I'm the Omnium Champ - yay me!!

It's been a good week!

On the 29th was the BC Masters Oak Bay crit around Windsor Park - i think only the second actual crit i've ridden (i rode Bastion Square last year and SUFFERED in Cat4!)

I went in with the plan not to finish, as i wanted to save my legs for the thing this entry is named after. =)

I sat in for ~35mins, and i was quite happy with how i rode! Off the top, i made sure i was near the front of the pack, which is really a huge factor in being able to stay in the race for me...the yo-yo-ing that occurs further back just kills me.. At the front the speed was steady, perfect for me.

The course was fantastic, technically five corners, tho only two required you to stop pedaling. It was a mere 700m round, two long stretches, and a light headwind in the back stretch. About 20 riders started, many regulars here, and some guys i've raced on the track and always kicked my ass. The Masters were broken into two groups, the 45+ group went first, and i was with the 45 and under of course. =)

Not much to say except that i was amazed at how easily i was hanging in, and there were several times i was sitting there itching to make a move...but after 35mins, i decided i'd maintained enough intensity pulled out. This was a good boost for my confidence, and i'm looking forward to the big event mid-September.

Here's my PowerTap file for anyone curious:

From PowerTapFiles

Also some pics, thanks Marty!! Click here for the album.

From 07-07-29 - Ma...

Next up: the first ever GVVA Omnium! The outcome is already known, and i'm quite happy with my riding for this, i really played my 'A' game. Below is a (Shish-centric) write-up/report i sent out to the GVVA list, giving a play-by-play from my perspective..hahaha.. I was excited and happy to earn a fairly big victory for OrganicAthlete. =)

Before that, a few other fun items of interest.

I've been carrying a camera with me when out riding, and so here is Ride Cam Album One and Album Two. Fun times.

From 07-07-28 - Ri...

From 07-07-28 - Ri...

"Derrrrr...."

In the FLORAGlo Track BC Cup standings, i discovered i'm currently in 3rd place overall with 27pts - woohoo! Click here for the PDF standings. Chris Reid is totally cleaning up in 1st with 37pts, and the ever-indomitable Matt Chater (30pts) will be impossible for me to challenge (unless he skips another event!), but i can at least claim this small piece of glory for now! I'll continue challenging my buddy and series co-organizer Glenn for 3rd. =)

Alright, on to the Omnium write up, buckle up! Additional comments in [bold].

Message Subject:

Headline: Vegan Devours Racers In Omnium Challenge

Message Body:

You read it here first folks! In the first (ever?) GVVA Omnium Series, after five events, the vegan came out on top!

The series, combined Monday and Thursday night, brought out lots of tough competition in the A category, but Dave Shishkoff (me!) managed to pedal his way to the top, both in the small Omnium field, and in the racing field. Malcolm was unbeatable, winning the top spot in the Omnium in each event, and for the C's, we'll leave the mystery until the end, as it was a close match between David Richardson and Michelle Lasota.

Onto the racing! Monday night brought racers out for three events: the Flying 200m, 500m ITT and a Scratch Race. Thursday saw the Pursuit and Points Race.

In order of competition:

Flying 200m
===========

The 6 sprinters got to show off with mostly blistering sub-13 second times. New-to-Victoria racer Marty Machacek, claimed to be a B racer, but after landing on top with a 12.60, was quickly promoted to 'A'. It should be highlighted this humble rider has raced for the Czech National Team. Speedy Mike Cooper took 2nd, 8 hundreths of a second off, and Chris Anstey took 3rd, a hairs width behind that. In the Omnium, that put Marty on top, followed by Chris, Dave S, and Dave Mercer. (To qualify for the Omnium, racers must finish all five events. These are the four A's who held on for all five.)

In the B's, Malcolm Falkner nabbed 1st, followed by Jim Holtz and Dave Emery. Get used to these names and this order, as it is repeated for the entire Omnium series!

In the closely matched C series, David Richardson edged Michelle Lasota in the sprint in their first match.

500m ITT
===========

In a shocker, Dave Shishkoff tied (the injured) Charles Durrant for 1st, with both racers riding a 38.7, which was also a new PB (Personal Best) for Shishkoff. [Hey - didn't i just get a 500m PB?] Cooper zipped in for 3rd, 4 tenths of a second back. In the Omnium, Dave took the glory, followed by Marty, Chris and Dave M.

The B's saw Malcolm ride into 1st with a 41.60, followed by Jim and Dave E.

