National Champions, National Records
Viking, Downtown Brown, and TREW set the National Record at the Canadian Track National Championships this weekend in the Women's Team Pursuit National Challenge event. In an exciting team pursuit, the three powerful BC ladies pulled in Team Ontario's silver medalists with only 1.5 laps to go.
Steph Viking Roorda won the National Title Gold medal in the Scratch on Saturday night by lapping the field with one other rider, following up on her Bronze medal Points Race performance on Friday night, and her silver medal race in the Individual Pursuit. Downtown Laura Brown raced incredibly fast, just missing the bronze in the Scratch, taking a strong 4th.
Congratulations to all on your records, titles and medals to add to the collection!
2008 Superweek
In the span of 10 days the Giant Canada/Team Whistler women raced 8 times against some of the best riders in North America and more than proved they could hold their own with a win at Delta and many podiums throughout the week.
The team won the Tour de Delta team classification placing 3 riders in the top 6. Laura Brown was second in the Friday July 11, 3 km prologue, Lisa Howard was 3rd in the next days criterium and Lisa was again 3rd and Jenny Trew 4th in the Sunday's 88km road race sealing 3rd overall for Lisa, 4th for Laura Brown and 6th for Jenny Trew.
Wednesday July 16th was the 36 km Tour de Gastown criterium, and despite having 3 riders banged up by a large crash in Tour de Delta criterium, Steph Roorda won the crowd prime and Lisa Howard got an outstanding 5th place in the hard and fast race featuring several Olympians in their final preparation. The next night it was on to the Giro di Burnaby and another 37 km test of speed on Hastings Ave. Again the Giant Canada/Team Whistler more than held their own with Jenny Trew setting Lisa Howard up for a perfect finish and Lisa taking 4th and Steph Roorda getting 6th.
As the final BC Superweek event the Tour de White Rock started the next day there were a lot of tired legs. Riders put in a good effort in the hill climb and then faced the criterium the next afternoon. Steph Roorda made what appeared to be the race winning move of five riders that got caught with just over a lap to go but Steph still managed to hang onto 6th place. The final stage of White Rock was the very hilly 90 km seaside road race course. Jessica Hannah was finally able to recover from massive trauma to her elbow at the Delta crash and put in a superhuman effort to finish in the lead group. More amazing was the work she did to help Steph Roorda finish on the podium with Steph taking 3rd in the road race and 4th overall.
All tallied it was another very successful week for Giant Canada/Team Whistler. Eight days of racing against one of the strongest women's Superweek fields in quite a while and 6 podium spots.
Many thanks go our to all our sponsors, Giant Bicycles, BBB eyewear, Team Whistler, and Local Ride bike shop. A special shout of thanks out to Ian and Dave for all their hard work with site set up, mechanics, and generally looking after the team. We could not have done it without all of you. Thank you to Joe Sales for the spectacular photos of the team throughout the week.
Superweek Photo Gallery
Tour de Delta - Team Overall GC Champions
Giant Canada/Team Whistler worked together to win the overall Team competitions at the Tour de Delta, placing Lisa Howard in 3rd overall GC against a stacked women's pro feild. Lisa rode a phenomenal stage race starting with a strong prologue and podiums in both the criterium (bronze) and road race (bronze). The team stood on the podium for all events this weekend, along with many top ten finishes to keep a lead over all teams including New Zealand's Jazz Apple and USA's Cheerwine pro women's cycling teams. More photos here. Photo courtesy of Joe Sales
Yaletown Success
The Giant Canada/Team Whistler women dominated the podium at the 35 km Yaletown Grand Prix criterium with Heather Lamson and Lisa Howard placing 2nd and 3rd respectively. Lamson and Total Restoration rider Gillian Moody attacked at about the mid point of the race and built a solid lead of 30 seconds by the end with Moody narrowly out sprinting Lamson at the line. Lisa Howard easily took the bunch sprint for 3rd place. Read more in the Vancouver Province here, and more about the ladies experience here. More photos here!
More Podiums at
Banff Bike Fest
Laura, Lisa and Jessica took on Alberta's Banff National Park Bike Fest in the beautiful foot hills near Lake Louise. They rode against a strong world class elite women's feild, capturing a 2nd (Lisa) and 3rd (Laura) in the Criterium, 4th (Laura) in the TT, and placing Jessica Hannah in 4th Overall. More on the Banff Bike Fest here, and to more on the race here.
BC Cup Podium
They were racing across North America on Sunday June 8, and whatever the race the Giant Canada/Team Whistler women were involved in, they were successful!
