2004
Competative Cycling Results
Team
Woodcock wins MEDALS!
Congratulations
to the following Rhino Fitness trained Team Woodcock athletes
on their achievements in the 2004 cycling season!
-
Tim
Woodcock 2004: Silver in MB Provincial Road Race, Gold
in MB Provincial Criterium
-
Bowen
Neuhofer 2004: Gold in MB Provincial Road Race, Bronze
in MB Provincial Time Trial, Silver in MB Provincial Criterium,
Bronze; tied with Cris LaBossiere in MB Road Cup Points
-
Tim
Turenne 2004: Silver in MB Provincial Road Race, Bronze
in MB Provincial Time Trial, Silver in MB Road Cup Points
- Andrea
Richardson 2004: Gold in MB Provincial Time Trial, Silver
in MB Road Cup Points
Cris
LaBossiere's training logs:
February
2004 Training
Cris
LaBossiere's Race Results 2004:
Click
on
HRM to
view heart rate profile of race
- May
29-30 Stage race: 1st place road race HRM,
2nd place criterium, 7th place time trial
- June
12-13 Stage race: 6th place road race, 6th place criterium,
4th place time trial
- June
23 Mountain bike race: Dead last!
- July
7 Criterium: 1st place
- July
11 Road race: 1st place HRM
- July
14 Mountain bike race: 3rd place HRM
- August
5 Criterium, 7th place
- August
12 Criterium, 2nd place HRM
- August
19 Criterium 7th place
- Cris
took 3rd place in the Manitoba Cup (Road) for 2004
- August
22 BC Provincial Criterium Champs (cat 4): Second to last!
 August
22 BC Provincial Criterium Champs (Masters 30-39): Bronze
HRM
- August
26 Criterium, 2nd place HRM
- August
26 Criterium, second to last place (Cat 2) HRM
- August
29 Mountain bike race 5th place
- September
19 MB Provincial Time Trial Champs 4th place HRM
-
 September
25 MB Provincial Criterium Champs (Masters 30-39): Bronze
Details
below
Cris
Wins!:
Cris took 1st place HRM
in the road race, 2nd place
in the criterium, and 7th place in
the time trial in the Falcon Lake Gold Stage Race held May
29-30 2004 in Falcon Lake Manitoba. A stage race is a bicycle
race event with several races held over several days. The
Tour De France is the worlds most famous stage race.
This
was my first competition of the year, in fact this was the
first time I road my road bike outside! I use a Tacx ergotrainer
(indoor trainer that the bike attaches to) for the majority
of my training. I felt strong in the criterium. I hooked up
with Bowen Neuhofer and together we made a breakaway and finished
the race 1-2, with Bowen winning the crit. The road race the
next day was in cold and miserably rainy weather on a rolling
hills course. I again hooked up with Bowen. We played it conservative
until the final 10 kilometers where we attempted a break.
We couldn't hold off the pack like we did in the crit, so
we backed off and sat in with group that caught us. The tension
was high for the last 5 k as we all jockeyed for position.
My legs were so baked I could not stand up to sprint, I just
barely won the race by a wheel with a seated sprint. After
the race I asked Bowen to join the Woodcock team, he accepted.
I now coach him as well. Watch for this guys name in the future!
- Cris
Stage
Race:
June 12 -13, 2004. Criterium 6th
place (Winnipeg, Manitoba), time trial 4th
place (Winnipeg, Manitoba), road race 6th
place (Minnedosa, Manitoba).
The
crit was a short and fast square course around the legislative
buildings in the city of Winnipeg. At times at a criterium,
race officials ring a cow bell to signal the last lap of the
race. Oddly enough there was a very young spectator (6yrs
old?) with her own toy cow bell. The youngster kept
ringing the cow bell near the end of the race and I could
not tell when the last lap was! I came in sixth place thinking
I had one lap to go. I was being a little too confident sitting
at the back of the pack with a plan to blow by everyone at
the end. With this position I was too far away to tell the
difference between the official bell-lap and the child's ongoing
bell-laps. Oh well, I can laugh at it now! The next day in
the road race I had a very fast decent on a big hill. This
gave me a big gap on the pack. With a major uphill approaching
in the next 10 minutes I thought I should wait for the pack
because staying out front would tire me too much. Instead
I decided to test myself and maintain the solo breakaway.
Well... the pack caught me on the climb and passed me like
I was standing still! I fought hard by myself for 11 kilometers
and I caught the pack again. I was tied with another rider
for 1st place 20 metres from the finish line. I had no legs
left at all, and 5 riders passed me at the line. That was
a tough race! - Cris
Mountain
Bike Race:
June 23 2004, dead last!
(Birds Hill Park Manitoba)Uh.., Cris is not much of an MTB
racer, he races MTB primarily for fun, road racing is his
focus.