In the C's, experience continued to give Dave R the advantage over Michelle.


Scratch Race
===========

The A's headed out for 27 Laps (9km). The pace was high off the start, and two riders dropped out of the race (and Omnium), leaving Chris A dangling 1/4 lap behind the Dave's and Marty. After the group holding this distance away from Chris for many laps, Chris pulled up, and caught back on, a lap down. With four laps remaining, The Shish attacked hard, shelling Marty and Dave M, but took Chris with him. Unconcerned with the sprint final against a lapped rider, The Shish ensured at least a 1/3rd lap between him and his Omnium contenders and let Chris take off on the final lap to take the sprint, but still finished 4th. This race finalized the competitors in the A Omnium. Marty took Mercer in the sprint to finalize the scoring.

The B's and C's raced together, with a predictable outcome for the B's, with Malcolm taking the win followed by Jim and Dave E. Michelle got the upper hand at the end, collecting her first win in the series!


Pursuits
===========

The fourth event in the series, beginning Thursday night, were Pursuits, 3km for the A's, and 2km for the B's and C's.

The A field was large, with 9 racers, and lots of close times. Don Gillmore was out to show us how it's done, and handily took 1st, and set the fastest 3km Pursuit time for this year, and several years back, with a 3'44, and a new PB for Don. In the Mortals competition, Dave S raced conservatively, remaining just behind Chris A each lap until the final two, where he powered ahead to win by a second, with a 4'04, setting another PB for himself. [I haven't done a 3km Pursuit for a couple years i think..previous PB was 4'26!] It's worth listing the times for the rest of the riders, to see how close this was - racers typically finished one second ahead or behind their match:

3rd - Chris A - 4'05
4th - Stephen Price - 4'07
5th - Emile De Rosnay - 4'09 (new to Vic, raced at the track in Dallas)
6th - Marty - 4'15
7th - Mike Cooper - 4'16
8th - Dave M - 4'17 [FANTASTIC RIDE BY DAVE!]
9th - Simon - 4'30

I believe this resulted in PB's for most riders! In the A Omnium, Dave S continued to enjoy being in 1st, followed by Chris, Marty and Dave M. After four events, Dave leads in Omnium points, followed by Marty, then Chris and Dave M.

The B's saw more close racing in the 2km distance. Malcolm continued on his winning streak, edging out Roland by 1 second, tho both setting new PB's as well, with Malcolm riding a 2'55 and Roland a 2'56. Jim rode a close 2'59, with Gerry Loster coming out to ride a 3'05, and Dave E rounded out this group with a 3'11, not bad at all for this old-timer!

In the C's, three more riders joined the group, tho the two Omnium competitors held top spots. Once again, it was David R vs Michelle, but Michelle liked the taste of victory from the last event, and savored it some more, knocking a second off Richardson's time, riding an impressive 3'15. They are now tied in the Omnium standings. For the rest of the C's, a second separated Harry Ladds and Tasha West, but Tasha charged on the final lap to edge out Harry, with a 3'32, and Dale Marat, riding with one healthy and one injured leg, completed the race in 3'49.


Points Race
===========
[YAY - MY FAVORITE RACE!]In the A field, seven riders started (and finished!) this event. The group held it together through the 1st sprint (of five in this 30 Lap, 10km event), and predictably Don 'The Immortal' Gillmore [MY NEW NICKNAME FOR DON, HE APPROVES THO IS WORRIED ABOUT LIVING UP TO IT 30yrs FROM NOW!] just kept on riding through after the sprint. The Shish, predicting this, and choosing instead to attempt to take advantage of this, passed on competing for points in the sprint, opting to attack hard after the sprint and catch Don. But to back up for a moment, the 1st sprint points were awarded to Don, Emile, Chris and Dave M in that order.

After a lap of chasing Dave S managed to catch Don's wheel. The remaining five riders worked together to chase, a half lap back. This didn't favor Dave well, however, and after three laps, started to drift away from Don's wheel. Ahh well, the ambition was worth the price of the ticket. Don wheeled through collecting 1st place points again, Dave cruised through alone collecting 2nd, and Emile took 3rd, and Chris A took 4th in the chase group. [BIG EFFORT ON MY PART, NEAT EXPERIENCE, BUT DON WAS TOO STRONG!!]

