sunday marked my first Canada Cup win! It was a balmy 32 degrees in Barrie Ontario when we lined up to start the third consecutive race on the Canda Cup circuit.
As much as riders claim Ontario has little for technical riding, this is not really the case. The trails here are smooth, but twisty, requiring a lot of power and that you are constantly working your bike through the terrain. Even pre-riding your back is sore before you`ve finished a lap.
Melanie Mequaid took the lead again from the start this weekend. The first lap was a slighlty shortened loop. By the end of it Melanie was in the lead by about 30 seconds, I followed with Mical back another 30 secs and Amanda Sin another 30 secs behind her. By the end of lap 1 the heat forced me to slow up a bit, but when I saw I was beginning to close the gap on Melanie at the beginning of lap three I decided to make a go at the lead and hope that Melanie and the other women were hurting just a bit more than me and wouldn`t be able to respond. I got by Melanie on the third lap and couldn`t see any one close on my tail where the course looped back on itself. I kept going as hard as I could, telling myself how great it would be to finally win one of these Canada Cups.
It was a great feeling to be able to raise my arm in celebration crossing the finsih line. It was also great to share the podium with Amanda Sin who finished 3rd and Mical who claimed her third 2nd place finish of the season.
That day I was to also get another first...trying to pop a champagne bottle open while the centre of attention. I fumbled desperately for some time, but eventually managed to get a little celebratory spray.
Thanks again to all those who have helped me get to the podium, Bike Barn, Elitewave .com, Cycling BC , Mom and Dad, Carb-boom, keith and friends.
I`m now back in Quebec preparing for mountain bike Nationals. I`ll let you know how it goes.
Cheers for now,
Catharine

June 5, 2005
Sparling on Podium in Regina
Jamie Sparling took a well earned 5th place overall in Regina this weekend and earned his fifth podium placing of the year. After finishing 4th in the time trial, Jamie took 2nd to Manitoba 's Murray Carter in the Stage 2 Criterium. In the final stage, Jamie soloed across a large gap and into the 4 man break with teammate Phil Abbott. On the last climb, Sparling got popped, but was able to preserve his lead over the main field to finish 5th. Next weekend, Jamie competes for a spot on Alberta 's Provincial Road Racing team for Nationals and Canadian Superweek - at the Prairie Steam Road Race in Calgary .

June 5, 2005
Pendrel Wins Canada Cup #3
Catharine Pendrel took her first Canada Cup win today at Hardwood Hills resort in Ontario . Comments and a report from Catharine are expected shortly.

Elite Women1. Catharine Pendrel (The Bike Barn)2. Mical Dyck (Terrascape Racing)3. Amanda Sin (3 Rox Racing)4. Melanie McQuaid (Independant)5. Danelle Kabush (Independant)6. Heather Morrisen (3 Rox Racing)7. Stephanie Martinek (Arrow / Oakley)8. Catherine Vipond (Gears Racing)9. Olivia Gagne (Team La Vie Sportive)10. Helena Coney (Independant)

June 5, 2005
Naeth Wins Triathlon
Angela Naeth wons the women's overall title at the Hinton Triathlon in Alberta this weekend. Naeth had a solid bike ride and completed the Olympic Distance race with 41:27 for the 10km run course to take the win.

June 5, 2005
Radomsky 4th in Seattle
At the Volunteer Park Criterium in Seattle , Alena Radomsky worked hard against the team from Wines of Washington, ending up 4th in the final sprint. "It was a tough race", said Radomsky "the Wines of Washington team was really working well together and there was no way to get away from them". Radomsky has been working on her tactical abilities, so the race offered her an excellent problem to solve. It's hard for one rider to win the race against 4 other riders who are working well together. Radomsky had a solid race and was pleased with her ride. "It was such a positive race and the girls were great down there", said Radomsky.

June 5, 2005
Stewart wins at Panorama
Congratulations to Sarah Stewart who one the 25-29 age group division at the Panorama Classic Triathlon on Vancouver Island this weekend.

June 4, 2005
Elitewave In Action
Elitewave team riders are competing in several different events this weekend:
Alena Radomsky - Seattle , WA Criterium
Angela Naeth - Hinton , Alberta Triathlon
Catharine Pendrel - Canada Cup #3, Ontario
Jamie Sparling - Tour of Regina Sask.
Jenny Trew - Wachovia Liberty Classic, PA

June 4, 2005
Trew Completes Tour of Montreal with a Solo Breakaway
Jenny Trew completed the final day of the tour by going on a solo adventure that saw her lead the main field for 1.5km before her attack was brought back by the Nurimberger team. It was a fantastic ending to a gruelling race where Trew exceeded expectations. Trew's comments on the race and a few words about her performance from the National Team coach are here....

June 2, 2005
Stage 4 Tour of Montreal
Jenny Trew moved up several positions in the General Classification at the Tour yesterday with a 26th place finish in the Terrebonne pack sprint. This moves Trew up to 64th position overall on GC. Trew was happy with the ride commenting that it was a much easier stage than the previous day since there was a solid breakaway of riders up the road with all of the major teams represented. She said that the break effectively neutralized the race and forced a bunch finish. Despite the nature of the race, several riders finished outside of the time cut and were eliminated from the race.

June 1, 2005
Trew to Race for Canada at Wachovia Liberty Classic in Philadelphia
Elitewave 's Jenny Trew has been named to the National Team for another project - the Wachovia Liberty Classic in Philadelphia on Sunday June 5th.
Trew will join Canada 's Lynn Bessette, Suzanne Macht, Lisa Sweeney, Heather Lamson and Elise Gagnon. Trew's performance in the time trial and criterium at the Tour of Montreal earned her the spot with the team.
The criterium in Philadelphia is part of the USA Cycling's National Race Series and the Pro Tour. All of the the best pro riders in North America will be attendance for the prestigious race.

May 31, 2005
Stage 3 Tour of Montreal
A very difficult course and a world class field of climbers moved Jenny Trew to 70th place at the Tour of Montreal today. Today's course featured 3 laps and a severe climb in each lap that turned the race into a battle of the climbers. Trew commented "I'm happy with my ride. We never gave up. The climb in Rigaud is 18% and it was very tough. I got dropped at the very top of the climb...I just had nothing left from going so hard up it. We climbed that thing 3 times. Our group figured out what we had to do to make the time cut, so we went for it......the goal was just to survive so that we could start at Terrebonne (Stage 4)".

