Midway through an unrelenting 116-kilometre Rundle Mountain Bike Fest road race, Colin Croston had his dark moment of the soul.
Sadistic rider Evan Bayer was launching attack after attack on the field, sucking every watt of power out of the peleton’s tired legs. One of Croston’s Rundle Mountain Cycling Club teammates, Jeff Perron, vanished in a tumble and the other, Darren Anderson, flatted on lap three. Surrounding him, riders 15 to 20 years his junior cruised along, looking fresh faced and strong.
Croston, 42, felt old. He felt defeated. He was ready to drop out.
“Midway through the race, I was having second thoughts. That’s normal for me. I go to a dark place. I go through a lot of self-doubt. I look around and see all these young guys who seem fresh and strong,” Croston said.
His Rundle Mountain Cycling Club teammates, led by Erik Jensen, did their best to shelter him from the wind, and chase down dangerous attacks.
Meanwhile, former RMCC rider Fraser Mills-Connery sat mid-pack, preparing the eventual denouement in his head. As a member of the Lead Out project, a team that donates bikes for children in need, Mills-Connery knew he had the jets to take a sprint finish over anyone in the field, and watched patiently as his teammates pushed an exhausting pace. He had spent the week prior hiking in Yoho with Foothills Nordic, and had to believe his legs would hold up.
“I knew it was a really good course for me. My plan was just to sit in wait for the sprint. It’s a good uphill finish,” Mills-Connery said. “I’ve ridden this road a lot and know it inside out.”
Thankfully for Croston, suffering has a way of motivating him. By the third last lap of the seven-lap race, he began to crawl out from his hole and recover. By the last lap, he was hungry for victory.
“It kind of works itself out. I usually find my groove. The harder the race, the better it is for me. The years of training pay off.”
During the final push uphill to the finish line at the Canmore Nordic Centre, the field began to separate, as Croston and Mills-Connery positioned themselves for the final faceoff.
“You don’t want to be too far ahead in case the guys in front start to fade and you’re in the wind. It doesn’t seem like much, but the last two laps, the wind really picked up. Regardless of the wind, you’re still blasting. It’s all positioning,” Croston said.
“One of my teammates would attack and the other teams would work to get it back. They worked to keep me sheltered the whole time. It was a big credit to them,” Mills-Connery said.
With 200 metres left in the three-hour bike race, the sprinters crested the final climb, and the final moves were made.
“Going up there was the only time the whole race I was in the big ring, so I could react in a more aggressive gear. That was in my mind the entire race; stay fresh, so when the favourites go, you can jump right away. When I hit the flats before the last rise, that’s when I knew I had a good chance … I knew everyone but Fraser I could take in a sprint,” Croston said.
With the provincial title on the line, as predicted, Mills-Connery took off like a shot. Croston responded with the chase, legs pumping madly, but the Lead Out rider’s attack was precise and deadly. He crossed the line in 2:58:13, right ahead of Croston.
“For sure I’m happy with the win, with all the teamwork that went into it as well from the boys,” Mills-Connery said after earning his first provincial title.
Croston was still happy with his result. Last year at this time, he was inactive, laid up with a broken collarbone for three months, so the first victory was a return to cycling action. The second victory was matching pace with what he sees as a bright future in the sport.
“The level of competition racing in Alberta, I think, personally, it’s harder now than years ago. We’re seeing guys, they’re not even 19, and it’s amazing how much jump they have. We will see these guys do amazing things,” Croston said.
Robert Crane of Synergy Racing finished third in Cat 1/2 to conclude Canmore Bike Fest action.
One of Canmore’s young riders, Marc Dupuis, finished fourth in the Cat 2 96-km road race. He said the race was a great experience, as he wants to make the jump to the next level in his riding. Christian Gomes took the title, followed by Hayden Mayeur and Darren Gibbons.
Jacob Caucher won the Cat 4 79.5-km road race in a sprint finish over Kellen Viznaugh of Revelstoke and Lee Nelson. Nicolas Hamilton of RMCC was the top local rider, finishing 11th. Kaleb Muller was dominant in Cat 5, finishing 42 seconds ahead of the field. Spencer Pootz was second and Spencer Louis was third.
The small women’s Cat 1 field included an impressive performance by Terra Manca, who was extremely strong all weekend. Sherri Buchingnani was second and Meghan Lemiski was third.
Nadia Bunko won the women’s Cat 3/4/5 63-km race, three seconds over Alana Heise and five seconds over Kristin Walters.
Visit zone4.ca for full results.