On the home front Jessica Hannah was out numbered three to one in the early break, and two to one later with three team Total Restoration riders trying to work her over but in the end Jessica was able to foil all but one by winning the sprint from her breakaway companions on the final hill to the finish, nabbing second in this BC Cup #5 race held in South Abbotsford. Leah Goldstein on Total Restoration was the winner after attacking the break leaving Jessica to deal with two of her team mates. Winning the bunch sprint was Giant/Whistler rider Shoshauna Laxson for 6th. Check out our blog site for more info.
Superweek Kicks Off
with Silver
Downtown Laura Brown
Downtown Laura Brown takes the first podium for the team at the 2008 Superweek Tour de Delta. Laura was edged out from gold by 0.42 seconds in the 3km prologue by New Zealand Jazz Apple Ruth Corset. Steph Roorda was within seconds in 4th place, with Moriah McGregor 6th, Jenny Trew 7th and Lisa Howard 8th. Full results here.
10th Elite and 4th U23 at
National Time Trial
Moriah McGregor places 10th and Steph Roorda 4th at the Canadian National TT Championships today. Full results here.
Roorda Takes Bronze- National Crit Championships
Stephanie Rooda earned her first Road Race National level medal today at the Canadian National Criterium Championships. She teamed up with ex-Giant rider Jenny Trew who placed 2nd, and together, the two sprinters worked the feild of elite women to gain their well deserved spots on the podium. Stephanie and Jenny will be joined by Moriah-Jo MacGregor this week to take on the rest of the Canadian elite feild in the Canadian National Road Championships in their new Giant Canada/Team Whistler kits. Good luck ladies!
Viking in Philly
In the stifling humidity of Philadelphia at the 93 km Liberty Classic, Giant Canada/Team Whistler rider Steph Roorda (aka Viking) turned up the heat on some of the best riders in the world with a fantastic 9th place finish and taking the 1st place U23 title. Capping off two top twenties earlier in the week, Viking out raced many world class racers and champions with her racing and sprint abilities, staying with the front break on the famous gut wrenching 20% climb.
Steph will now be racing and training at North American track cycling mecca Trexlertown for the next three weeks before heading to the National Championships in Quebec.
Good luck Viking!
Giant Bicycles/Team Whistler Dominates
Provincial Championships
The Giant Canada/Team Whistler women's team dominated the Westside Classic BC Road Championships on June 1 held in Vancouver bordering the UBC endowment lands. Steph Roorda captured her first BC Road Championship with Lisa Howard finishing 3rd and Heather Lamson 4th. In addition Jessica Hannah won the Queen of the Mountain competition and Heather Lamson also won the first lap prime. The Giant Canada/Team Whistler women placed 4 in the top 10 with a complete team effort on all fronts. Full story available at http://bcgiantcycling.blogspot.com/.
Pez Cycling News article http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/default.asp?pg=fullstory&id=5961
For BC Championship photo gallery, click here.
Race the Ridge, BC Cup#2
Another weekend another victory. Jessica Hannah clawed her way back to finish tied with Leah Goldstein after all three stage this weekend at BC Cup # 2 Race the Ridge. Goldstein, riding for Total Restoration, got the tie breaker based on her time trial win but in the end it was oh so close. The Giant Canada/Team Whistler girls knew that going into the final stage three criterium in order to win the overall they had to have Jessica win all the intermediate bonus points and take the win with Leah scoring no points at all. Like a precision machine all team riders worked together and sacrificed for the overall. Jess won the first bonus sprint, won the second, and Giant Canada/ Team Whistler went 1-2-3 in the criterium but it was Steph Roorda taking the win ahead of Jessica and Lisa Howard rounding out the podium. Leah Goldstein did not score in the points so that left Hannah and her tied. Had Jessica been able to edge her team-mate she would have got the overall. Hindsight is 20/20 and the team rode so well they did not want to risk the final sprint to another rider taking the stage. Roorda ended up third overall in the stage race and should retain her BC Cup lead. Other strong performances on the weekend included Jessica's 5th and Steph's 9th in the road race, Laura's 2nd and Jess's 3rd and Steph's 5th in the TT and the podium sweep in the criterium. Please check the blog later on Monday for a race report. Thanks for all your support.
Victory at BC Cup #1
An impressive win by Steph Roorda, AKA Viking, at the Harris Roubaix BC Cup opener on Sunday, April 13th. After a number of attacks thrown by Team Giant/Whistler in the first two laps of the gritty course, Viking rode the remaining 50km as a solo effort for the first win of the year. Giant/Whistler placed 2 others in the top 10 for a solid beginning for 2008. More on race here, full results here.