May 31, 2005
The Pendrel Report - Canada Cup #2 Mount Tremblant
Howdy from Sudbury Ontario ,
I'm now spending the week getting to know northern Ontario with fellow mtb racer and former maritimer Amanda Sin. This week will be a good chance to rest up from the marathon mud fest that was Canada Cup #2 and to prep for Canada cup 3 being held near Barrie Ontario .
Anyone who has not had the good fortune of riding in Quebec has to try it out. The trails are fast, rooty, rocky and fun. This year a new single track section with lots of fun bridges was added to the Tremblant course. Staying true to its track record of muddy events however, what should have been a 25 min lap turned into 35min after about 12hrs of solid rain. Mud puddles which at the beginning of the race went up to your knees grew to accomodate riders right up to their waists. Being from the maritimes, mud seems to be a good ally and my bike worked amazingly well leading to successful weekend.
The first lap saw Former Xtera World Champion Melanie Mcquaid storm off the front. The rest of the women thought we were in trouble having a trained runner/mtb racer off the front. By lap two Mical Dyck and I had caught and passed Brazilian rider Jacqueline Mourad and were closing on Melanie. We reached her at the base of the paved climb up through the village. I tried to gap both women on the climb, but they weren't going to let that happen. Half way into the next lap Mical and I were able to get by Melanie in the woods and put her out of sight. 4th lap (over 2 hrs into race with one lap to go) Jacquelin came on strong and got past both Mical and I. She conceded later that she's a bit of a marathon specialist, a good strength for this race! Heading into the fith and final lap I was about 20 secs off Mical. Knowing that last year I passed her on the final climb of this course she knew she had to get to gap me in the woods. She rode very strongly and openned an impressive 2 minute gap, finishing 2nd, 52 seconds behind Jacqueline who had a winning time of 2hr 51 min+. I finished 3rd in what was a very dynamic and one of the more challenging of races I have done.
A Canada Cup win still remains elusive for both myself and Mical Dyck, but the caliber of riders showing up at the canada Cups has been great. I'm off to hardwood hills, ont. on friday where we'll duke it out again.
I want to congratulate all my elitewave.com team mates on their stellar riding last weekend. Keep it up guys.
Also thanks to Neil Mackinnon at Norco for setting me up with a new derailer hanger.
Later,
Catharine

May 30, 2005
Trew - Top Placed Team Canada Rider on GC at Tour of Montreal
Full Results and Photos Here...
Jenny Trew placed 16th overall today and was the 5th Canadian in the Stage 2 - Little Italy Criterium at the Tour of Montreal. The event was won by World Cup Leader Oenone Wood (Aus) of the Nurnberger Versicherung team. Jenny said "it was a very cool race. I was off the front for a little while with Judith Arndt and Oenone Wood....it was very hard!! I didn't really get to sprint in the end because someone clipped a pedal in the last corner and took the whole group wide.....in the final laps it was so hard that I thought I was going to die". With one lap to go, there was a prime which was won by Wood who eventually took the victory at the line.
Earlier in the morning, Trew placed 37th in the 3km prologue time trial. Here total time on the General Classification now makes here the top ranked rider in the Tour among those representing the National Team at the race. This sets up Trew for the possibility of competing in Philidelphia next week with the National team.
Tomorrow, the race turns hilly with a stage at Rigaud , Quebec . Trew will be trying to race defensively and preserve her position of 36th overall in this World Class field of 80 riders.

May 30, 2005
Sparling 3rd Overall in Montana - Ecology Center Classic
Jamie Sparling added another podium finish to his already stellar season with a 3rd place overall finish on the General Classification at the Ecology Center Cycling Classic. Sparling moved up steadily throughout the race from a 5th in the first road race stage. Comments from Jamie will be added to this page upon Jamie's return to Calgary .

To look at a complete listing of results click here...

May 29, 2005
Radomsky and Naeth Take on the field at Bastion Square Criterium
It was a disappointing day for Alena Radomsky who took 9th overall in the Bastion Square Criterium. "Last year I would have been satisfied with today, this year I am not", said Radomsky at the end of the race. Alena missed a decisive move where two Symmetrics riders (Mandy Poitras and Marnie Hambleton) and Trek's Leah Goldstein escaped off the front of the peleton. The chase group was disorganized and competing against each other instead of going after the break. Radomsky and Naeth were forced to try and sprint in the main group as neither rider was able to project themselves down the road. For Angela Naeth, the race was quite positive. After earning a 5th place the day before at the Provincial Road Race Championships, she was a bit out of here league on the tough and technical downtown Victoria course. Despite here lack of experience, Angela is a quick learner who rapidly adapted to the group's movements and cornering. What could have been a dangerous and unrewarding ride for Naeth quickly turned into a chance to ride along with BC's best. Several strong riders who placed well the previous day's road race were dropped from the field and lapped - this included a 2004 Olympian in triathlon - Samantha McGlone of Victoria who had placed 3rd in the road race. Both Radomsky and Naeth will join forces to contest the Hatsic Valley BC Cup in two weeks time.

Chris Reid and Dan Skinner both raced well for themselves in the 70 lap Category 1/2 race. They were, however, no match for the tempo set by 2 time World Mountain Bike Champion, Roland Green and the Symmetrics team. They lasted for the first 1/3 of the race - which was well over 45km/hr average speed - before being dropped with nearly half of the field. Dan Skinner managed to ride 10 laps in the top of the field before being delayed by a crash at the infamous "crash corner" on Warf Street . In the end, there were only 30 finishers left on the final lap. While the results do not show it, both Skinner and Reid have made huge gains in performance and are lasting longer and longer in each criterium event (their weakest event). As their technical and tactical abilities improve, the results will increase exponentially.

May 28, 2005
Amazing Day for Elitewave Riders on the National, Provincial and International Racing Season.

Catharine Pendrel took third place overall in the Elite women's field at Canada Cup #2 in Mount Tremblant Quebec today. She was 3 minutes behind Brazil 's Jaqueline Mourad (Independant) 2:51:23 and two minutes behind last season's Canada Cup winner Mical Dyck (Terrascape Racing).

Elite Women 1. Jaqueline Mourad (Independant) 2:51:232. Mical Dyck (Terrascape Racing) 2:52:153. Catharine Pendrel (The Bike Barn) 2:54:41 4. Jean-Ann McKirdy (Rocky Mountain) 2:58:26 5. Melanie McQuaid (Ford Basis) 3:01:40

At the Provincial Cycling Championships in British Columbia , Elitewave 's Angela Naeth took 5th place in the Category 1-2 Women's Provincial Raod Championships. This was Angela's first real road race and the results confirmed what she has shown in training - that she has the fitness to compete well as both a cyclist and triathlete. After racing very aggressively in the first half of the race, Alena Radomsky cramped up on the final climb of the day. Alena rolled home at 2 minutes behind the main field. Both Radomsky and Naeth will compete in tomorrow's Bastion Square Criterium.

In the men's Provincial Road Race Championships, Chris Reid had a great race and finished confidently in the main field. Teammate and training partner, Dan Skinner finished several minutes back today after being forced into the ditch to avoid a crash. The rider who went down was taken away in an ambulance.

Jenny Trew raced at the Montreal World Cup today. She grabbed some unexpected CBC television time as she assisted teammate Kristen Robbins to reach the from of the peleton in the opening laps of the race. Trew and the entire National team were instructed to protect Robbins who is expected to perform well in today's race. With 2 laps remaining in the race, Robbins is still in the hunt at the front of the fast dwindling field.....

Équipe Nationale du Canada (CAN)- Kirsten Robbins (CAN)- Anna Tratnyek (CAN)- Kylie Case (CAN)- Jenny Trew (CAN)- Suzanne Macht (CAN)- Lisa Sweeney (CAN)- Kris Westwood: Directeur sportif

May 28, 2005 Ecology Center Classic
Sparling takes 5th in Stage 1 RR
Jamie Sparling is off to a strong start in Montana where he took a hard fought 5th place in the opening stage.

