Devon Kershaw's Official Website

Share the Road Classic 2010: Nishikawa wins the Steam Whistle KOM sprint, as Jewett wins in a two up show down with Babikov, Harvey cracks.

Rundle Mountain Cycling Club’s Gord Jewett traded his usual yellow and checkered Rundle Mountain jersey for the white STR colors after his fantastic win in the 1^st ever STR Classic on Wednesday, as heavy favorite Alex Harvey (Team Quebec Gold) cracked spectacularly about 1/3 up the fabled slopes of Mt. Norquay crushing his hopes of bringing the jersey back to “la belle Province” yesterday evening.

The speed was treacherously high right from the start, as it seemed the 9 racers (8 of them Canadian Olympians) weren’t scared by the gruesome reputation Mt. Norquay has here in the Bow Valley as “the leg destroyer.”

At 5.4 kilometers long with 310m of elevation gain – the 5.7% average graded climb of Mt. Norquay is enough to make any seasoned pro cringe, and makes famous Tour de France climbs like the Madeleine, Tourmalet, Ventoux or Alpe d’Huez look like “small hills” instead of classic climbs. It’s a Bow Valley classic and it’s widely accepted that until you win up Norquay - you’re nothing but a two bit hack.

After 13 minutes and 15 seconds, Jewett was able to pip the win from Canadian National Team strong man, Ivan Babikov to slip on the jersey and take home the $200 CAD that was up for grabs. In the closing meters of the climb, Jewett was able to lift the pace just a notch higher to not only hit a personal best time, but also take a much deserved 2^nd win of the season for the Canmore resident (Jewett). Both Jewett (13:15) and Babikov (13:17) exchanged blows up the mountain and powered up the climb with an average speed a staggering 24.6km/h.

Prior to the start it was apparent that Gord was feeling good. In a pre-race interview with co-race director Brent McMurtry when asked about his expectations, he was quoted that he was entered “to dominate” and the stoic Jewett looked ready for business.

In Alex’s pre race interview it was apparent that the confident Quebecer was indeed also “in it to win it.” Although he was sighting that his legs “were feeling a bit stiff,” he quickly moved on to say, “I’m feeling good. I’ll go for the prime (the #fallfromgrace/Steam Whistle Beer sprint 1km into the climb), but I am really shooting for the W (win).” He also had a lot of respect for Crooks, Gord, George and Babikov – as he felt “they could all be dangerous.”

Right away, Harvey tried to assert himself in the peleton. A big favorite, he wanted to give the crowd what they came out to see – a big, early move to show that he was indeed there to win. He quickly went to the front and was dancing like Travolta out of his saddle pushing some serious watts early. The other main contenders were happy to sit in, but in post race interviews it was apparent that they were nervous. After his prolific win, Jewett even said, “when Alex went out (from the start), it was crazy fast…”

With Alex charging like a bull out of the gates at the Calgary Stampede for about one minute of racing - it was Nishikawa’s turn to take over. He sprinted by Harvey and the group, unzipped his jersey and put his head down. It was an obvious he was thirsty for the Steam Whistle KOM sprint (locals will know it as the #fallfromgrace sprint) win. He explained to interviewers post-race “that he wasn’t even going to race” but decided to only minutes before the start to throw his hat in the ring. He stated that the case of beer enticed the strong AWCA athlete to line up and see how it paned out.

He went on to say that “he felt extremely strong, and he executed his plan to perfection…” Nobody could follow the lanky Nishikawa and he won the sprint uncontested – having ample time to zip up his borrowed “Trans Rockies” jersey to thank whoever lent him the blue Adidas jersey, throw his hands in the air and let out a small guttural moan of victory as he rolled over the line.

Nishikawa zips up the jersey for all the fans, supporters and sponsors

15 seconds after Nishikawa’s victory, the group rolled through the 1km sprint together looking smooth, with people marking each other – no one willing to give an inch.

Early on, the only person in visible difficulty was “the Big Guy” (Chris Jeffries) who obviously was taken off guard by Harvey’s demonic speed off the start. At 1km he was roughly 20 seconds off the main bunch, yet looked focused and smooth – happy to ride his own race.

It didn’t take long for Nishikawa’s big effort to catch up with him. The group overtook the Steam Whistle KOM mountain sprint winner about 1 to 2 minutes up the road from the Steam Whistle KOM mountain sprint line. Looking obviously tired, and happy to hit the rear of the main bunch, Nishikawa would no longer be a factor as the battle for the overall heated up.

As Crooks moved into the lead, to set the tempo up front for RMCC it was obvious that people were starting to run into some serious difficulties. As expected, Nishikawa was one of the early drifters off the pace, followed quickly by Roycroft who didn’t appear to be blown – but like the big guy – was happy to ride his own pace. Brian (McKeever) and (Alex) Harvey were still in the group – but maybe not looking as comfortable as one would expect from the two light climbers.

