North Vancouver's Marty Lazarski did it again. The elite male cyclist nabbed top spot for the second year in a row in the Orecrusher XC 2K10 bike race with a time of 2:13:16 Saturday (May 15).
The defining moment of the race for Lazarski was around lap four of seven based from Don Ross Secondary School when he broke away from the pack of elite male cyclists while going uphill.
"I sort of picked it up on the climb and created a bit of a gap and then followed it through there. I tried to stay strong and smooth until the finish."
The space he created ended up being rather large, with North Vancouver's Kevin Calhoun finishing second, more than three minutes behind Lazarski.
"It was definitely a good strategic race."
Despite having a mechanical issue last year, Lazarski's race this year was nearly flawless. He did miss a water bottle feed but Lazarski is just going to chalk it up to a fast feed zone.
"I understand everyone else did miss a feed or two just because it was sort of a really high speed section so it was tough - but that's racing."
Lazarski earned a second-place finish two years ago when Squamish's Neal Kindree earned top honours.
With more than 185 racers participating in the fifth annual Orecrusher race there certainly wasn't any shortage of 麻豆社国产cyclists representing their home turf. Forty-seven locals competed, 16 of which finished on the podium in their category.
First-place finishers receive an entry into the 2011 Test of Metal, second-place finishers win entry into the 2011 GearJammer and third place finishers win entry into next year's Orecrusher.
Local first-place finishers included Jeff Collins in men's 30 to 34, Michael Kilby in men's 12 to 13, Rob Leigh in men's marathon 14 to 19, Quinn Moberg in men's 16 to 17, Rua Read in women's 40 to 45, Wayne Smith in men's 50 plus, Pete Terrell in men's 20 to 29 and Lauren Rosser in women's 16 to 17.
Just seconds after crossing the finish line Rosser said she was satisfied with her time of 1:16:42 even though it was a tough ride for her on a hard-tailed racing bike without any rear suspension.
"So you're pedaling the whole time trying to get speed but you just can't get any speed because it just stops you dead on all the roots," said the Team 麻豆社国产racer.
"I deal with it."
Although Rosser is all smiles about her finish in Orecrusher XC 2K10 she said Canada Cup is her top priority, not the Hell of a Series races.
She's been training everyday in preparation for two Cup races at the end of May, one in Quebec and the other in Ontario and just did the Hell of a Series race for fun.
"It's a local race so I thought I'd do it."
A single cross-country track starting at Don Ross Secondary School and spanning through the Cheekeye Fan area of Brackendale was shared by racers from across the province, Alberta, Washington, Georgia and even the United Kingdom.
Race director Jim Douglas said the British man just happened to be in the area and decided he'd like to race.
"I was quite shocked about that," Douglas said.
With the number of participants growing each year, Douglas said he's happy the word of mouth on Orecrusher is getting around.
"I'm very happy with how it went. The weather was good. The racers had a good time, no major injuries so I've got nothing to complain about."
The event, however was not glitch-free for about 10 racers who misunderstood the number of laps they were required to race in order to qualify for the marathon category.
Douglas worked with Cycling BC to resolve the issue and adjusted points and placements accordingly.
For full Orecrusher XC 2K10 results visit www.orecrusher.com.
The next race in the Hell of a Series is the North Shore Bike Fest in North Vancouver on Saturday June 5.