1/2 Men (80 miles)
1. Philippe Abbott (Bicisport)
4:14:06
2. Rob Britton ( Team Sask /Coastal)

3. Andy Schultz (Team Montana )
both s.t.
4. Shawn Bunnin (team Sask )
0:59
5. James Sparling (Bicisport)
1:05
6. Nick Friesen (Bike Shop)
2:55
7. Per Strom (Bicisport)
4:13
8. Clint Muhlfeld (Team Montana )
6:45
9. Evan Lawrence (Hammer Gel)
6:45
10. Mark Macdonald (Sport Chek Cycling)
6:45

May 26, 2005
Trew Rides for Canada
Jenny Trew will represent the Canadian Cycling Association's Team at the Montreal World Cup this Saturday and the Grand Tour of Montreal next week.
This will be Trew's second time on the team. She was to ride for the Development Team at the Univest Grand Prix in 2001 when all events were cancelled in light of the 911 tragedy.
Trew will compete on a six rider squad. The plan is to ride through the World Cup and then onto the Tour where the courses suit her abilities more. The field will be truly world class. The goal at these races is to learn how to compete under pressure. Any results along the way are truly a bonus.

May 25, 2005
The Pendrel Report
Hey everyone,
Well the race season is on! Canada Cup XC #1 in Bromont , Quebec brought some of Canada 's and the world's top talent out. Marie Hélene Prémont, Olympic silver medalist graced the women's field, while Roland Green, former World Champion challenged the mens xc race.
Needless to say the starts were fast. Practicing mtb starts over the off season paid off however (thanks Dan and Keith). By the end of the first long climb i had pulled into second behind Marie. I was leading a line of women, Mical Dyck (Last year's Canada Cup leader), Jacquline (Brazilian National Team) Martina Feldman and Jean Ann Mckirdy when to my disappointment I bent my derailer hanger....i was just riding along, honest. I guess it must just be my monstrous legs putting out too much torque on the climbs. haha. Whatever the cause, stopping to fix my bike twice that lap pushed me back into 20th position (twice). I was very pleased to work my way back up to 6th position, finishing with a punctured rear tire spewing sealant, but holding together long enough to finish.It looks like we'll have another strong year on the xc circuit. Mical Dyck has shown she's stepped it up again from last year and Martina Feldman and Jean ann Mckirdy are making their presence felt.I'm feeling strong on my bike and looking forward to contesting the next weekend ( Canada Cup #2). hopefully this time from the front of the race! Please send some good luck Karma!
Thanks to The Bike Barn for sending me off well supplied and ready to go, Dan for the training programs that allow me to be competitive at this level of racing, Keith -training partner and all round support, Dana - for the time off work, Carb-Boom for keeping me well fueled, Cycling BC for their athlete assistance and of course mom and Dad for your continual support.
Until next week,Catharine

May 23, 2005
Pendrel Named to CCA's Commonwealth Games Team Long-list.
Thanks to a rock solid performance at last year's World Mountain Bike Championships, Elitewave 's Catharine Pendrel has earned some recognition by being named to the long-list of athletes with the potential to qualify for the Commonwealth Games next summer. It will be a tough team to make with only 2 mountain bikers slated to compete - the National Champion and a Committee Choice. At this point, it's an honor just to be named to the long list which is forwarded to the Commonwealth Games Society and media.
To view the selection criteria and list of potential athletes, click here...

May 22, 2005
Sparling takes 2nd Place in Bikes on Broadway Prologue Time Trial
Continuing his stellar performances in the 2005 season, Jamie Sparling notched another podium position on Saturday with a 2nd place finish in the prologue time trial at the Bikes on Broadway Stage race in Saskatoon .

May 21, 2005
Pendrel Suffers Mechanical and Takes 6th at Canada Cup #1.
Catharine Pendrel took 6th at the first stop of the Canada Cup tour in Bromont , Quebec . Pendrel had a great start and worked hard on the first long climb to maintain contact with Olympic Silver Medallist Marie-Helene Premont. "I went into the single track and I bent my derailleur. I stopped and tried to fix it. Eventually I rode back to the feedzone and got someone to talk me through the adjustment......eventually I got going...with half a lap remaining I flatted. Thanks to the slime in my tires they stayed half inflated to the finish." Despite the mechanical and severe time deficit, Pendrel sprinted ahead of Amanda Sinn to take 6th overall in the race. Pendrel said, " I just wished I could have seen how it would have panned out without the mechanicals...I was feeling strong."

May 21, 2005
Trew Takes 3rd in Quebec Cup
Jenny Trew took 3rd today in the Quebec Cup Road Race near Bromont , Quebec . The race was part of the qualification process for Quebec 's Canada Games Team and a training race for the CCA Women's Development Camp which Trew is attending as preparation for the Montreal World Cup and Grand Tour de Montreal.

May 15, 2005
Sparling Continues Podium Finishes
Jamie Sparling took a podium position again this past weekend in the Canmore Crtierium. Sparling broke away with Ryan McKenzie (Subway) in the Cat 1/2 Criterium to finish a lap ahead of the field. The second place finish came on the heals of a solid performance for Sparling in the ITT (6th) and the Team Time Trial. Sparling will compete at Bike on Broadway this weekend in Saskatoon .

May 9, 2005
10th Anniversary of Elitewave Penticton Training Camp Complete
The Penticton Training Camp is now complete. The camp played host to over 30 athletes and staff from across BC and Alberta . C group riders completed over 500kms of riding during the 9 day camp. B group riders did 750km. The A group completed 850-900km with two riders extending the camp by a couple days to achieve 1300kms!

