KISS EU – Son of a Sprinterman

The KISS EU race of Nov 22nd took place on the Figure 8 course. Despite the two climbs on the course, the 4 categories ended in bunch sprints. In the As, the recent Virtual World Champion David “Debbie” Allonby (Vision) took the win over Jacek Tarach (Team Poland).

There were almost 15 riders in the A race’s leading group, and the attacks rained down on every single climb like cranberry sauce on a Thanksgiving turkey. Nevertheless, despite all the efforts of Daniel Schimdheiny (Team X), Dafydd Williams (KissRT), Justin Purificati and Bart Dobblestein, there was no tearing the group apart this time.

Digging his way back into the lead after every attack, David Allonby (Vision) managed to catch the last attacker, Bart Dobblestein, in the final kilometer. In the final rush, Jacek Tarach (Team Poland) took a commanding lead, but the only one who could reach him, and actually beat him, was the Vision rider. Consistent during the past weeks, Dafydd Williams (KissRT) took 3rd place in the A race.

Celebration time for PTz

For the B category, the race ended in a bunch sprint as well. Team PTz manager BJ Afonso went on to take his first win of the winter, celebrating PTz’s first anniversary. “It was a crazy sprint, says BJ Afonso. I had to put out 130rpm, but it was worth it. I got outsprinted a couple of times these past few weeks, but not this time“. Bard Andreassen (Vikings) and Jeff Phillips took 2nd and 3rd place in that 21-man sprint.

In the C category, Skyler Street (KissRT) took the win over Niclas Fagerlund and Damon McKay (Team TFC). Ultimately, in the D category, it was a 4-man sprint that set the winner. Matt Davison was the fastest at the line, just before Matt Baker (ARCC), Nuno Lopes and Olav Owesen. In the end, Baker was the only one under the category limits and took the official win. Keith Atkinson and Dagmar Van der Salm completed the podium.

Here is the race commentary from Jesper Anker.
Check it out on Nathan Guerra’s Twitch.tv channel >

KISS EU – Nov 22nd (provisional results):
A Category:
1- D.Allonby (GBR-Vision)
2- J.Tarach (POL-Team Poland)
3- D.Williams (GBR-KissRT)
B Category:
1- BJ.Afonso (POR-PTz)
2- B.Andreassen (NOR-Vikings)
3- Jeff Phillips (USA-U/A)
C Category:
1- S.Street (USA-KissRT)
2- N.Fagerlund (SWE-U/A)
3- D.McKay (GBR-Team TFC)
D Category:
1- M.Baker (GBR-ARCC)
2- K.Atkinson (GBR-U/A)
3- D.Van der Salm (NED-U/A)

-the q/l Report-

KISS EU – The fires of Box Hell

Three laps of the London loop were on the menu of the KISS EU A race of Nov 17th. B, C and D category had, this time, two laps to do. Being the favorite around the starting line, Tim Cartwright (KissRT) won the A race with a fairly large advantage, but not without a good workout.

As ever on the London loop, the infamous Box Hill gave hell to the riders every time they hit its never ending slopes. The first climb up “Box Hell” saw a group of 7 in the lead: Henry, Loeffler, Blue, Norton, Cartwright (KissRT), Rhyne and Chamberlin (TPH Racing). During the second lap, the group was cut down to five, as Chamberlin and Henry got dropped. In the second climb, Tim Cartwright made his move, and left behind his four chasers. Coming into the last climb of Box Hill for the As, Cartwright got caught by Blue, alone.

The Japanese rider gave hell to the Englishman in the climb, pushing him to the max, and making the gap grow with the next chasers. Holding on to his advantage, Blue crossed the line in first position. This said, until he gets that “ZADA Gold Star”, the win will stay with Tim Cartwright (KissRT), who came about 30 seconds behind him. Matthew Rhyne and Car Loeffler completed the official podium.

Final-4 finish for the Bs

In the B category, the last climb up Box Hill saw 4 riders opening the road: Marcelo Barbosa, Benjamin Angless, Erling Stromsholm (Vikings) and PK. The Viking rider tried to get away from fellow riders by attacking on the last slopes of Box Hill, but got caught in the subway. “I had a plan coming into the race,” explained Stromsholm. “I wanted to attack at the top of the big climb, and sprint up the escalators to finish solo. Sadly, it was not enough and they caught me. A podium place is still a good result for me, I really enjoyed tonight’s race.”

The winning move of that race happened on the escalator. Marcelo Barbosa “Wingardium leviosa-ed” himself up the escalators to create a gap and ultimately get the win. A few minutes later, Tom Longland outsprinted Gary Smith to take the win in the C category and get his second straight win. Twenty seconds later, Gary McHale finished 3rd and completed the podium. In the D category, Dutch rider Serge Posthoorn (Koers.cc) took a solo victory over Brian Cooper and Roel Crollet.

