A record number of riders got to experience one of the series’ best courses.
The Cross on the Rock cyclocross series held its Kona Kup race on Monday at Bowen Park, attracting 218 participants across seven divisions.
The long weekend, good weather and word of mouth helped make the event so successful, said race director Normon Thibault.
“It seems to be still growing,” he said. “It’s a momentum thing – the people that have come out become advocates for the series and bring more people out.”
The course used to be the shortest on the circuit, but it was lengthened this year, which worked well.
"We tweaked the course a little bit this year, extended a few of the sections just to make everything a little bit longer, added a few more skills and a few more turns," Thibault said.
The main-event races were highly competitive, with Victoria’s Rob Britton finishing atop a field of more than 30 riders in the expert men’s division and Dawn Anderson, also of Victoria, holding off the competition to win the expert women’s race by just 22 seconds. Nanaimo’s Wendy Simms was third in that race, 36 seconds off the pace.
Local rider Ian Smith won the masters men’s race, besting a field of over 50 riders.
Other winners include: Parker Bloom, Victoria, intermediate men; Victoria Boyd, Nanaimo, intermediate women; Damian Parlee, Comox, beginner men; Sarah Clarke, Victoria, beginner women.
CROSS TALK … The Cross on the Rock series will return to Nanaimo once more this season on Nov. 24 for the series championship, to be held at Beban Park. For more information about the series, click here.
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