Well that was a nice change from long climbs - sort of!!

We're back with the Summer Edition of the Segment Challenge, and we had 38 riders out (possibly a couple more, just awaiting sign-ups!) Awesome start to the season!!

Reminder the season theme is Rider's Choice, and there's only been a few segments suggested - so if you've got something in mind, or want to revisit a segment from the past, please hit that big button near the top of the page!! Otherwise I'll be posting the same horrible things. 😂

A few quick reminders of the rules of the Segment Challenge - not that there's been any infractions, but important to highlight that there's no drafting allowed on any segments, since the goal is to see what you can do as an individual, time trial style. (This week I rode the segments with Dave B, and actually started catching him on Santa Clarita, so I went to the opposite side of the road to pass him!) Also take a peek at the Bonuses and Curses if unfamiliar, there are ways to earn bonus points, and a few things to try to avoid. 😉

Also, I have a blog post with tons of tips for getting PRs on segments (and time trialing in general), find it here. 

I also want to highlight there's a new program for 11-13yr old girls, called Girls' Club! I posted about why this is so important on the ATR Instagram account,  but in a nutshell this age really needs special attention to stay in sports, so I really hope to see this program grow. We've seen some amazing outcomes when this happens - Sarah Van Dam is a perfect example. I remember her as a tiny racer out at the track, road and cyclocross 10yrs ago as an early teen, and now she's racing in the World Tour (and just had another incredible result, see below!) There may be more SVD's just waiting for a little support!! Find their IG account here for more details, and help get word out: https://www.instagram.com/tripleshot.girlsclub/

Speaking of which, I'm also hosting a clinic on Crit Racing next Saturday (the 14th) - it'll cover the basics, plus a ton of more advanced information (it will be info overload for most!!) We'll also have a short loop we'll be using for some practical riding techniques as well. If interested, hit reply and let me know, spots are limited, but this is a special invite to ATR riders. Cost is $20, we'll be meeting around 10am, and it'll likely run a couple hours. All welcome (invite your riding pals!), but please send me a note ASAP if interested.

And of course we have our new segments for the week, and both are completely new to the series (including a new creation).

Phew - that's a lot, let's continue on with our regular updates!

Racing News

A pretty wild week for racing! Not too much locally, other than people rippin' around View Royal! 😂

The Lady's Tour of Britain was the last four days, and Canadian Mara Roldan had the most incredible ride on Friday, winning the stage, and her first World Tour win, at the age of 21!! Sadly, she took a spill on Saturday, and broke her femur. Conditions were pretty miserable (I think it rained every day), and they were coming around a corner at about 50kph, and she was 3rd from the front in the Red Points jersey, but slid out, and apparently landed the 'wrong way'....such a bummer, she'll likely be done for the season, sending her healing vibes.

Sarah Van Dam was more fortunate, keeping it upright, and T10 finishes on the first three stages, and finishing 5th overall as well - she's becoming quite the GC rider!!! It was also the Volta a Catalunya, and Team FDJ which had won the ToB also swept the top two spots there as well, with some entertaining finishes! Demi Vollering is on great form.

Some great MTB action from Austria this weekend too, Jenn Jackson had a terrific start in the Short Track, on the front for the first lap, but faded. She had a good result in the Cross Country, but Island racer Emilly Johnston had a terrible start, and was back past 50th on the start, but managed to work her way up through the field to finish 22nd in this exceptionally muddy race. Carter Woods, another Island racer, finished 26th as well. Victoria racer Cole Punchard for the BSC team was DNS.

And the Criterium de Dauphine started today as well, and had been playing in the background and just finished...wowwee..I don't think anyone would have predicted that 1 & 2!!? 😉 Really looking forward to the upcoming stages, it's often a good predictor of what we can expect in the Tour de France! There's a couple Canadians, Guillaume Boivin, and the youngster Michael Leonard.

HOUSEKEEPING

Notes for the week:

Moved Jamie C and Tristan up from C to B, looks like you fit in a bit better there! 😁

Reminder if your time didn't record (this week or any), please either tag me in your ride, comment on the Strava group post, or send me an email -- if you rode it, I can usually figure out a 'manual' time for you, but you need to let me know! 😁

0 <- THIS MANY WEEKS WITHOUT AN ERROR 🤣

If there are any errors, omissions, issues, concerns, or anything else, feel free to hit reply!

SPONSORS AD

No sponsors this week, but in response to the people who complain that it's too hot because it's not cold:

SOUNDTRACK NOTES

Note: 'back in my day' people talked about music, albums, etc.. Doesn't really seem to happen much these days, so I'm carrying on the tradition here! 😊

None this week, too much bike racing to catch up on! 🎶

THIS WEEK IN RIDES

For those new to the series, results are tabulated each week, and the event page has all the results updated each Sunday night! To see the weekly results, hit the tabs at the bottom of the spreadsheet.

The A's

Brooklynn's back, and taking names with a pretty speedy run up Boulderwood! Looks like there was another rider who may have topped her by a couple seconds, but hasn't signed up...so there may be an update to the spreadsheet, but looking forward to seeing more of our speedy women crush it this season!