At about 2km, Babikov moved to the front and the kinks in McKeever and Harvey’s armor started to show in spades. They began to yo-yo off the back of Jewett’s wheel (at the back of the lead group). Soon, a small gap opened leaving Grey, McKeever, and Harvey in a dangerous position in a crucial moment of the climb.

George (Grey) quickly realized he was in danger and jumped around Harvey and McKeever – swallowing up the small gap to regain contact with the leaders but Harvey and McKeever weren’t so lucky. They would never get back onto the wheels of the lead group and thus were dropped out of contention for the win.

Alex falls off the wheel of the lead group about 1/3 up the mountain

The big shock was Harvey – who stated his intentions were “for the W” in his pre race interview, was off the back in serious difficulty. His fans worldwide could only stare on in disbelief as Mt. Norquay claimed yet another high profile rider.

Neither the media, fans, racers nor race directors could or would have imagined that such a notable champion and strong climber would be forced out of contention at such an early stage.

With Babikov mashing the gears upfront, George’s move to regain contact was legendary. He was obviously going to be a player in this race as the group had dropped from 9 (at the start) to only 4 men as the climb etched closer and closer to the heavens (and finish line).

Crooks who had remained silent in the pack for some time took a turn – going past a shocked Babikov – and started setting tough tempo up front. It should be reported that McKeever wasn’t totally done –compromised, and alone, he dug in, in an attempt to limit his losses and the collateral damage was that he in turn dropped and distanced himself from a blown Harvey.

Up front, Crooks was taking a huge turn at the front and it was looking like the 67kg climber some are comparing to past Danish climbing ace Rasmussen (not because of doping – but because of his body wasting away) could be stealing the race.

Crooks looked comfortable leading the train and soon it was apparent that both Babikov and Grey were isolated. Two Rundle Mountain Cycling Club boys in their flashy yellow and checkered jerseys were sitting 1 and 2 with a little under 2 km to go.

Babikov must have sensed this RMCC strategy because after Crooks’ monster pull, Babikov retook the lead and upped the pace. It was carnage right away. Crooks slipped to the back of the lead group of 4, and soon was isolated and off the wheel of George, Babikov proving too strong for the lean climber – putting Crooks out of the race. It was hard to know if this was an RMCC strategy to put Gord in a position to win – or whether Crooks just cracked. Perhaps next year Crooks will strip those last 7 kgs and come to the start line weighing less than a teenage girl – which could be the difference between 4^th and 1^st on a legendary climb like Norquay .

The next victim of the “Babs Hell Train” was Grey. Perhaps that impressive early effort by George to get back into the lead group (when Harvey and McKeever popped) was too much too early – because with about 700m to go, George was no longer going to be a factor. In true Gino form, he was dug in huge and held his own – not giving in at all. Had there been cat and mouse tactics in the last 500m of the race, George could have clawed his way back into it for the win.

With Babs on the front in an absurdly large gear it was obvious this was going to be a two person show. Jewett (Gord) was happy to sit on Ivan – and perhaps it was all he could do – since Ivan was intent on winning that $200 cash, the jersey and the glory of the STR Classic win.

Just when it looked like the war of attrition was going to go in the tough ex-Russian’s favor – Jewett found the strength to lift his cadence and power that extra little bit. Jewett pulled along side Babikov, and with only meters remaining passed a crushed Babikov and took the win by a few bike lengths – in turn taking a well deserved win.

With neither his hands in the air for victory, or a primal roar leaving his lips – Jewett was more concerned about his time – which was a HUGE personal best for the Canmore resident – peeling off a staggering 1.5 minutes and more importantly asserting himself as the RMCC “King of Mt. Norquay” shattering his fellow RMCC teammate, Scott Manktelow’s best time by a whopping 32 seconds (note: Manktelow’s best time: 13:47).

It was a glorious win for Jewett who is recovering from illness (a summer cold), as well as an injured wrist and cracked rib sustained from a brutal crash while mountain biking two weeks ago.

Admittedly, Jewett thought his form was “questionable,” saying he had no idea “how the race was going to play out.” Jewett was thrilled to nab the win for RMCC as well as throwing down a huge PB for the epic climb that scrapes the clouds above Banff, AB.

It was a bitter sweet day for Babikov. While an amazingly strong ride – doing the entire climb in the big ring - for Ivan it was just a matter of Gord having better tactics and more in his legs at the end to nip him at the line. Babikov thought that there was “more climb remaining” and exclaimed with disgust at the line, “that’s the finish?” presumably knowing that his dreams were dashed by the attacking Jewett and with that his dreams of pulling on his first STR jersey and pocketing the $200 were now not going to happen. Still, no one would argue that Ivan is one tough racer, and with better tactics who knows.