Rolf Devinci

Today the 2010 edition of the HFX Crit is being held around the Halifax Commons. The only race that has the benefits of a closed course it is basically flat with wide sweeping corners which means its usually a fast paced event. It is raining this morning which has the tendancy to cut down on participation numbers and spectators which is unfortunate as it is a great event to race and watch. Im racing Cat C so I am curious to see how the new category does today in terms of effort and participation numbers. Being a "sport" cat designed to bring out club cyclists I fear the weather will keep many away. Race Report Needless to say it rained throughout the morning and only began to clear before the start of the singlespeed race. Guess Mother Nature has a thing for the "hipsters".Shame we didn't have the awesome weather esperienced hereabouts yesterday.....sunny,warm and 24C. I'm sure we would have had more racers and spectators if the weather had cooperated.

The inaugural race of the 2010 schedule went off today under sunny,albeit with gusty winds,skies(see flag). The course was NOT flat unless you were a mountain goat. Picture drawing a triangle after drinking a quart of rum. That was essentially the route. The first leg from the start was immediately a long gradual climb against a full on headwind. A quick descent to a right hand turn put you on the second leg but with a delicious tailwind over rolling terrain until you turned right into a cross wind for a couple kilometers. The next right put you on the third leg heading back to the startline against a cross/headwind. Once over the initial small climb the third leg was flat/descending for the most part. Cat C was what I expected in terms of ability and speed. There were some riders who should have raced Cat D and a couple who could have raced Cat B but,essentially,the field was equal in ability. It was the wind that dictated the nature of the race. I felt good for the most part.

The first race of the 2010 season is tomorrow. The Port Williams Spring Classic goes off Sunday in the Annapolis Valley under,hopefully,decent weather. Latest forecast looks promising but it is Nova Scotia. Weather changes on a dime. It`s the first race under the new ability based categories so I am excited yet anxious to see how the racer turnout is for the new structure. I have a vested interest in a successful transition as I sit upon the BNS road committee that pushed through the change this past winter. I am competing in the Cat C(sport)category designed for experienced club cyclists but not necessarily experienced racers. I am in the grey area between Cats in that I rank in the bottom quarter of the Cat B pack and usually get dropped at some point.It will be interesting to see the level of competition in the Cat C pack tomorrow. Guess it all depends on who races but I do not expect it to be an easy day on the bike. I am looking at racing 70km over a relatively flat, rolling hi