From there, if memory serves, Emile broke off from the chase group, and Marty tagged along for the ride. This left Chris A, Dave M and Simon as the 'peloton'. Dave S, seeing two riders catching from behind, and Don G way off on the horizon, slowed up and began working with these other two chasers to try and minimize the damage of the Immortal. Unfortunately, Marty had to drop and rejoined the chasers.

Don was just about to catch the 'Pack' on the third sprint, and a confused Emile attacked a lap early, allowing Dave to easily score 2nd place points on the 'real' sprint lap (Don got 1st). Chris A collected 4th in this sprint.

Emile and Dave continued their efforts to stay away from Don, and managed it through the 4th sprint, giving them top sprint points as they were technically in the front. Emile was paying more attention, but Dave still nipped him at the line in a hard sprint. Since Don had caught the pack, he was up 20pts, but no longer the lead rider. So he collected 3rd place points in this sprint, and Simon collected 4th, tho he was lapped by the field at this point, so 20 points down.

Don carried through his attack on the second-to-last sprint, breaking away from the pack, and spent several laps chasing Dave S and Emile, who in turn were chasing down Chris, Marty and Dave M (aka The Pack). The Dave's met before The Immortal caught up with them, and the three collected 20pts at this time (20 points for Dave and Emile for catching the remaining riders, and Don collecting 20pts for catching Emile and Dave, the two chasing riders - don't worry, it makes sense!)

With two laps remaining, The Immortal got on the front of this group and once more accelerated. The pack held together, with Dave S at the end, enjoying the draft and some rest.[THIS WAS KEY FOR MY FINISH.] On the 2nd corner of the final sprint, Dave S attacked hard, catching Don as the pack was splintered by his acceleration. Dave and Don drove hard for the line, but of course Don edged out Dave, tho they made it look good. Emile collected 3rd place points, and Dave M charged through to collect the final points of the the event.

The final tally had Don in 1st with 62pts, Dave S in 2nd with 34pts, and Emile 'I'll Race B too' De Rosnay in 3rd with 32pts. Further back, where points were sparse, Chris A earned 4th with 3pts, Dave M got 5th with 2pts, Marty collected 1pt for 6th, and Simon, who rides/races considerably less frequently than the rest of these guys, finished 7th, with -19pts. He'd collected a sprint point, but was also lapped by the field, thus losing 20pts.

In the Omnium, this solidified Dave's lead with a fourth 1st place finish, finishing with 7pts. [OUT OF A POSSIBLE 5!] This event propelled Chris ahead of Marty, who had been ahead in series points, giving Chris 11pts, and Marty finished with 12pts. Dave Mercer, the oldest, and possibly most impressive rider in the group, finished 4th with 18pts. (Note: in Omnium scoring, you get one point for each placing, so three 1st place finishes gives you 3pts. So in the totals, lowest score wins.)

Phew!

Unfortunately i can't recite the B & C races, but to summarize: once again the riders were all combined, and 9 riders began the racing. Unfortunately, new-comer [AND ORGANICATHLETE VICTORIA RIDER] Tasha West got clipped in a lap exchange, and crashed out. She's healing up fine, and looking forward to more racing! [TASHA WAS OUT TODAY FOR THE LEARN TO RACE CLINIC, FEELING BETTER! YAY TASHIE! HEAL QUICK, YOU'RE A TROOPER!]

In the B's, Roland rode a strong and consistant race and captured 1st, finally knocking Malcolm off the top of the podium! Unfortunately, Roland wasn't a part of the Omnium, having missed Monday out wandering around in the woods or something instead. ;)

Due to this, the Omnium finish for this race was identical to the previous results, and the final Omnium saw Malcolm win the series with 5pts (5x1st), Jim collected 2nd with 10pts, and Dave Emery earned 3rd with 15pts.

In the C's, David Richardson never collected any points in the combined race, with the five B's outsprinting him in each effort, but he succeeded in hanging in with the pack, while Michelle finished a lap behind with an impressive effort from this newcomer, and in an otherwise male event!

This final victory edged David ahead of Michelle, as the series was tied until this race. David R finished with 7pts, and Michelle finished with 8pts.

Congrats to all riders for coming out and participating in Victoria's first Omnium event!! I hope you all enjoyed it! Extra respect is now due to the Omnium riders, and especially the 1st place finishers, who have earned the title of Omnium Champ in their category - great riding!! =)

Hope you don't mind my self-serving race report, see y'all out there soon!

- Dave Shishkoff, GVVA Director of Racing