Here is the race commentary from Nathan Guerra.
Check out his Twitch.tv channel >

KISS EU – Nov 17th / provisional results:
A Category:
1- T.Cartwright (GBR-KissRT)
2- M.Rhyne (USA-U/A)
3- C.Loeffler (USA-U/A)
B Category:
1- M.Barbosa (BRA-U/A)
2- B.Angless (GBR-U/A)
3- E.Stromsholm (NOR-Vikings)
C Category:
1- T.Longland (GBR-U/A)
2- G.Smith (GBR-U/A)
3- G.McHale (GBR-U/A)
D Category:
1- S.Posthoorn (NED-Koers.cc)
2- B.Cooper (GBR-U/A)
3- R.Crollet (BEL-U/A)

See full race results for As including rider power, times, and heartrate on ZwiftPower.com >
See full race results for Bs, Cs and Ds including rider power, times, and heartrate on ZwiftPower.com >

-the q/l report-

Ottawa TopSpeed Race

The Ottawa TopSpeed Race is a new event happening Sundays at 7:20AM EST. I had a chance to chat with organizer Paul McAneney about how the race began and what makes it special… here are the details.

The Ottawa TopSpeed Race is the first race series I know of which has transitioned from a real-life series to a Zwift one. According to Paul:

For the past decade we’ve been meeting throughout the winter to do an indoor ride, then run outside.  This year we decided it would be fun to use Zwift from home for our rides – and still meet up afterward for our runs.  We’ve had 2 races so far, and the guys love it!

The Top Speed Racing Team is made up of 20 guys from Ottawa, Canada competing at a high level in Running, Duathlon, Triathlon, and Cycling events.  The team has been around for about 12 years and could generally be described as elite age-groupers. The guys have day jobs, families, etc. but take training and racing seriously.

These races are part of a real-world brick program the team has done for over a decade–and had great success with.  The races are about 60 minutes long, and riders typically do a warm-up and cool-down on their own which brings the total ride time between 90-120 minutes. Then the team hooks up at a local meeting point for a 90 minute which is periodized throughout the winter.

According to Paul, Zwift has been a very helpful tool for the Top Speed team: “Zwift has also helped us train and stay together as a team. In years past, we’d do our winter rides on the trainer on our own.   Now we can message the team, hook up online, and get in some miles together.  It’s different when you actually know the guys you’re riding with on Zwift.  And it sure beats solo trainer rides during the cold winter months–which can be as much as 5 months of the year up here…”

Join the Top Speed Racing Facebook Group for more info on the ride, or see race details on the official Zwift events calendar.

KISS EU – Groove is in the Watts

Every category had its chance to shine on the KISS EU race of Nov 15th. The Watopia flat lap was covered 3 times by the Cs and Ds, 4 times by the Bs and 5 times by the As. Each of these races ultimately went to the rider able to outsprint his opponents.

In the A category, the leading peloton got smaller and smaller as the laps passed, from a 25-ish-man group to a 9-man group halfway through. The attacks from Allonby (Vision) and Cartwright (KissRT) kept up the tempo at the front. But the KRT racer, victim of technical issues, had to step down with a lap and a half to go. “There wasn’t too many attacks to follow, so we were able to save some energy for the finish, says Frode Bokerod. Plus, the aero hats helped staying in the wheels!”

In the final kilometers, the Hedgehog (KissRT) and Henderson had to let go of the group coming into the Esses. There were 7 to ride for victory through the last bumps: David Allonby (Vision), Frode Bokerod, Ian Browning, Daffyd Williams (KissRT), Joseph Bank (BRT), Gregg O’Malley and Car Loeffler. Launching a first attack at the sprint banner, Allonby finally launched his sprint with 600 meters, surprising his opponents.

Four races, one outcome

Caught right at the line, the Vision rider managed to keep a small advantage over Frode Bokerod and Gregg O’Malley to get his first win of the week. “He (Allonby) has been unbeatable lately, so I didn’t really think I could win this, admits Bokerod, 2nd today. I was waiting for him to fly by… and he did! In the sprint, I was able to match his speed with the aero boost. Maybe I should’ve started 50 meters earlier. Who knows what’d have happened…”

On this flat course, even though it’s well known by the riders at this point, every single race came to a bunch sprint, with some bunches bigger than others. The B race came down to a bunch sprint as well, with a dozen riders competing for the win. Sebastian Sternafalk, coming out of Norway, took the better over Team X rider Julien Beijer and Jason Haagensen from Canada. In the C race, Hans-Christian Erikstad (Vikings) outsprinted Brian McCardle and Mark Robertson (BRT) to take his second straight win after last friday’s TFC. Finally, in the D category, Andrew Keedle (TPH Racing) took his 4th straight win over Ross Jones and Gary Darlington.

Here is the race commentary from Nathan Guerra.
Check out his Twitch.tv channel >

KISS EU – Nov 15th / provisional results:
A Category:
1- D.Allonby (GBR-Vision)
2- F.Bokerod (NOR-U/A)
3- G.O’Malley (GBR-U/A)
B Category:
1- S.Sternefalk (NOR-U/A)
2- J.Beijer (NED-Team X)
3- J.Haagensen (CAN-U/A)
C Category:
1- H.Erikstad (NOR-Vikings)
2- B.McCardle (GBR-U/A)
3- M.Robertson (GBR-BRT)
D Category:
1- A.Keedle (GBR-TPH Racing)
2- R.Jones (GBR-U/A)
3- G.Darlington (GBR-U/A)

See full race results including rider power, times, and heartrate on ZwiftPower.com >

-the q/l report-