The miles are only a small portion of the story however. The greater aspect of the camp was the team work, friendship and camaraderie experienced by all of the campers. Below are some of the comments on this year's edition of the camp:
Hi Dan and everyone! If you could forward this to everyone I would appreciate it. Thanks to everyone for being so supportive, friendly and understanding to myself, a bit in over my head ability wise. I learned somuch from all of you especially Beat. I feel more confident and a lot safer on the road thanks to all of you. Hope to see you in Aug, take care. ______________________________________________
[We] are happy campers and would love to come back again next year. We both learned a lot, had fun and gained some confidence for Ironman. We appreciated all the support, the other campers, the well planned rides to great locations and the skills clinics. It was all so well done. Now we have lots to work on. Thanks a million.
_____________________________________________
Hi Dan. Just wanted to thank you for the great week. i'm exhausted but happy. it was a great time.______________________________________________
Dan, this year was unbelievable. It was everything I had thought the 'training camps' could be. I know it must be an enormous effort to accommodate for such a wide variation in abilities and personalities. Everyone I talked to, be they C, B or A had an amazing time, that is a great accomplishment.
Some key aspects of the camp that really stood out.
- Great truck support. It made us feel like real pros out there.
- Fit and motivated ride guides. To me this is very important and I appreciate it very much.
- Good timing of the social events.
- Great clinic at Mclean Creek on the recovery day.
- Great diversity in rides. For example the Giants Head ride, Apex resort, Rock Creek, Naramata brick workout, they were all great and all in different directions, awesome.
Thanks for a good time, I'll be back next year.
___________________________________________
Hi Dan, I hope you made it back safely to Victoria , it was tempting to follow you home after hearing about the rain in Calgary .
Thank you again for putting on such a great training camp, even though I could only make it to the last few days, I was very impressed with how organized it was. I will definitely be there for the whole thing next year.
Take care and hope to see you in 2006.
___________________________________________
Well thanks, I had an amazing time at the camp! It was a blast and I met a lot of great people. ______________________________________________
Thanks so much, I had a blast! You run a great show, you're a very talented coach. That was one of the best holidays I've had in a while. Please send my hello and thanks to the ride guides. I really enjoyed their company.______________________________________________
Thanks for putting on another great camp. I don't know how you do it, but they keep getting better every year. The quality and level of coaching and support was really appreciated by myself and everyone I talked to. Some of the first-timers I talked were especially amazed that someone could put together a camp as well as you do. Thanks again and I hope you have a fun summer.______________________________________________
Kudos to you for a great camp Dan .
It was the perfect blend of toughness, fun and sensibility. Some good laughs and good company makes 800km and LOTS of climbing pass by very painlessly. The camp got my miles up and did what I wanted it to do, which was get me back on track with my riding this season. Sign me up for 06'
______________________________________________
Many thanks to you Dan! I had an amazing time, and learned so much in a week. I don't think I have stopped talking to my friends about what an awesome week we had, and the great desire and appreciation I have now for climbing. Now they are all wanting to sign up for next year!
Only problem now is, I want to quit my job and train full - time! Thanks again, and it was great to meet you
______________________________________________
May 9, 2005
Sparling 2nd at Ardrossan
Jamie Sparling took a hard fought second place finish in the Criterium this weekend at the Ardrossan Stage Race - just outside of Edmonton Alberta .
May 9, 2005
Radomsky Completes Columbia Plateau
Alena Radomsky completed her longest race to date - finishing the challenging Columbia Plateau Stage Race. Radomsky rode hard and finished in the top half of the field on the General Classification. Radomsky's extra effort paid off as the 4 day race features several 40min to 1 hour climbs in the middle of grueling road stages. This will be excellent preparation for Road Nationals later this summer.
Columbia Plateau Results Here...
May 1, 2005
Trew places 3rd at Warp Speed Time Trial in Vancouver .
Jenny Trew earned a third place podium position in the Warp Speed Time Trial this weekend. Teammate Alena Radomsky earned a solid 5th place. Chris Reid placed 13th overall and 6th among the Category 2 riders.
Results for the Warp Speed Time Trial are Here...

April 28, 2005
Tour of Walla Walla Results
Official Results from the Tour of Walla Walla are now available.

Women's Pro Time Trial
Women's Pro Criterium
Women's Pro GC

Men's Pro Time Trial
Men's Pro Criterium
Men's Pro GC

Story Originally Posted April 24th
Jenny Trew had another consistent weekend in the saddle at the Tour of Walla Walla . She battled from 9th place on GC after the 8km prologue time trial to finish 4th overall on GC at the end of the shortened 2 stage event. In the final criterium, Jenny captured a 2 second time bonus prime and 5 second bonus for finishing 2nd overall in the criterium.

Chris Reid and Dan Skinner represented Elitewave in the Men Category 1/2 race in Walla Walla . They both rode well in the time trial, but struggled in the criterium. Both riders completed the event.

The Stage 2 Road Race was cancelled due to a severe lightening storm. The race was fully underway when the decision was made to pull the riders from the course. Elitewave riders use aluminum and carbon frames to minimize the risk of potential lightening strikes.

April 25, 2005
Elitewave Penticton Training Camp
The 10th Anniversary edition of the Elitewave Penticton Training Camp begins this Saturday in the Okanagan. 30 athletes are set to take their place on the starting line of this unique training experience. This is the 10th consecutive year that the camp has filled to capacity.

April 24, 2005
North America 's Newest Indoor Velodrome in London , Ontario
Congratulations to Rob Good and the volunteers at the Forest City Velodrome in London , Ontario . They have renovated a local arena and turned it into a beautiful indoor racing track (see pic above). This initiative will set an example for other venues and supporters of track cycling in North America . Forest City joins Burnaby and Los Angeles as the only indoor velodromes on the continent. Great work!

April 19, 2005
Trew takes 3rd in Seattle

Jenny Trew earned her 3rd podium finish of the year in Seattle at the Seaward Park Criterium. Trew, along with teammate Alena Radomsky were aggressive throughout the race. It was a tricky finish with the primary contenders watching each other. Clare Cameron (Black Dog Bikes) was able to launch the winning attack that surprised the field. In the end it was Cameron, Lisa Sweeney, and Trew for the podium. Alena Radomsky, who launched a brave attack leading into the final technical corner, finished fifth.

Chris Reid did a great job in the men's Cat 1/2 Race which was won by Seattle local Kenny Williams who launched a solo attack on the final two laps to win convincingly. Reid finished in the main peleton (all same time).

The next series of events for the Elitewave road crew will be the Tour of Walla Walla - then the Warp Speed Time trial - followed by the Elitewave Penticton Training Camp.

April 10, 2005
Elitewave Women Battle Hard Fought Road Race at Harris Roubaix.
Congratulations to Jenny Trew and Catharine Pendrel on their great efforts this weekend in the winning break of the Harris Roubaix Classic. Both Elitewave riders were part of an elite group that included Olympic Medallist Alison Sydor, World Endurance Champion Leslie Tomlinson, National Cyclocross Team Member Wendy Simms, Olympian Leah Goldstein and Lisa Sweeney. For Pendrel, Trew and Sweeney it was a chance to be among some of the best riders Canada has ever seen. For the three "youngsters", all under the age of 24, it was a glimpse at what may be in the future if they keep working hard and making the key moves that allowed them to be part of this winning effort! Pendrel lauched the attack that started the breakaway. Sydor quickly countered the move, which was chased by Trew and company, "we were at 42km/hr, I looked back and we had 200m ...[on the field]" In the end, Sydor launched the final fatal attack that put her over 30 seconds ahead of a splintered and exhausted group of escapees. Elitewave 's Alena Radomsky rode strongly in the chasing group and commented "I think it was the toughest race I have ever done. Our group was chasing and chasing. We could see the breakaway the whole time, but no matter what we did, we couldn't close it". Pendrel agreed, "it was a tough race and girls were riding hard the entire time. It was great to be in such a strong group...especially with Alison being there."
Trew said, "Alison just kept jumping every time she came to the front. It was killing me....I had to move onto someone else's wheel so I could stay in."

