Check them out:

http://www.cyclingphotos.ca/CX12/HA12 (photos by Jon Safka)

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/fa3upmnkjdkq24m/73pGFKT4cg (photos by Tim O’Conner)

http://www.pbase.com/robert_ottawa/2012hammer (photos by Robert Roaldi)

 For the fourth consecutive year, Ride with Rendall hosted the Hammer and Anvil Cyclocross Events at the Nepean Equestrian Centre near Ottawa.  For the first time the Anvil was an event on the Southern Ontario Cyclo-Cross schedule.  The pressure was on for racers looking to gauge their form in advance of next weekend’s National Championships in Vancover BC.

 Also making a return for a second year was the Anvil on Foot – a 6km running race featuring two laps of the cyclocross course.  Former NCAA standout Mike Woods took home the win in this prestigious footrace.

 Designed by past national cross champion and RWR member Greg Reain along with club president (for life) Glen Rendall the Hammer and Anvil Courses are twisty and turny affairs with the second day Anvil being slightly more technically demanding (and historically being held in the rain).  

 The weather proved to be far better than predicted with both days being not only snow, but rain free.  Day one featured bone dry conditions making for fast and exiting racing as clumps of racers stayed together in trains.  Overnight rain left day two greasy and slippy- meaning every corner demanded utter concentration.

 Derrick St. John (Stevens Racing) and his long time partner Natasha Elliot (the Cyclery) made it a couple’s weekend with both riders taking back to back wins.

 On day one St. John rode away from fellow Ottawa rider Osmond Bakker (Octto-Cervelo) with up and coming mountain biker Mitch Bailey (Trek Canada) rounding out the podium in third.   Elliot gapped season long rival Evelyn Blouin (Ride with Rendall) with past Ontario Champion Melissa Bunn (Stevens) coming in third.

 Day two saw repeat winners but a shifting podium as more riders were drawn to the valuable points at stake in the Southern Ontario Season.  One rider who made the trip to Ottawa was reining Provincial Champion Andrew Watson (Norco).  While Watson left empty handed he took over the lead in the series standings.  Bakker finished on the podium again, this time in third.

 Newly crowned Ontario champion Julie Lafreniere (XPREZO-BORSAO) finished second to Elliot in the Anvil and bumped Blouin down to third.

 In master’s competition Kris Westwood and Steve Proulx (both of the Cycelry) swapped wins over the weekend with Matt Surch (Tall Tree Cycles) finishing third both days.

 Vet C rider Robbie O (Ride with Rendall) took the win both days in the M2 category.

 Ride with Rendall would like to extend a huge thank you to all the racers that come out, as well as to all of the club sponsors that make this weekend possible.

Rendall closes out season with two more podiums

The 2012 road season is finishing up the same way it began- with club namesake Glen Rendall scoring some results.  Glen finished third in this year’s Ontario Criterium Championships down in Windsor over the Long Weekend.  He followed it up on the Labour Day Monday with another 3^rd place finish in Detroit- a race which also saw Casey Roth finish in the money.

Meanwhile two of RwR’s young guns made the trip down to Vermont to compete in the Green Mountain Stage race.  First year senior Olivier Delaney gave himself a birthday present by finishing an impressive 6^th place on Stage Two.  Matteo Dal Cin was the top team finisher in 32^nd overall on GC.

The September long weekend may mark the ending of the road season with just one more race to go.  The elite team will make the trip down south to compete in the prestigious Univest Grand Prix.

For those not yet ready to hang up the bike for the winter there is plenty of cyclo-cross still to come- including Ride with Rendall’s own Hammer and Anvil weekend.

By Chris Reid

Ride with Rendall’s second staging of the Ontario Time Trial Championships was held on a hot a humid late summer day.  Riders from across the province gathered to contest for the provincial titles and the host club put in some great performances.

Mike Nash avenged at narrow sub-1 second loss in last year’s Master B race to win by a comfortable margin.  Racer/organizer/firefighting hard man Ron Amos brought home the bronze in the same category.

Jon Gee continued to be the proverbial man in the Master C age group.  It should be noted however that his son Derek, who is still a cadet, had a faster average speed en route to winning the junior title.  Clearly Jon has booth good genes and his hands full.

In a near repeat of last year Matteo Dal-Cin finished second in a highly competitive U23 field.

In the day’s prestige event, Aaron Fillion was left plucking feather’s out of his teeth after devouring a talented field.  Fillion  averaged over 47 kph around the 40km course to win by 1 minute and 26 seconds over masters racing superstar and blogging sensation Bruce Bird, with “the Real Deal” Ed Veal rounding out the podium.

 North of the border in scenic Lac du Loup Rob Orange brought home silver and bronze in the Quebec Road and TT Championships.

 To repeat for clarity’s sake, it’s no misprint: Rob Orange. Podium. Time Trial.