Brian Kullman Memorial Provincial

Goal for the race: Finish the race
Secondary goal: Don't get double lapped

This was the last ABA race for the whole season. After this it would be a long break until the season starts again next year in April. The weather was pretty exceptional for November so it was an awesome way to end the season.

Most people have already heard my complaints about the provincial race format so I will not go over them yet again. So anyways, because I'm under 30, I would be racing in my first Elite race and also my first 60 minute 'cross race. Several people managed to talk me into doing this race because of the excellent training and experience it would give me.



The race was held at the Montgomery Juinior High School and the course was once again designed by 'cross course master, Keith Bayly. The course itself was really good for the space we were given. It had several steep climbs, a long stair run-up, a crit-like pavement section, some technical sections and a really steep dirt climb that became a run-up for many later on.

I was told through the organizers that they were not going to pull lapped riders from the race so I decided it would be a good chance to see if I can race for a full 60 minutes as opposed to my usual 40 minutes.

After getting to the site and watching a bit of the Master A/B race and cheering on my friends and teammates, I did my usual warmups and got ready for my last race of the season. After the call ups had been done for the top riders, I settled in at the very back with another rider who normally races in Sport with me.



Just before the start of the race, they announced that they were pulling lapped riders which was strange because I had heard otherwise but I figured now I was just going to go out and try and see how many laps I could do before getting pulled.

The race started and it was really fast, much faster then any Sport start. I was in last right at the start of the race and the gap was getting bigger with every second. I caught up to another other rider and we were pretty much in a race against each other by the end of the first lap.

We kept racing pretty much wheel to wheel for 5 laps when the race leader Aaron finally managed to catch up to us and lap us just before the Start/Finish. The other rider stopped riding right away and went to the Start/Finish to DNF his race. I rode by and said I was lapped but then they told us we could keep going if we wanted to and they weren't going to pull us (got so confused). I decided that I didn't want to call it a day so I got back on my bike and kept riding. Now my goal was to not get lapped again. I went out for another lap and was thought that would be my day but then they asked me if I wanted to DNF when I passed the Start/Finish. I thought to myself...no way I'm going to DNF...I haven't DNF'd a single race this year...so I got back to it to finish off the race.

I rode on my own for the rest of the race...getting passed by only a few more riders but they were pretty much just lapping me at this point, so I slowed down and got out of the way so they could keep going hard. Every lap, my team was cheering for me even though they all knew I was out of it. It was great that I had so much support from my friends and teammates.



As I was on the second last lap I just managed to make it to the Start/Finish before Schooler could lap me again so I had just managed to not get double-lapped. I finished off the lap with Dallas and was pretty glad I was able to finish off the race. I think I had a petty good race...it was totally out of my league but I kept going and never gave up. Who knows what will happen next season...but if I can do the race and manage to go 6,7 or a whole race without getting lapped...that would be a great improvement and show me if I've been able to progress in my abilities over the year.

Final result: 9/12 (Down 1 lap)

I found out later there was a crash and two guys DNF'd so I was able to move up a little bit more. I did 9 laps which is the most I've ever done in a 'cross race and kept riding through the pain even though I didn't have to. My dismounts seemed smooth and I was really starting to flow through the course. I have at least 3 more years of racing Elite for the Provincials/Nationals so I might as well get used to it.

Also our team once again dominated the podium. Craig and Devin respectively took Gold and Silver in Master A, while Cindy took Gold in Women B. It's great that so many people on our team had a very successful racing season with lots of representation on the podium. Hopefully next season, I'll be able to see what the view is like from there.

All Photos: Brent Topilko