Women (All Cats) - 40 Starters1. Alison Sydor (Rocky Mountain Business Objects)2. Wendy Sims (Frontrunners)3. Leah Goldstein (Trek Red Truck Racing)4. Lisa Sweeny (Adventure Bound)5. Leslie Tomlinson (Rocky Mountain Business Objects)6. Jenny Trew (Coastal)7. Catharine Pendrel (Bike Barn)8. Marnie Hambleton (Symmetrics)9. Jean-Anne McKirdy (Adventure Bound)10. Moriah MacGregor (Dizzy Chicks)11. Suz Weldon (Subway Pro Cycling)12. Helena Coney13. Barb Zimich (Team Coastal)14. Alena Radomsky (Coastal)15. Maria Lee (Symmetrics)16. Amanda Buttler (Coastal)17. Suzanne Macht (Adventure Bound)18. Sara Laliberte' (Black Dog)19. Lisa Tasa ( Chapman Land Suveying)

April 10, 2005
Sparling Continues Great Races...
Showing that his early season results were no fluke, Jamie Sparling raced aggressively in the Cat 1/2 race at the Harris Roubaix BC Cup today. Sparling made the break and rode with 12 riders for most of the event. Among the break were 8 Symetrics riders, Derek McMaster, former 2x World Mountain Bike Champ Roland Green, Corey Lange and Sparling. With 7km to go, Sparling was dropped and could not regain contact, "I was riding all out and only going 27km/hr into the wind...I was praying that I wouldn't be caught....it was my own fault, I was just too agressive in the break". The pack eventually reeled in Sparling in the final 200m of the race - a tough lesson for the young rider who will soon be on his way to Belgium .

Cat 1 / 2 Men1. Will Routley (Symmetrics)2. Scott Goguen (Symmetrics)3. Brad Fairall (Symmetrics)4. Marsh Cooper (Symmetrics)5. Cory Lange (Symmetrics)6. Derek McMaster (Coastal)7. Jeff Sherstobitoff (Symmetrics)8. Brett Boniface (Organic Athlete Victoria )9. Lloyd Thomas (Sugoi/Giant)10. Richard Minichiello (Trek - Red Truck Racing)11. Dan Schmit (Blak Dog Racing)12. Svein Tuft (Symmetrics)13. Michael Hunter (Rocky Mountain)14. Basse Clement (Rocky Mountain)15. Chris Meier (Symmetrics)16. Sven Sturm (Organic Athlete )17. Roland Green ( Kona Mountain )18. Jamie Sparling (Bicisport)19. Josh James (Trek - Red Truck Racing)20. Scott Slater (Rocky Mountain)
33. Dan Skinner (MXC)

April 9, 2005
Trew and Pendrel Riding Well at Race the Ridge Time Trial
Elitewave 's Catharine Pendrel and Jenny Trew raced strongly in the opening time trial event of the BC cycling season.
Trew placed third overall in the women's category with Pendrel following close behind for 4th. The race was won by Israeli National Team member, Leah Goldstein. Lisa Sweeney of Vancouver was second, just thirty seconds back of the Goldstein who attended the Olympics in Athens last summer.
Chris Reid, racing for Team Coastal, placed 5th overall in the men's event.

Results - 32 k TT Race the Ridge
Leah Goldstein 49:33,
Lisa Sweeney 50:06
Jenny Trew 51:42.

April 7, 2005
Trew Invited to CCA Development Camp

Jenny Trew was recently added to the roster of the Canadian Cycling Association's National Development Camp for Women in Bromont , Quebec .

This appointment comes as a welcome surprise for the 23 year old who has already captured one National Sprint Championship title and eight National Championship medals in her career. In 2002, Trew was 4th in the Senior Women's National Road Racing Championships. In 2004, Trew was top 4 in several track events and the criterium at the National Championships.

The camp will be a selection program for the Montreal World Cup and the Grand Tour of Montreal in May and June. If Trew is among the top six riders at this camp, she will compete for the Women's Development Team at these competitions.

Regardless of the outcome, Trew intends to compete at the World Cup and Tour. She has already been offered a position on a composite team for Montreal and will focus her efforts on the Grand Tour which involves some criterium races and rolling road courses that suit her riding style and skill set.

Trew has been a member of the National Development team in the past (1999 and 2000). Her original entry into this level came as a result of a silver medal at the National Championships in 1999 behind a young girl named Genvieve Jeanson. At the time, Canada focused its efforts and standards upon Jeanson who became a Junior World Champion that same year. In those seasons, girls on the rung below Jeanson were overlooked. Not until Jeanson became a Senior did the CCA renew its efforts to find the next level of young women riders. It was too late for Trew, but just in time for rising stars such as Laura Yoisten and Julie Belanger who have greatly benefited from the CCA's new efforts to support young women's racing.

Trew now has a shot at returning to the level she once knew. She will be competing for team spots with the very same girls she competed strongly with throughout 1997-2002. Despite health set-backs in 2003 and 2004, Trew has made a return to the form she used to have when she was healthy. The camp will be a big challenge for the track and criterium specialist. The CCA will be looking for girls with extreme climbing abilities. Trew commented, "I am just happy to have this opportunity. I am going to ride as best I can and support the girls as much as possible. It's an honor just to be invited!"

Trew has benefited greatly from the support of her teammates at Elitewave - particularly from fellow road specialist Alena Radomsky who will focus her season's efforts on winning a BC Cup and finishing well at the National Road Championships. National Mountain Bike Team member Catharine Pendrel has also been an inspiration for Trew - especially when she earned a team spot for the World Championships last season. With National Keiren Champion Breanna Loster, Elitewave rounds out it's women's team with four strong National caliber riders who all believe that anything is possible!

March 23 - Tri BC Provincial Team Camp
The Triathlon British Columbia junior training camp was held this week in Victoria - hosted by the PacificSport Regional Triathlon Center . 25 athletes from across the province took part in this week long event. Participants were exposed to a wide variety of experts in sport specific training and sport science. Presenters included experts such as National Swim Center Head Coach Jim Fowlie and National Center Excercise Physiologist Gord Slievert.

Elitewave 's Dan Proulx provided cycling specfic sessions focused on tactics and strategies for draft legal triathlons. The athletes completed a 2 hour session on the road that included race simulations and discussions of strategies to improve performance. This was a unique session because it looked at the tactics and strategies of bike racing in a triathlon specific context. Athletes were asked to apply tactics in a way that would help them to optimize the cycling portion of the race in order to maximize run performance. For these athletes, running ability largely dictates the best strategy on the bike. Strong runners may prefer to sit in while weaker runners may choose to attack in order to cushion their advantage as they head into the run.

Following the road session, athletes were presented with a one hour lecture and discussion on cycling technique and training protocols for juniors. The theme of the presentation was Myth Busters. As you may know, cycling is filled with lore and tradition. This talk helped the athletes to separate fact from fiction and focused on the unique needs of juniors within the sport.

March 23 - Final Trinidad Update
Breanna Loster has recently returned to Canada after racing in the Southern Cross Games in Trinidad . Here is her description of the track for the final weekend of racing: "The track that we have been training on, and will be racing on tomorrow, is very intense. It is 500m, and the banking is about 48 degrees (some claim higher). That would be fine, except the corners are not tight, rather they are about 100m long. For the trackies reading this, you may understand how scarey this is, but I thought nothing of it until I tried to ride it. It took me 3 laps to ride the entire banking without coming off the track, and many people took considerably longer. Some of the international crew are even refusing to ride it as 2 of our guys crashed in the corner. By the end of the first session, joel and I were the only ones who were able to ride at the top of the banking - and it was SCARY! I just close my eyes and hope i come out at the other sie, and try to keep above 35km/hr for good measure. Racing shallbe fun on this baby."

