Criterium

A criterium is a road race run on a very short circuit - usually around 1 km. Excellent bike handling skills are key to success, as riders who can corner quickly conserve momentum and cover the course much more efficiently than others, who must burn energy sprinting to catch them hundreds of times in an hour. This particular crit was a points race, so riders' final placing would depend not on the order in which they crossed the finish line on the final lap but on points accumulated during the race. Every 5 km, points were available for the first 4 riders to cross the start/finish line, with the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th riders earning 5, 3, 2, and 1 points respectively, and double points at the halfway point and on the finish. The men's race was 50 laps and the women's 40.

The women's race ran first, and we were all very proud of the NB girls who were not the least bit put off racing by their crash the previous day. Again they rode well, worked hard, and learned a lot. Natalie Cormier, who had crashed so hard in the road race that she cracked her helmet in 3 places and had to withdraw, posted the women's top crit result, finishing the final sprint with the pack for a solid 19th.

The men's race started fast. Apparently having thoroughly enjoyed his success in the previous day's breakaway, Jean-Richard Cormier attacked almost immediately and got a gap on the peloton. He was reeled in, and as the pace eased up after the first sprint, Stuart Wight attacked. Soon enough, Stu was joined by a group of riders that included representatives from every province but Manitoba and PEI. This break looked promising! They worked well together and built their lead up to almost a minute. But as the race went on, members of the breakaway group began to play "cat and mouse," looking to shirk their share of the work to drive the break and questioning whether its success was truly in their teams' interest. Once cooperation deteriorated, the peloton closed in fast and caught the break with 8 km to go. The race came down to a bunch sprint, but since the break had lasted nearly its entire duration, its members had earned enough points to take the top 10 places overall. Stuart had picked up enough points in 2 intermediate sprints to earn him 9th for a great result and a strong race!

Stuart Wight Corners in the breakaway.







The pack chases.









Coach Brian McKeown and mechanic Jeff Currie are in the pit to offer the team emergency mechanical assistance.












Natalie Cormier rides in the pack as it strings out on a fast section.



Jessica Dahn pedals around a corner.



















Julia Cormier takes a pull in a group working to regain contact with the peloton after an attack splintered it.










Team New Brunswick Results:

9 Stuart Wight
15 Jean-Richard Cormier
21 Denis Hebert
35 Justin Theriault

19 Natalie Cormier
29 Emily Nickerson
32 Jessica Dahn
40 Julia Cormier

Full results: men's and women's