Victoria Segment Challenge
Season 1 Report
The first season of the Victoria Segment Challenge is complete, and I’m happy to share some of the highlights!
Running from February 27th – May 21st, 2023, 12 weeks of segments were taken on, and despite snow, rain and a heat dome, people got out and rode their bikes, and many were pretty darn fast!
Some quick stats:
- Number signed up: over 100
- Number in the Strava group: nearly 130
- Number who rode at least one segment: 70
- Male:female split: 53:17
We had 6 riders who made it out every single week, and I’d like to recognize Jill, Laura B, Maria, Travis, Mikael and Dan Shaw for this achievement!
For the series there were 2 timed segments posted each week, and those 24 segments represented some of the most fun climbs, rolling and punchy roadways, and even a few descents that Victoria offers! From the Lagoon in the West Shore to McTavish by the airport, riders found themselves in all sorts of fun areas, and on many roads they’d never ridden before, including a surprise gravel finish! You can review the full archive of segments here.
I’m grateful to all our riders who joined in, but we have to focus on the top of the leaderboards, and here’s our season end breakdown!
The A’s
On the female side, we started strong with Claire Townsend as the lone representative in the A’s, but eventually we saw Linday Pedal join her (and then unfortunately get taken out with an MTB injury). Once things started warming up, Laura aka The Squaremeat, who’s a common appearance in local QOM lists got warmed up herself, and started crushing segments, posting some of the top times of all categories (male or female)!
In the end, the final podium is:
- Claire Townsend (651pts)
- The Squaremeat (465pts)
- Lindsay Pedal (100pts)
Over on the Open side, Damian Parlee opened his account with many impressive results, probably claiming the most new KOMs in the series, and rode all but the final week (away on a trip). Dan Blackwell, organizer of the previous KOMpetition series, after starting in the B’s, moved up to the A’s and held his own, and Louis FL rounded out the podium, with plenty of fast times, and keeping everyone honest in the A’s! Special mention to Harley, Julian and latecomer Rich for some impressive efforts as well!
That means our Open A podium is:
- Damian Parlee (1103pts)
- Dan Blackwell (817pts)
- Louis FL (664pts)
The B’s
Our Female B field is one of the most competitive, and these ladies traded top results throughout the season. But after 12 weeks, the consistent riding of Laura Brown lands her on the top step! Katja, aka K 🙂 had many top results/times, and earned 2nd place, and Jill P-S rounds out the podium having ridden all 12 weeks! Maria was just edged out of the podium as well, and only 112pts separated 1st from 4th, that’s tight!
Our final Female B podium is:
- Laura Brown (1145pts)
- K 🙂 (1101pts)
- Jill P-S (1057pts)
The Open B field was our largest, with 36 riders, and while a number of riders posted top times throughout the season, it was the consistency that paid off, with Travis Field earning the top spot in the end! I was nipping at his heels the entire series, and John MacDonald takes the 3rd step, also collecting a record number of ‘Early Bird’ points! Closing in towards the end were Bruno, Ryan, Kirk and Kevin. And a few of the late-comers were posting some top times, plus injuries prevented a few others from earning points, but we should see a really great battle in Season 2!
Here they are again:
- Travis Field (1160pts)
- Dave Shishkoff (1133pts)
- John MacDonald (820pts)
The C’s
Another small field, and thankfully Kathy joined us the last week to round out the podium! Wendy was the lone Female C for several weeks, but was joined by Lani, and it’s great to have them all there, hopefully more join in for the next season!
- Wendy Taylor (402pts)
- Lani (247pts)
- Kathy M (97pts)
On the side of the guys, the top spot traded names several times throughout the season, but again the consistency paid off, and Mikael finished in the top spot, just 6 points ahead of Dan Shaw! Kit worked his way up the standings all season to take the final step on the podium in the C’s! Tyler G, Marc, Matt and Alan all put in great times as well, and will no doubt be on the hunt for higher placement next season!
Out of 11 riders, here’s our Top 3:
- Mikael Jansson (1065pts)
- Dan Shaw (1059pts)
- Kit St. John (859pts)
That completes our Season Podiums, each has earned a Season 1 Podium commemorative pin, and below are all the results! Riders with a bold Placing listing have also won one of the 26 silver Season 1 pins. Note the tabs at the bottom to flip between overall and individual weeks. If a PDF is preferred, simply click here! Here is the full link to the GoogleDoc. (You can view the Notes each week for the Bonus and Curse details, which doesn’t show up in the table below.)
A massive thank-you to the businesses below for contributing to our draw prizes!
Each week we’ll be giving away some of this awesome swag by random draw!
Also, a huge thank-you to Dan Blackwell (@mortgagecyclist on IG) who’s contribution has purchased commemorative pins for the event! There are ‘gold’ ‘Podium’ pins to be awarded to 1st-3rd in each category, and 26 ‘silver’ pins that will be awarded as deep as can be arranged for each category that seems reasonable. These pins are perfect for saddle or handlebar bags, and a fun way to memorialize Season 1!
Finishing Up!
If anyone wants to re-live Season 1, here’s an archive of all the segments, and here’s an archive of all the weekly reports:
Week #1 | Week #2 | Week #3 | Week #4 | Week #5 | Week #6
Week #7 | Week #8 | Week #9| Week #10 | Week #11 | Week #12
It’s been so great having you all along for the ride, and am looking forward to what’s next! Season 2 will be starting in the next few weeks, keep an eye on your emails or Strava! =)
– Dave