Over with the guys, Julian dropped a couple watt bombs, topping his previous KOM time on Boulderwood by 10s (no risk of the Yellow Jersey curse there!) Ethan had a great rip as well, and Dave B claimed 3rd 30sec off Ethan's time. I was a couple seconds behind Dave B, and Travis and Dan B were just off the mark. I managed the 2nd fastest time on Santa Clarita, with Dave B rounding out this podium (with Julian in 1st of course!) Travis and Dan were trailing on this one as well.

The B's

We had 4 B's out, but Julia was fastest of all, and the podium was mirrored for both segments, with Renata claiming two Silvers, and we have two newcomers with Sarah earning the two Bronzes, and Kathleen just off the podium (and missed a turn on Boulderwood, so was awarded 'slowest time'.)

There's 16 guys that rode Week 1, impressive!! On Boulderwood, Todd R finished 4 seconds ahead of Joel C to take the top spot! Adam had two seconds on David K, and Evan just missed out. Joel C and Adam actually tied for the fastest time on Santa Clarita! Tristan, moving up from C, earned his first B podium with second place, and one second behind him was another former C, Greg. Todd and Ryan were just off the podium as well.  So many close times on this one!

The C's

Our C ladies saw Jane take both W's this week! Kathryn and Kirsty rounded out the podium on Boulderwood, and over on the speedy segment Kathryn and Janice were 'next fastest'! Excellent rides all!

The guy's field is a bit smaller to start this season, and on Boulderwood newcomer Hobbers topped Sean by 15s for his very first podium! Kit was 3rd ahead of Chad and Tyler G. Sean had the upper hand on Santa Clarita, with Kit and Tyler G claiming the other podium steps, only seconds ahead of Hobbers and Mike J. David R was our Lantern Rouge in the C's this week!

BONUSES & CURSES

See the Scoring section of the Event Page for more details!

Julian topped his KOM and no new QOMs this week!

• Early Bird was David R!
• No secret times this week, tho both off by only 1sec.
• No Socialite points to award.
  (Post a shot of your ride on IG or FB and tag @AboutTheRideCA for a chance for 5pts each week! If you've posted, but I haven't given you credit, or liked or commented on your post, please DM me directly, IG has been a bit finicky.)
• The Local Legend curse was also claimed by David R, cancelling out his bonification.
• No Yellow Jersey curse as usual.

PRIZES!

We've always got some sweet draw prizes every week! Watch our socials (Insta & Facebook) to see what we'll be giving away each week!

This week we've got more $20 Gift Cards to Goldstream Bikes to give away, and the Google randomizer has decided the luck people will be:

Julia Barron
Mark Devitt
Tyler Galts
Kirsty H
Sarah DeVries
Joel Crocker

Congrats!! I'll email you on Monday with the details!

Our prize page is still being assembled, but there's LOTS MORE to come!

Week #2 - June 9th - June 15th - Brentwood Bumps

Two brand new segments to the series this week, one I made up, that regularly features tired riders coming off the Brentwood ferry, and a return to the Garden Gate neighbourhood. I'd bet will see some new QOMs and possibly KOMs this week!

Segment 2A Name: Blowin' off that post-ferry energy!
Deets: 1.36km, 39m elevation gain.
This is a new segment, QOM is Deborah LeBlanc with a 3:11 & KOM is Chuck Detheridge with a 2:05, and the LL is Aileen Little with 1 effort!
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/39351144

Been meaning to get us out to Brentwood for a while, and have had this one in my back pocket for a while. Starts off pretty flat, then picks up as you work your way up Hagen to Wallace. The KOM time looks pretty tough, but good odds on the QOM I'd wager!

Segment 2B Name: Toddlin up Torin
Deets: 0.61km, 43m elevation gain.
This is an existing segment, QOM is Rhonda Callender with a 2:02 & KOM is Marc-André Fortier with a 1:24, and LL is CGregg Scheirer with 3 efforts.
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/9284211

While we're out in Brentwood, let's revisit Garden Gate, but up the left side - it's a bit steeper, but also shorter!

Happy riding!! 

Updated on the site: as always Routing for this week: https://abouttheride.ca/victoria-segment-challenge/

An unassuming little street, the start of the
Boulderwood segment, but it got ugly
pretty quickly!!

The finish line, it made for a pretty good sprint,
if you had anything left in the legs!
(Sorry, didn't get a shot of Santa Clarita!)

There's another report down, thanks for tuning in!

Reminder to check out @AboutTheRideCA on both FB & IG, I try to post helpful updates there fairly regularly!

Also, if you've ever got any questions about the series, or anything else, don't hesitate to get in touch, you can simply reply to this email, or use the contact form on the site, let me know if something's up! =)

Safe and speedy riding all! 🚲

- Dave

Join the @AboutTheRideCA social media accounts
for an informative range of local cycling updates!

If you ever have any questions,
feel free to simply hit reply!