Le Tour du Grande Montréal 2002

The time trial was held on a peninsula that was only 200m wide. The course was a narrow horse shoe shape, where we rode out the left side negotiating a left hand 90 degree corner followed immediately by a right 90 degree corner in the first 500m, then tackled a roaring head wind for 1km, turned at the top and came home with a cross tailwind.

Genevieve Jeanson (RONA) rode the course in 3min57sec, averaging 45.3km/hr to win the stage, while I came home in 55th place, clocking 4min28sec, an average speed of 40.1km/hr. The field was 103 strong with the top 60 riders all riding within 31 seconds of Jeanson. Dede Demet Murray (Talgo America) took 2nd place while Clara Hughes (Sélection Provinciale du Québec) rode strongly to finish 3rd.

Monday 3rd June 2002
Stage 2 - 50km Criterium	50km - 50 laps of a 1km clockwise circuit	Conditions: 68°F (18°C) light wind

After resting for the afternoon, we packed the car and drove to Little Italy to ride a fast and furious 50km evening criterium. The criterium was a 1km square loop held in down town little Italy, where the home straight was lined with restaurants and cafes. The sun was beginning to dip in the sky as we started our race, shining straight into our eyes down the home straight. The sun glare and the screaming fans thumping their hands on the metal barriers certainly added to the excitement of the race.

There were dozens of sprint primes as well as time bonus primes which worked well to keep the pace up. My legs felt back to normal today and I positioned myself about 10th wheel the entire race watching Team T-mobile, Saturn and RONA fight it out. I went with a few attacks on the back straight but each attempt by one team was quickly neutralised by the others. My prediction of a sprint finish seemed inevitable.

With about 10 laps to go I lost my position a little and ended up about 18th wheel. I needed to move up quickly but the pace had really picked up and the peloton had become one single line. We were doing 55km/hr down the straights and almost as fast through the corners. On the bell lap, on the 2nd last corner I was right on Andrea Hannos's (RONA) wheel when she got bumped violently from the right causing her to almost hit the gutter. She jumped on the brakes, while I did too, so I didn't end up eating her back wheel, which caused us both to lose all our momentum. I salvaged what I could and came home in 37th place.

My lesson well learnt from today is to position myself better so I can manoeuvre away from those incidents without losing speed. Laura Van Gilder (Trek Plus Volkswagen) won the criterium in 1hr10mins followed closely by Anna Millward (Saturn) and Dede Demet Barry (Talgo America).

Tuesday 4thJune 2002
Stage 3 - 113km Road Race	55km loop	Conditions: 70°F (20°C) steady wind

Todays, final road race stage started at 5pm in the evening in a town called Terribonne, an hour north of Montréal. With a misinformed estimation of the driving time, we got to the start with only 40mins to go, so we all moved frantically, getting bikes organised and warming up but doing laps of the starting circuit.

The course commenced with 5 laps of a small 1km circuit, before we headed out to do a technical and relatively flat 50km loop. We returned to the circuit, completed one lap and then headed out around the same 50km, for a second time before returning to the circuit and finish line. I was worried about a fast start and early attacks as any break could set up the overall win with almost 70 riders only separated by 45 seconds. Luckily, they neutralised the 5 laps and we watched in amusement as a Canadian racing car driver mounted a bicycle and lead us around for the first lap.

After 5 laps they opened the circuit which ended the neutralised zone. I was sitting midfield on the left side of the peloton and I saw the road narrow considerably and before I knew it my front wheel was heading straight for the gutter. I tried to pop the front wheel up but I twisted it and it skidded along the lip of the gutter and sent me sliding sideways down the sidewalk. I landed heavily on my back, ripped my shorts and took some skin off my hip and calf.

Ironically, there was another crash right beside me that both Petra and Hiroko were caught up in. Hiroko jumped up quickly and got back into the peleton before any of us were even up off the ground. I had someone help me get my chain back on, then I waited for Petra and we did a team time trial back to towards the peloton. The peloton was out of sight but we caught the caravan within a few minutes and then used the cars to thred our way back to the peloton. The crash had buckled my back wheel so I fully released the back brake to avoid any rubbing on the brake pads. Unfortunately the course was technical and had numerous 90 degree corners so it became interesting negotiating these without the back brake working properly.

The race was being controlled by RONA, Talgo America, Saturn and T Mobile with all teams attacking each other. I got into a shortlived break with Amber Neben (T Mobile), a French rider, and Catherine Powers (xxxxx) and Joan Wilson (Talgo America). We hovered at 15sec for about 4km but the active peloton soon brought us back. The pace picked up as we approached the final circuit. The corner leading onto the circuit was tight and as predicted someone took it too hard and slid across the road, taking several riders with her. The fortunate 15 riders in front of this crash motored on towards the finish, while the rest of us dodged the bodies and then did our best to close down the gap.

Laura Vangilder (USA) (Trek Plus Volkswagen) won in 2hrs42min, followed by Clara Hughes (Sélection Provinciale du Québec) and Anna Millward (Saturn) in third. I finished in 37th place, 10sec back.

In the overall classification, Laura Van Gilder (Trek Plus Volkswagen) won the tour, only a second ahead of Dede Demet-Barry (Talgo America) and Clara Hughes (Sélection Provinciale du Québec), respectively. I finished 44th, 49sec down.

Now we have a few days to get some rest in New Jersey, let the bruising heal and head to Philadelphia for the First Union Liberty Classic.