July 12, 2007 - The stage is set for a dramatic showdown this weekend between Canada’s best and many of the top teams and stars from the US pro ranks in BC Superweek, a gruelling marathon of 8 races in 10 days that begins with the historic Coast Capital Savings Tour de White Rock, July 13-15, continues in front of massive crowds at the Tour de Gastown presented by BC Hydro Power Smart, July 18 and at the Giro Di Burnaby, July 19 and concludes with the always fast and furious racing in the Tour de Delta, July 20-22.
BC’s record setting Symmetrics cycling squad, fighting to make history and win valuable spots for Canadian cyclists in the Olympics, will be defending its home turf against an impressive and dangerous line-up of pros from the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. For most of the season the Langley-based Symmetrics team has been ranked number one in North and South America. It’s the first Canadian team to lead the prestigious UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) Americas standings. Team leader and 2006 Tour de White Rock criterium champion, Svein Tuft of Langley, is the first Canuck to top the UCI individual rankings.
Earlier this season the powerful and tireless Tuft became the first Canadian to win the US Pro Championship, the equivalent of winning a US Open in golf or tennis. It was one of more than 50 victories for Symmetrics in the first half of a season that has the team on track to break the Canadian record they set last year with 76 wins in one season.
“Our goal this year is not just the wins but also to pile up the UCI points,” explains team co-owner and manager, Kevin Cunningham. “The number of UCI points determines how many riders Canada can send to the Olympics next summer. As long as we maintain form, our schedule for the rest of the year could enable us to win the UCI title and that means instead of sending only one or two men to Beijing, Canada will be able to start three men in the road race, two in time trial, and three more on the track. That’s huge and it would give Canada real shot at winning medals. When you only have one or two Canadians at the Olympics, like we’ve done in recent years, you have no chance.”
BC Superweek races are not UCI sanctioned events but there is a lot of hometown pride on the line assures Tuft and his team mate Andrew Pinfold.
“To win in your own back yard is really special,” says Pinfold, the 2001 and 2006 Tour de White Rock Road Race champ. “Any time you get a shot at winning big races in Canada, that’s what it’s all about, that’s what I ride for. There’s more pressure on us to win at home but I think the team will rise to expectations.”
Tuft agrees, adding “the wins in BC Superweek validate our program. It really opens up what we’re trying to do and shows a lot of people that BC guys can be as good as anyone. Everyone gets pretty excited to race in front of our own fans and get the media attention. All the wins and publicity make a difference. When we first started training out in Langley people used to honk at us and curse at us to get off the roads. Now people driving by will congratulate us and tell us to keep it going. That’s really something around here where all anyone talks about is hockey. It’s pretty cool to get that positive feedback.”
Teams are restricted to a maximum of eight riders in BC Superweek races so Symmetrics will rest Tuft and future Canadian hall of famer Eric Wohlberg in the ardous hill climbs and road races. That will let them concentrate on the four criteriums and give Tuft a better chance of attaining his personal goal of finally winning the Tour de Gastown where he’s twice finished a heart breaking second.
“All four crits in BC Superweek are world class, super tests and super fast, but Gastown is definitely my personal favourite,” he says. “The crowds are so great. The people are cheering so loud that you get carried away and act like an idiot, thinking you can do things you can’t. I tried to take off on my own too early both times I finished second. I’m a little older and a lot smarter now. I won’t be making that mistake again.”
With proven climbers like Cam Evans, the newly crowned 2007 National Men’s Road Race Champion, who won the hill climb and was 2nd in the road race last year in White Rock, and sprinters like Andrew Pinfold, Symmetrics could easily match last year’s super start to Superweek when they swept all the men’s events in White Rock.
“The road race in White Rock is my favourite,” says Pinfold. “It’s a spectacular setting and the history of the race is incredible. The first time I won, when I looked at all the names on the trophy like Brian Walton (a 7-time winner) I really felt privileged and honoured to be part of it. I’m a pretty average mountain climber but the relatively short power climbs in White Rock really suit me.”
Pinfold’s chances of winning a 3rd White Rock title will be helped by the absence of 2005 champion Kirk O’Bee. The North Vancouver rider and his Health Net team ranked number one in the US will be racing an NRC (National Racing Calendar) pro event in Oregon. They’ll begin competing in BC Superweek in the Tour de Gastown, July 18.
The strongest challengers to Symmetrics in White Rock will be their UCI rivals, Navigators, a team that is in the top 10 in UCI and NRC standings in the US. Their leader, Aussie Hilton Clarke took the 2005 White Rock crit and swept the Gastown, Giro Di Burnaby and Tour de Delta criteriums last year. Another top US pro team, Jittery Joes has half a dozen contenders led by swift Aussie, Jeff Hopkins, 2nd in Gastown in 2005.
All the other outstanding pros will arrive in Vancouver in time for Gastown and the Giro Di Burnaby, including Canadian Cycling legend, Gord Fraser, a two-time Gastown champion. The 38-year-old Ottawa native will come out of retirement to try to win a 3rd straight Tour de Delta White Spot Road Race.
The BC riders with a realistic chance to win include FloraGLO BC Cup leaders, Rob Britton of Lazy Boys racing in Victoria and Trek-Red Truck Ale Racing’s Ryan Anderson of Vancouver, who joined the winner Pinfold and Tuft on the podium at the recent Yaletown Grand Prix.
The women’s events could be the largest in BC Superweek history. “We’ve averaged just over 30 racers a year,” says White Rock race organizer Megan Blaker. “And this year we had that many signed up weeks before the event. We’re hoping to have 40 or 50 women on the line this weekend.”
Almost a quarter of them could be from the biggest women’s team to ever race in BC. Team Giant Canada from Vancouver will start nine racers including Leah Guloien, a strong contender for the FloraGLO BC Cup Series championship.
The bad news is that no team may be large enough to stop the one woman money machine from Saskatchewan. Regina’s Alexandera Wrubleski took home most of the money and all the titles from White Rock last season. The former speed skater then took 2nd in Gastown behind the nearly invincible Gina Grain of Burnaby, a strong contender for a medal in track in the 2008 Olympics. Grain will skip White Rock this year to rest up for a busy race schedule in Europe in August but will defend her titles in Gastown and Burnaby. “There’s nothing like winning in front of your home crowd and in the case of the Giro Di Burnaby in your home neighbourhood“, she says. “They rank right up there on list of thrills in cycling. Hopefully I can even fit in Delta before I leave for Europe.”
Other top contenders include perennial threat Leah Goldstein of Symmetrics, coming off another incredible victory at Mt. Hood in Oregon, and the BC Provincial Road Race champion for the last two years, Claire Hall Patch of Victoria, the 3rd place finisher in last year’s White Rock Road.
The men and women will be racing for a record purse of $60,000 in BC Superweek, making it the richest week of cycling in Canadian history.
For more BC Superweek information visit our website at www.bcsuperweek.ca
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