This
entire race is single track, about 1/3 fairly straight and
fast, about 1/3 twisty and fast, and about 1/3 with very sharp
tight turns with trees brushing elbows on both sides, a few
roots and rocks, and a couple of small logs across the trail.
I came to a complete stop a of couple times with not being
able to negotiate tight turns. This was my first time on the
trails this year. Mountain Biking is a thrill a second, riding
at high speed through twisty trails (well uh, most of the
time). I had lots of fun! - Cris
Criterium:
July 7 2004,
Cris Wins! (Stony
Mountain Manitoba)
This
was a classic square course of 1.3 kilometres, uphill on half
the course and downhill on the other half. On the second lap
I moved out front fast. This move split the pack, leaving
I think two to four riders with me. The race was only 20 minutes
+ 5 laps (or was it 3 laps?). I rode at the fastest pace I
knew I could hold for 20 minutes. I rode out front for most
of the race, this left two riders with me at the end. On the
second to last lap, I sat in behind one of the riders. On
the last lap I attacked on the uphill, dropping the two riders
for a solo win. - Cris
Road
Race:
July 11 2004, Cris
Wins! (Swan
River Manitoba) HRM
This
was circuit race on a 10 kilometre course that we did laps
on. Half the race had lots of corners and block-long rolling
hills and the other half open highway. I wasn't sure what
was going to happen here as there were a couple of athletes
that I hadn't seen before at the start line. I led the pack
on each lap through the corners, but my cornering was not
as good as I would like it to be. However, the pack let me
work the corners anyway. On the last lap the pace slowed considerably
on the open highway section, a common occurrence as everyone
wants to be rested for the final push to the finish. I knew
if I was into the corners first, I would have a good chance
of winning. I was out front riding slow, watching over my
shoulders for someone to move. Two riders sprinted, but my
sprint was faster and I made it to the corner first. Four
corners later was the finish line and I won. Two wins in a
row! - Cris
Mountain
Bike Race: July
14, 3rd place (Birds Hill
Park Manitoba) HRM
This
was a big surprise to me as only three weeks ago I was dead
last on the same course and had a lot of trouble staying on
the trail. I had not been on the trails since that race three
weeks ago, so this race was my second time on trails this
year. I still had "technical" trouble as I hit a
couple of trees pretty hard with my shoulder and elbow (only
minor scrapes with blood). However, this was my best MTB ride
in at least 10 years. I managed to find my groove on many
of the tight corners, and this time I didn't have to stop.
I was definitely faster than most on the straight sections
passing many with none passing me. But, in the technical sections
most were considerably faster than me. I have a lot of respect
for the skill of those riders; from my perspective as a road
racer, it is uncanny how the mountain bikers negotiate those
twists and turns, they are terrific athletes! - Cris
Manitoba
Cup (Road) 2004 3rd overall
A
total surprise to me as I did not enter all of the cup events.
I was not keeping track of my points, and considered the cup
series a write-off for me since I didn't enter all the races.
In fact, this was intended as my first year back at serious
competition after a debilitating hamstring injury and chronic
cramping problem kept me down for a few seasons. It turned
out though that my points earned in the cup races I did enter
were good enough for 3rd overall. A nice surprise! -Cris
Criterium:
August 5, 2004 7th
place (Richmond British Columbia)
While
visiting Vancouver BC for one month, I took in a few local
races. Team Coastal hosts the Workopolis Thursday Challenge,
a series of criteriums on a fantastic course with easy to
negotiate corners. The systems for placing riders in categories
for Manitoba and British Columbia are a little different,
as well as the caliber of rider being higher overall in BC
making for a greater challenge. In this first race I led the
pack on the first lap and for many laps in the race. Not always
a wise decision when you are not familiar with the competition.
As a consequence, I was pooped out at the end and was passed
by several riders close to the line.- Cris
Criterium:
August 12, 2004 2nd
place (Richmond British Columbia)
HRM
Same
race as last week. This time I was more conservative thus
conserving energy for the finish. My timing was not bad providing
me with a second place finish. My fitness has bumped up a
notch as this is the time in my annual plan to increase intensity
in my training. Riding the mountains and steep hills of the
Lower Mainland of BC adds an excellent challenge. Riding against
the BC riders is exactly what I need right now. - Cris
Criterium:
August 19, 2004 7th
place (Richmond British Columbia)
Same
race as the prior two weeks. I rode very conservatively in
this race and had lots left at the end. I was certain throughout
the race I would finish top 3 if not win. I came in 7th because
I didn't follow my game plan. I had picked out who were likely
to be the fast sprinters. My plan was to let them lead out
and take them at the line - a classic tried and true strategy.
I choked on my plan though. There were a few riders who had
about 20 metres on the pack about 100 metres from the finish
line. I became anxious and chased them down. Can you say "rookie"?