BC Cup Overall
2007 saw the first year of our Women's Team, and a great first year it was. The 10 of us sat down together at the beginning of the year to set personal and team goals, and we have surpassed so many of our markers.
Congratulations to the whole team as Leah Guloein took 2nd Overall BC Cup, and Jenny Trew 4th overall. It was definitely a team effort, and everyone showed their grit and determination, even when it was raining, windy, cold, and when we were just plain exhausted. 100% TEAMWORKS!
BC CUP OVERALL RESULTS
1) Leah Goldstein - Symmetrics
2) Leah Guloien - Giant
3) Sarah Stewart - Symmetrics
4) Jenny Trew - Giant
5) Marni Hambleton - Symmetrics
A Victorious Pickle at Western Canada Games
Chelsea 'Pickle' Bilsbarrow wins the highly competitive junior field in the Women's Road Race at the Western Canada Games today. Chelsea finished 7th in yesterday's Time Trial, and will follow up with the final stage Mountain Bike Race tomorrow. Read more here.
Add more podiums to the list, please...
The Giant women's team battled with Symmetrics for podium positions all weekend, with top results that show just how deep the talent on the team is.
Road Race - 3rd, 4th and 5th
Time Trial - 1st and 3rd
Criterium - 1st and 2nd
Read first hand experiences here.
Jeremy Storie Team Interview
Read up on the Giant Women's Team in the Vancouver Province.
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sports/story.html?id=03f2d875-9f05-493f-9705-b871f2883370&k=5316
Walla Walla Stage Race
The ladies from Giant Canada/Team Whistler placed Jessica Hannah and Steph Roorda in the top ten overall with 8th and 9th respectively at the 3 stage April 19-20 Tour of Walla Walla. During the Saturday road race Roorda won the Queen of the Mountains and placed 4th. The team then rode an inspired and aggressive criterium with Roorda taking the win, securing the team in 2nd place overall Team GC. Other strong performances included Laura Brown's impressive 3rd place Time Trial, Jessica Hannah's 5th place in Friday's Kellogg Hollow road race and Heather Lamson's 4th in the criterium. A full report is available at http://www.bcgiantcycling.blogspot.com/.
2008 Race Season is here!
March comes in like a lion... March has kicked off an already busy season with 2 team training camps, a Learn to Race Clinic and our first 2 podiums of the year! Read more here.
Learn to Road Race
Clinic Information!
Click here to for information on the 2008 race clinics.
Thank you to all the coaches and participants that attended the Learn to Race clinic at The Fort Wine Co. This years clinic was attended by 18 participants, most of which have had the chance to race at the Spring Series Novice and C races successfully!
A special Thank You to The Fort Wine Co for letting us host the clinic once again at their beautiful facility. See you on the road! Read more about the clinic here.
Burnaby 6 Day; 1st and 2nd Overall
Steph Roorda, Jenny Trew, Laura Brown, Katherine Short and Jenelle Cassidy raced the Burnaby Six Day event that ran from December 31st to January 5th 2008. Jenny Trew rode away with two 2nd place omniums in the Women's event and the mixed B events, while Steph Roorda rode away with the Women's Omnium title. Both ladies will be competing in the LA World Cup track race later on this month.
Read more on the Six Day here.
It was Jenny's last race with Team Giant and she and Leah Guloien will be missed by us all!! Good luck to both of you with your new NRC Team, Vanderkitten.
National Silver and Bronze!
Laura Brown and Jenny Trew podium for the Giant Bicycle Canada Women's Cycling Team in Dieppe, NB. Winning 3 National medals between them, it was a satisfying end to a great season, winning over world cup rider Gina Grain, and other National notibles. Results here.
1st and 2nd at Track Provincials
Jenny Trew and Laura Brown 'cleaned up' the track, sweeping the podium at the BC Track Provincials in Victoria August 18th and 19th. Results here.
Victory for Jenny Trew
Fantastic Four Criterium was a stage for the Giant Team to showcase their dominant criterium skills. 2 of 3 primes were won by Giant, with Jenny Trew taking the win with help of a perfect lead out by Laura Brown, Leah Guloein, and Lisa Howard. Lisa Howard sprinted for second; both girls far ahead of the competition.
Leah Guloien Wins Tour de Delta
Leah Guloien wins Sunday's road race, outsprinting Leah Goldstein of Symmetrics Pro Cycling at the finish line. Leah and Leah dropped the field on the third lap, working together to keep their huge lead on the chase group that included Jenny Trew (5th).
Leah Guloien won the Tour de Delta overall. Her father, Nels Guloien, also won Canadian Mountain Bike Nationals on Sunday. Congratulations to the Guloiens!