March 19 - 23, 2005
Spring Development Camp hosted by Regional Triathlon Centre
The Regional Triathlon Centre welcomed 24 junior triathletes at the National Junior Development Triathlon Camp, held in Victoria from March 19 – 23, 2005 . The Camp participants ranged in age from 14 – 19 years of age and came from across BC ( Vancouver Island , Lower Mainland and the Interior), from Saskatchewan and from Ontario . The Development Camp provided triathlon-specific training in the three disciplines, Swimming, Riding, and Running, as well as seminars on nutrition, sport psychology, training principles and logs, strength and core training, and yoga.Patrick Kelly, Director and Head Coach for the RTC, provided leadership as the Training Camp Director. He was supported by a distinguished list of Coaches and Speakers, as well as triathletes from the Regional Triathlon Centre:Jim Fowlie, National Swim Centre, Head Coach, National and Olympic Team CoachNeil Harvey, NTC swim coach specialistSteve Lund, NCCP level 4 cycling coach, NTC, RTC cycling coach specialistDan Proulx , NCCP level 4 cycling coach, NCCP level 3 swim coachMike Neil, professional triathlete, elite Ironman athlete, CTC triathlon coachGord Sleivert, PhD, PacificSport Exercise PhysiologistDave Pinel, PhD, Sport PsychologistJeremy Shepard, M.Sc, Strength and Conditioning specialistElizabeth Peckham, Yoga instructorThe Camp was made possible thanks to the hard work of the coaches, trainers, and speakers, but also by the support shown from parents who provided billets and the food services provided by the local business community.The Camp provided a healthy dose of fun along with the serious training. The athletes enjoyed an evening of laser tag and a night at the movies, as well as bike skill games and the ever popular hot/cold contrast sessions!The Camp reviews include the following comments:“I loved the hot/cold, the diverse group of lunchtime speakers. I also like the biking and maintenance of a road bike lecture.”“I really enjoyed learning about bike maintenance, yoga, stretching, drills, sport psych, and training cycles as well as bicycle training. I think it’s really great to learn stuff that you can take back with you.”“I liked the skill development, especially for the swim and bike.”

March 14, 2005 - Southern Cross Games
Breanna Loster won the Gold medal in yesterday's 1500m race at the Southern Games. Earlier in the day, Loster took the silver medal in the 500m to Olympian Daniella Larreal of Venezuela and just ahead of American Allie Warfel. Times were characteristically slow on the grass velodrome surface with Larreal's winning time of only 43.86 seconds. On Saturday, Victoria 's Sarah Kirby took the silver medal in the women's 1000m event. Competition continues for the Canadians with next weekend's Palo Seco Games.

March 13, 2005 - Southern Cross Games
Breanna has sent her first report from this weekend's racing at the Southern Cross Games, "The racing is great, with Daniella Larreal (Venezualen Olympian, who placed 5th in the sprints in Athens ) here to make me go [fast]. In the last race I was at her front axle and gaining fast on her as I had just closed a 30 meter gap". Racing continues today at 4:00pm . The riders are competing in front of a full grandstand of spectators surrounding the 450m grass track. Riders are using gears in the range of 82-84 inches on this unque racing surface.

March 11, 2005 - Southern Cross Games
The Southern Cross games are set to begin in Trinidad and Tobago . Elitewave 's Breanna Loster is attending the games and has sent this link from Trinidad . Breanna will be competing in the Caribbean islands for the next two weeks. Here is a like to the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad .

March 9 ,2005 - Victoria Update
The warm weather has returned to Victoria and the season is finally starting. This morning I coached a hill workout on Mount Douglas where the bottom of the hill was sunny and the top was covered in a thick fog. This is a great time of year to be out on the island.
Last weekend Alena Radomsky, Jenny Trew , Chris Reid and Jamie Sparling all headed over to the mainland for some Spring Series racing action. There were 60-70riders in the B Group - where the girls raced and 40-50 riders in the A Group for the guys. It was a great chance to test the legs and begin working in with new teammates (Chris, Alena and Jenny are all riding with Vancouver based - Team Coastal). The riders reported feeling surprisingly strong and in some cases "fitter than ever at this time of year".
Breanna Loster leaves tonight for Trinidad . She will be down there with fellow Victoria trackie Sarah Kirby. They will compete as part of a multi-sport games with track and field and track cycling on display for packed crowds. The first weekend they will compete on a grass velodrome. The second weekend will be on a concrete 500m track. Thanks to Elitewave 's Keith Bruneau for coming up with the contacts to make this trip possible.
Catharine Pendrel is continuing to work toward top form up in Penticton . She has a great support network up there including the Bike Barn and Carbo Boom. She is getting out there with the local ride gang and putting in some serious training. Catharine will be heading to Sea Otter in mid-April.
Angela Naeth, who is from Prince George , but living in Missouri , has made a solid entry into the world of bike racing. She competed in a regional race where she took a hard fought 7th place in the Open women's category (her first road race ever). Angela will be coming to the Penticton Camp to meet here fellow Elitewave rs.
April 2nd we will be hosting a special time trial event at the JDF velodrome. If you are interested in competing, please let me know. This is a Monday session and will be planned for 12:00pm-2:00pm .
Preparations for the Victoria Camp and the Penticton Camp are running full steam ahead. We have just finished getting the cycling jerseys designed and ordered with JOS. They are going to be very good. The quality of work that JOS produces is incredible. They have really refined their techniques and will be able to give all of our campers a new sharp look!
There is one spot for a female athlete still available for the Penticton Camp. Please email Dan@elitewave.com
If you are still thinking of the Victoria camp, you have until March 15th to secure your spot.

Feb 27 - Penticton Training Camp Full
The 10th Anniversary Edition of the Elitewave Penticton Training Camp is now full. If you are still interested in attending, your name will be added to a waiting list. If there is sufficient demand, a second week will be added to the Elitewave schedule. Thank you to all who registered.

There are now 8 campers registered for the Victoria Training Camp March 26-31st. If you are still thinking about attending this unique camp and tour experience, please contact Dan. We will be accepting registration for this one until mid-March.

Feb 24 - Penticton Camp Nears Full Capacity
There are very few spots remaining in this year's Penticton Training Camp. If you are still planning to attend, you should email Dan@elitewave.com as soon as possible.

Due to the increased demand, Elitewave may offer a second week of training in Penticton immediately following the Original camp.

Feb 22 - Don King, Swim Clinic with Olympian Brent Hayden, Positive Words from the Mayor

Former Pro Triathlete and Ironman specialist Don King will be returning to the coaching staff for this year's Elitewave Penticton Triathlon Camp. Don brings a wealth of racing and training experience to the camp. In addition to leading all of the run workouts and technique sessions, Don will lead rides on the bike with "B" and "C" riders. On the epic days of the camp he will join the "A" group as a rider - no holds barred! We are looking forward to the contribution that Don will make at the Elitewave camp - both on and off the bike.

Momentum Multisport News: Recent National Swim Team retiree Kelly Doody will be hosting a special swim clinic in Vancouver on Saturday. The clinic will feature 2004 Olympian Brent Hayden. "Canada's fastest swimmer in history will show us what the most efficient freestyle swimming technique looks like...Also on hand will be swimming legend Jessica Deglau - 1996 and 2000 Olympian, to show us what the other strokes look like, notably her specialty - the butterfly..." Contact Kelly@momentummultisport.com to register.

