Monday, June 27, 2011

St. Malo - Race 1

Just yesterday all junior elite athletes competed in the first of four Junior Teck National Series races. It was slightly cloudy, although humid and warm. Luckily, the water was warm enough that wet suits weren't an option. After a successful start the men were off, quickly followed by the women. It was obvious from the start that the swim would not break into that many small groups. Onto the bike it turned out to be one lead pack containing fifteen athletes, some stragglers, then another chase pack a couple minutes behind containing seven athletes. On the female side it looked like a lead group of three or four girls, followed by some stragglers, then another small pack or two. The run was fast in both races. It tough to say how things played out there. It was a hot and long run though.
Congrats to Tristan Woodfine and Ellen Pennock for clinching their first victories in the junior series. Also congrats to Francis Lefebvre, and Marc Christin for second and third place finishes. And also Christine Ridenour, and Gabrielle Edwards for second and third as well.
It was a great effort by all the athletes competing.
Congratulations are also in order for all the MNTC athletes. Tyler leading the men in seventh place, followed by Riley Mac in tenth, Charles in thirteenth, Unger in fourteenth, and Ben in nineteenth. On the female side we had Janessa finishing with a strong twentieth place finish. Also a congrats to Patrick Naylor for placing twenty-sixth, and Kevin Macduff of Manitoba for thirty-third place, and Kaitlyn Weins for a solid twenty-sixth performance considering it was their first draft legal race ever.
Age groupers are never to old to be forgotten.... Sarah-Anne Brault. Congrats for the easy victory in the age-group sprint distance. We promise not to judge you to harshly...
Let us not forget the KOS athletes of MNTC that competed on the Saturday. Congratulations to Ashlyn and Madison for finishing first and third, respectively. Our best wishes go out to Darian for a speedy recovery after a bike crash on race day, we wish you all the best.
That's all for the race report! I hope I didn't forget anybody. Check back in a week or two for the Penticton race report!