July 16, 2010 (Banff, AB) – The Rundle Mountain Cycling Club’s Gord Jewett traded his usual yellow and checkered Rundle Mountain jersey for the white STR (Share the Road) colors after his fantastic win in the 1st 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”.

The speed was treacherously high right from the start, as it seemed the nine racers – eight of them Canadian xc ski Olympians – weren’t daunted by the gruesome reputation Mt. Norquay has as “the leg destroyer” in the Bow Valley.

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 widely accepted in the region that until you win the Norquay climb, you’re nothing but a two-bit hack.

After 13 minutes and 15 seconds, Jewett was able to pip the win from Canadian National XC Ski Team strong man, Ivan Babikov, to slip on the jersey and take home the $200 prize that was up for grabs. In the closing meters of the climb, Jewett was able to lift the pace a notch higher to not only hit a personal best time, but also take a much deserved 2nd 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 of a staggering 24.6km/h.

How it played out

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

In Harvey’s pre race interview it was apparent that the confident Quebecer was indeed also “in it to win it.” While he claimed that his legs “were feeling a bit stiff,” he quickly added, “I’m feeling good. I’ll go for the preem – 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 [Sean] Crooks, Gord [Jewett], George [Grey] and [Ivan] Babikov, as he felt “they could all be dangerous.”

The gun goes off…

Right away, Harvey tried to assert himself in the peloton. A big favourite, 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….”

The Steam Whistle mountain (KOM) sprint

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 obvious he was thirsty for the Steam Whistle KOM sprint (locals will know it as the #fallfromgrace sprint) win. Later he explained “that he wasn’t even going to race” but decided to only minutes before the start to throw his hat in the ring. Perhaps it was the KOM case of beer prize that 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 with ample time to zip up his borrowed “TransRockies” jersey to thank whoever lent it to him, throw his hands in the air, and let out a small guttural moan of victory as he rolled over the line.

The group rolled through the 1km sprint together 15 seconds after Nishikawa, looking smooth, with riders marking each other as no one willing to give an inch.

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

The race goes on

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 1-2 minutes up the road. Looking tired yet happy to tag on to 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 some riders were in difficulty. As expected, Nishikawa was one of the early drifters off the pace, followed quickly by Dan Roycroft who didn’t appear to be blown, and like Jeffries, was happy to ride his own pace. [Brian] McKeever) and Harvey were still in the group but perhaps not looking as comfortable as one would expect from the two light climbers.

Babs goes to the front and Harvey cracks

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 at a crucial moment of the climb.

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 regain contact and thus were dropped out of contention for the win.

The big shock was Harvey with his prolific cycling background who had claimed he was looking “for the W”. His fans worldwide were in disbelief as Mt. Norquay claimed yet another high profile rider. Neither the media, fans, racers or race directors would have imagined that such a notable champion and strong climber would be forced out of contention at such an early stage.

George is an animal – then there were 4

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

Crooks takes a turn

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

Up front, Crooks was taking a huge turn at the front and it was looking like the 67kg climber some compared to past Danish climbing ace, Michael 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. The two Rundle Mountain Cycling Club boys, Crooks and Jewett, in their flashy yellow and checkered jerseys were sitting 1-2 with a little under 2km to go.

Babs again!

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 four, and soon was isolated and off the wheel of Grey as Babikov proving too strong for the lean climber seeming to put Crooks out of contention. It was hard to know if this was an RMCC strategy to put Jewett in a position to win or whether Crooks just cracked. Perhaps next year Crooks will strip those last 7kgs and come to the start line weighing less than a teenage girl – which could be the difference between 4th and 1st 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, Grey was no longer going to be a factor. In true Gino form, he 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, Grey might have clawed his way back into the race for a shot at the win.

And then there were two…

With Babs on the front in an absurdly large gear it was obvious this was going to be a two-rider final show. Jewett was happy to sit on Ivan’s wheel – perhaps it was all he could do – since Babikov was intent on winning the $200 cash prize, the jersey, and the glory of the STR Classic win.

A Pseudo Sprint – Jewett wins

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

With neither his hands in the air for the 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. He peeled off a staggering 1.5 minutes off his previous best time and more important 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 was 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. With an amazingly strong ride – doing the entire climb in the big ring – for Babikov it was just a matter of Jewett having better tactics and more in his legs at the end to nip him at the line. Babikov thought that there was “more climbing 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 not in the cards. Still, no one would argue that Babikov is one tough racer, and with better tactics who knows.

One thing we do know is this – Gordon Jewett is the 2010 Share the Road Classic Champion.