Earlier this week, Penticton Mayor David Perry commented on the Elitewave Training Camps in Penticton , "You have developed a very impressive program." Mayor Perry will be addressing camp participants during our April 31-May 8th Okanagan expedition.

Feb 20 - Course Record for Pendrel
5th place at ToM for Trew
Catharine Pendrel established a new women's bike course record for the Apex Winter Triathlon Team Event - setting a new mark of 34:10 for what amounted to a 12km uphill time trial to Apex. Pendrel finished 1min 20 seconds behind 2004 and 2005 Ironman Canada Champion Tom Evans. Pendrel said, "it was nice to get some confirmation of fitness although I know there's room to go."

In the final stage of the Tour of Murrietta, Jenny Trew finished 5th. Official results are still on the way and will be posted when they become available.

Feb 19 - Stage 2 ToM -
Yoisten wins. Trew 3rd in Road Race
Congratulations to Laura Yoisten (Diet Cherry Wine) who won the finishing sprint of today's Stage 2 road race in the Tour of Murrieta. Dotsie Cowden (Colavita) finished second and Elitewave 's Jenny Trew finished third. The 60km road race came down to one desperate final sprint in the end! Official results will be posted here as soon as they become available.

Trew commented, "I started winding it up with Erin Mirabella on my right - [we were] on the far right of the road. The speed picked up and Laura and Dotsie came around on my right (just after I wound it up a little and there was another crash behind me)... I jumped and closed the gap that they had formed with about 150m to go. Laura jumped around Dotsie on the right and I went for the left (unfortunately the windy side) and I didn't manage to come around, but Laura won!"

Feb 19 - Tour of Murrieta - Stage 1
Elitewave 's Jenny Trew is off to a good start in California this weekend - finishing 7th in Stage 1 of the Tour of Murrieta. Dotsie Cowden of Colavita/Cooking Light won the stage in 16:53 . Trew finished in 18:00 for the 7 mile course - only eleven seconds behind 2000 & 2004 U.S. Olympic Team rider and Athens Olympic Bronze medalist (Points Race) Erin Mirabella.

The course had some technical features. Jenny said, "the course started up a gradual hill (only a hill by time trial standards), flattened out, went downhill and veered to the left, then a90 degree turn to the right, slight false flat to the turnaround and back). Someone crashed into a semi at the 90 turn...I feel that it was a strong race to start up the season."

Stage 2 will be a tactical event for Trew who said, " it's a three lap loop - supposedly relatively flat. I'm going to just try and stick in the pack ....saving it for the criterium on Sunday."

Feb18 - Camp News , California Racing, Trinidad Track Event
Only 7 spots remain in the 10th Anniversary edition of the Elitewave Penticton Training Camp. Registration closes February 28th.

The Tour of Murrietta begins today with a time trial. Elitewave 's Jenny Trew will compete alongside Laura Yoisten and Ryan McKenzie.

Keith Bruneau and Breanna Loster will compete in the Southern Cross Games in Trinidad - March 10th -23rd.

Western Canadian Swimming Championships are in Victoria this weekend. Competition will be feirce and the atmosphere will be electric. Finals start at 6pm each evening. Over 500 athletes are competing.

Feb 15 - Victoria Camp Update
We will be extending the deadline for registration to the Victoria Camp (March 26-31st) until February 28th. There are 6 athletes registered so far. The maximum is 12 for this camp.

There have been many inquires recently. The extended deadline will help all interested campers take part.

The camp is ideal for teachers on Spring Break. Local athletes should ask about our resident rates for the camp as fees are substantially reduced for athletes with their own accommodations in town.

Feb 8 - Road Race Season Begins in Cali
Jenny Trew will kick off the Elitewave road season with the Tour of Murrieta in Southern California . The race includes 3 stages - TT, Criterium and Road Race. Trew will combine this race with a week of training with friend and former teammate Laura Yoisten. For Trew it will be a training race and a chance to get the legs spinning in some warmer climates. The find out more about this race click here.

Feb 1 - Victoria Camp is Official
We have begun receiving entries for the Spring Break Training Camp in Victoria (March 26-31st). This special 6 day camp will allow participants to train for the first part of the week and vacation for their final couple days on the island before returning to work or school. We expect about 12 campers and have planned some interesting destination rides where participants will ride from one hotel to the next. Luggage and equipment will be handled by Elitewave . Riders will enjoy a scenic tour of southern Vancouver island and Saltspring Island . The weather is very nice at this time of year and the flowers will be in full bloom. For details on this camp and other offerings from Elitewave click here...

Jan 27 - Coaching Education Courses
Elitewave will be working with Cycling BC to deliver several National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) courses this spring. Courses will be offered in Road and Track cycling and will be delivered in Victoria , Penticton and Vancouver . To register visit Cycling BC .

To learn more about the National Coaching Certification Program click here...

Jan 27 - Wheels In Motion
Elitewave will be creating an innovative corporate challenge program in partnership with the Greater Victoria Velodrome Association. Elitewave will deliver the 4 coaching modules for participants and apprentice coaches in the lead up to the event.

The race will take place in early June and will feature 5 member corporate teams competiting in a 2km Team Pursuit event on the track. Riders will use mountain bikes and will raise money for spinal cord research with the Rick Hansen Wheels in Motion Foundation.

Jan 22nd - Track Training Sessions
This spring, Elitewave track training sessions will be held every Monday and Wednesday at the Juan de Fuca Velodrome from 9-11:00am beginning in late March. Mark your calendars!

Jan 20th - Camp Reminder
The Elitewave Penticton Training Camp (April 30-May 8th) is now half full. The camp is expected to be full by mid-February. Registration closes February 28th, 2005 .

Jan 20th - January Showers Bring Feb. Flowers

The snow and cold of last week has given way to some rain and mild temperatures here in Victoria . The roads have been washed clean of snow and we are ready to ride the road bikes again. Remember folks, it's only January! We need to be ready to race in 2 months and we will continue for the next 6 months after that. There is no point getting anxious and over-doing it right now. To make it through the entire race season, you will need patience, a long term plan and a goal. The riders who go fast now are sometimes never heard from during the summer's championship season. Have some fun and focus on technique in your training. Your work will become harder and more specific to your championship event as it approaches.

January 20, 2005 - Swim BC News

After much debate, I have decided to move on from my Program Director position with Swim BC . It's a great organization but I believe that my talents need to be focused on coaching and creating dynamic athletic experiences for athletes on a daily basis. When coaching is your passion, it's hard to imagine yourself in an office administering sport without getting out on deck or the road and being thoroughly dedicated to improving the athlete's performance in a tangible way. I am very excited about the upcoming season and wish Swim BC all the best. My last official day is March 15th. I will remain as a consultant for the organization during the next 6 months as the new Program Director is brought up to speed. Here is the story.....
January 17, 2005 - Eyelashes Frozen

The news of the past week was the weather. Several Elitewave riders were caught in freezing rain storms out on the Penninsula. This was a "character building week" to say the least.
The comment of the week came from Elitewave 's Catharine Pendrel who is training in Penticton , "skied 2hrs and 15...I"ve found a new measurement for cold. Getting a nosebleed and frozen eyelashes when I ski! Heat balm on the face helps for the downhills"
Here is a link to a story about Iditabike. It will remind you about how good you have it! Click here...
January 10, 2005 - Burnaby Velodrome
Braving the snow and elements, 3 Elitewave riders started the 2005 season with a gruelling set of races at the Burnaby Velodrome this past weekend.. Performances were lack-luster but anticipated after our 2 week break for Xmas.
Keith Bruneau lead the charge with a 3rd place performance in the Men's Match Sprint Competition. Keith qualified in 11.79 seconds for the Flying 200m. Keith was a mere one 1/10th slower than he was in November.
Chris Reid and Breanna Loster raced all of the events during the weekend. Since this was a training mission, the idea was to get in the maximum amount of training opportunities available. Breanna became ill on Sunday and could not complete the weekend. Bre said, "I did the warm-up Sunday to see if I could race and everything felt totally surreal. When I pulled up track on the paceline, it was enough to throw my balance out of whack. I figured I wasn't the safest person to be riding in a pack."