Turned out they were no threat. However I wasted my reserve
in bridging (closing the gap), and the rider who I wanted
to follow was on my wheel, making me lead him out. Seems he
had the same plan as me. As soon as I slowed slightly from
fatigue, the others flew by me in the same way I intended
to fly by them. - Cris
BC
Provincial Criterium Champs: August
22,
9:20 am
(cat 4): Second to last! HRM
Being
from Manitoba, the good folks in BC allowed me to enter the
men's cat 4 race, which I promptly got my ass kicked in! When
racing Provincials, you must race your age group with the
exception of cat 1-2. Had I won the cat 4 race, I would not
receive a medal as I was racing out of category, and from
out of province. In the last year I have not done any sprint
training or weight training (other than re-hab) on my legs,
and as such I have no sprint. This course was short (900 metres)
with a somewhat steep uphill/ downhill circuit. I missed a
jump early in the race (no sprint) and was off the back. I
did however manage to continue at the same pace as the pack,
for the rest of the race they gained no further time on me.
I felt very good about this and am confident once my sprint
is back next year I will be well on my way to dominating in
the next category up, next year.
BC Provincial Criterium Champs August
22, 11:20am
(Masters 30-39): Bronze!
HRM
This
race was started one hour after I finished the previous race.
I decided to enter the Masters race as a test to how I would
hold up against my BC peers. I knew the BC riders were faster,
and I wanted to find out by how much. In this race we are
bunched by age, I was racing against males 30-39 years of
age. When racing by age, riders of any category are included.
Luckily there were no cat 2 riders, but there were some cat
3's. Again in this race I missed a jump near the beginning
of the race, and again I maintained pace allowing me to win
the bronze medal. As an indication of how much strength I
have lost in my legs since a hamstring injury plagued me (it's
much better now) look at these comparisons:
Fastest
sprint speed on flat road with no wind: Before injury - 65-70
km/ hr.; This year - 52- 55 km/hr
Maximum
weight lifted in single leg squat: Before injury - Two 120
LB dumbbells X 4 reps; This year - no weights yet, just started
base training after re-hab. I use my body weight only right
now!
I
am happy with my race results on the minimal training I've
had this year. I'm sure I won't be missing many jumps when
my leg strength is back up! I'll keep you informed.. - Cris
Criterium:
August 26 2nd place (Richmond
BC) HRM
Another
Criterium in Richmond. I really enjoyed these well run races.
I was second place by a tire which made me very confident
that I can certainly win against these riders in BC. While
Manitoba has riders that are quite fit as well, the BC'ers
have more riders at the top level, and greater hill climbing
ability.
Criterium:
August 26 second to last place -
cat 1,2,3 (Richmond BC)
This
race really made me feel great! I entered it 20 minutes after
placing 2nd in the race above. I had been racing cat 4 and
age group in this, my first year back at serious competition
after injury. I asked if I may enter the cat 2 race to test
myself and was granted permission. While categories 1,2,3
were raced together, there weren't many cat 3's and the pace
at 44-50 km/hr was definitely a cat 2 pace. While challenging
I didn't over extend myself riding in the pack. On the 3rd
to last lap I decided to bridge a gap to a breakaway group.
This proved to be beyond my current ability. I fatigued and
was spit out the back. I managed to pull two other riders
for two laps tying with one and beating the other at the line.
At this time my fitness is good enough to survive at the cat
2 level in Criteriums, but not good enough to be a threat.
That will take about 12 to 24 months of training!
Mountain
Bike Race:
August 29 5th place
(Grand Beach Manitoba)
I
was surprised I placed at all in this race, as I arrived late
and started about 4 minutes after my category was released.
I decided to ride it out for the experience. I did catch quite
a few people, but didn't look back to see what category they
were in, turns out I did pass a few in my category. I believe
I would have placed top 3 if I started on time. I was quite
tired with my flight from Vancouver arriving after midnight
the night before this race, and was a little too sluggish
getting my butt out the door in the morning. The course was
very fast with lots of wide trails as well as single track.
There were quite a few sand traps but they didn't prove to
be a major challenge.
MB
Provincial Time Trial Championships September
19,
2004 (Masters 30-39):
4th
HRM
Another
surprise as the time trial is not my best suit. A time trial
is a race against the clock over a fixed distance where each
rider rides alone.
MB
Provincial Criterium Championships
September
25, 2004
(Masters
30-39): Bronze
This
was a great way to end my first serious season back at racing
in almost 10 years, and also coming back from injury and overtraining.
Last year (2003) a hamstring injury and a chronic cramping
problem prevented me from finishing many of the races I entered,
and from making the fitness gains I need to compete consistently
well. I'm very excited about competing next season and hope
to improve over this years results.
Woodcock
Cycle 157 St. Annes Rd. Winnipeg Manitoba (204) 253 5896
The
2004 race season is over. This year was a great success for
my athletes and myself. The 2005 season begins in late April.
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