January 7-2005 - Burnaby Velodrome Series #2
Good luck to all of the Elitewave rs headed over to Burnaby this weekend to race on the boards. This competition will be a training event for our riders as they come off a well deserved Christmas break.

January 7, 2005 - Swim BC Training Camp
Okay, this isn't even funny. We have a foot of snow on the ground in Victoria . I just spent an hour driving around town and it's very treacherous. The snow has a good layer of solid ice underneath it. There are accidents everywhere and the wind is really picking up.

I know this is nothing for the average Canadian - but snow on the island really is scary. The roads are hilly, the drivers are inexperienced and they have only 2-3 sanding trucks for the entire greater Victoria region.

This weekend we are hosting a Paralympic Swim Camp in Victoria with Swim BC . We have athletes from the SWAD (Swimmers with a Disability) and the CSO (Canadian Special Olympics) world taking part in a 3 day camp at Saanich Commonwealth Pool.

In the beginning of the snow storm, I debated driving downtown just to load the food required for the camp. I thought it might be safer to just stay home for the morning. I decided I needed to get down there.

Soon after my arrival, I was told that I would need to drive to James Bay and pick up one of the coaches for the camp. The coach walks with 2 canes and would have trouble with all the slippery and snowy sidewalks.

I went to leave for James Bay when the door of the Sandman opened and allowed the freezing air to enter the lobby. In walks Christa with 2 canes and an expedition back-pack. She negotiated a couple kilometers of trudging through the snow and a long bus trip to make it to the hotel. She was only ten minutes late and thrilled with the accomplishment of challenging the elements. She was stoked about the weekend and couldn't wait for the swimming to begin later that day.

I drove Christa for another 45 minutes to make it to the pool (5km from hotel) - athletes from throughout BC would call her cell phone. Christa would cajole and encourage them into continuing on their way to the camp. We would pass cars in the ditch and cars with zipping wheels on the ice as she laughed at their excuses for not coming. She told one athlete that "can't" wasn't in her vocabulary - so it shouldn't be in his.

Christa demonstrated a love of sport and an incredible commitment to the athletes and the camp. It was a humbling experience - traveling with such a perseverant and determined person. I am sure the camp will be an incredible insight into true human potential and dedication to reaching the highest level of one's ability.

The camp includes 24 athletes, 12 coaches and a small army of volunteers. It will be the qualifier for the Canada Games in Regina .

Stay warm and safe. Enjoy the snow!

Over and out!
January 3...Registration has opened for the Penticton Training Camp April 30-May 8th, 2005.

Elitewave athletes will compete on the velodrome in Burnaby next weekend at the BVC Series 2.
Dec 31, 2004 ...Way Past Fast has signed on as the official Cycling Supplier for the 10th Anniversary of the Elitewave Training Camp in Penticton . Elitewave is proud to welcome Mark Kaltenbach and company to the team. Way Past Fast is a Calgary based cycling and triathlon retailer. They sell professional quality gear and deliver friendly and welcoming service to their customers. www.waypastfast.com
Dec 29, 2004 ... Elitewave is helping to organize and promote the Greater Victoria Velodrome Association Corporate Challenge. Proceeds from this initiative go to the Rick Hansen Wheels in Motion fund. If you would like to help, contact email GVVA President Chris Anstey.
Rick Hansen Man In Motion.....
Dec 19, 2004 ...Our thoughts go to the Drew family of Victoria . Murray Drew, a pillar of the local cycling community, was seriously injured in an accident with a motorist last week in Victoria . He is in hospital at this time with serious spinal injuries. Murray did not sustain any brain damage in the accident. Anyone wishing to make donations to the Drew family should contact Karl Ullrich at Karl@oakbaybikes.com
Dec 17, 2004 ....When you are stuck inside this Christmas, don't forget to Dream....
Dec 17, 2004 ....As an athlete, I was fortunate to work under an phenomenal coach named Jeff Coulter. Jeff had been a successful coach at the University of Texas Longhorn swim club before coming to Calgary in the mid-80's. Jeff heavily influenced my coaching style and philosophy. Jeff was in turn, influenced by one of the world's finest coaches - Randy Reese. The Reece philosophy offers athletes and coaches a lot of wisdom. Click here to read more.....
Dec 2, 2004 Burnaby Track Series and World Cup Trials..... Elitewave riders were given a mere 4 and a half weeks to prepare for the World Cup Track trials in Burnaby this past week. In any other sport, this lack of notice would be considered criminal, but in cycling it comes with the territory. The riders had to get down to work right away and attempt to meet the standards put forth by the CCA. The time standards and increasingly objective selection criteria were a welcome improvement to any previous selection opportunities. The CCA should be commended for their efforts. We can only hope that they continue to improve their organization as the program begins to grow and evolve under new leadership.
Despite the short notice, all of the Elitewave riders were able to equal or eclipse their performances from last summer's national championships.
We accomplished this by completing some very difficult indoor training sessions that were targeted to each rider's World Cup Trial events. The programs were very specific to the individual and the results were impressive for such a short progression.
As in most sports, it is becoming increasingly important for athletes to maintain a high level of performance throughout the year. In the next 12 months, Elitewave athletes will continue to take a series of planned recovery periods - instead of the traditional single peak and single transition programs of the past.
The next target for Elitewave track riders will be the trials for the Pan American Games Trials in mid-March.
November 22.,2004.....Chris Reid, Jenny Trew and Alena Radomsky named to Team Coastal for 2005 Season.
Elitewave athletes will compete at the World Cup selection meet and CCA camp this weekend. http://www.burnabyvelodrome.ca/ for details.
Sarah Stewart took 3rd (20-29) in Fall Classic Half Marathon in Vancouver ( 1:32 )
November 7, 2004 ....Sparling (right) places 5th at National Cycling Championships - Espoir! Congrats. Jamie!
CCA Hiring new Chief Operating Officer. Elitewave proudly supports Brett Stewart for this position.
November 6, 2004 ...Jamie Sparling is competing at the National Cyclocross Championships in Dieppe , NB. www.canadiancyclist.com for results.
Breanna Loster (2nd from top left) is in Burnaby training on the velodrome with Olympic Gold Medalist Lori-Ann Meunzer
World Cup Trials for the National Team will be held at the Burnaby Velodrome at the end of the month. Elitewave athletes, Jenny Trew (top left), Keith Bruneau, Chris Reid and Breanna Loster will compete.