Update - Tour de l'Abitibi

Today Chris Balestrini is leaving for his next stint with Team Ontario and is heading up to Val Dor, Quebec to race in the Tour de L'Abitibi. It is a highly prestigious and extremely competitive junior stage race, featuring 8 stages in 7 days over the tough terrain. Chris is looking for great results and the possibility of taking home the KOM jersey. Good luck, and we'll try to update with results frequently.

Peterborough ITT

Chris Balestrini finished 2nd at the time trial OCup held in Peterborough, put in a strong race, holding a consistent tempo the entire time averaging over 41km/h. Well done!

Chin Picnic Criterium

Yesterday, Andrew Scollard raced in Toronto at Chin Picnic, it was the next race in the OCup series, and the weather was great for the race. Most of the course was on the Honda Indy course that will be used in a few weeks time, and the tight 1.42km loop with 7 turns made the racing fast, exciting and a little dangerous. The race was scheduled for 50 mins, and in total we did 35kms, and averaged 42.6km/h for the race. The finish was around a slightly bending U corner, and when everyone started the sprint, Andrew was boxed in and had to go around, but it was a little too late, and he ended up 9th. Still an excellent result for the team, and luckily no crashes.

Also, today at nationals, is the time trial, and Chris Balestrini will be looking to put in a good effort ahead of the road race tomorrow, and crit on sunday. Post with results later on.

Canadian Nationals

Today Chris Balestrini received confirmation that he will be part of Team Ontario and compete in the Junior Nationals in a couple weeks in Alberta. After a real strong season so far, Chris will be one of the men the team will look for to have a great result in the road race. Good luck, and we will keep everyone posted with results from the races at nats.

Also during the same time, Andrew will be racing the next OCup of the season on Canada Day in Toronto, The CHIN Picnic Criterium. Should be a fast and exciting race.

KW Classic - OCup 3

This past Sunday Chris and Andrew headed to Kitchener for the third race of the OCup season.
It was a tough weekend as we had prom on the Friday and were not at our peak race preparation when race time came around. The 4.6km look will a wide open flat finish favoured a sprint, and unless a break went that was the way it would end up. Rain fell throughout the race, and although some attacks were tried by both Chris and Andrew nothing went, and the sprint was imminent. Chris finished safely in the pack, at 7th overall, and after an attack with only a few laps to go, Andrew couldn't quite stay with the group on the last lap, and finished 14th overall.
Although not great results, considering the weekend we had we were pleased.

Killington Stage Race

A couple weeks back now, Chris Balestrini headed to Vermont and took part in the 3 stage race out of Killington. It consisted of a circuit race, time trial, and big climb stage with a mountain top finish. He finished in the lead group on stage one, but lost time in the time trial, then on stage 3 he went with the leaders at the base of the final climb, and he along with 2 others broke the field apart and went away. Attacks continued up the climb, and Chris finished 2nd on the stage, and also moved into 2nd overall on the general classification. An excellent result and a sign of great things to come in an climbing races ahead.

Niagara Classic Road Race

Chris Balestrini Wins the Niagara Classic with Attack on Final Climb

Two out of Two Ain't Bad.

Chris Balestrini's final attack at the Niagara Classic was too much for the competition as he rode away from the pack to clinch the 2010 Niagara Classic. Under blue skies, the weather couldn't have been better as the cyclists took to the streets. The racing was fast and furious right from the gun with attacks coming vigorously. However, none of the breakaway potentials could hold off the pack and the peloton remained together heading into the last climb. Chris Balestrini took off near the base of the climb and never looked back, gapping the nearest competitor by 3 seconds and the nearest junior by 10 while allowing himself enough time to celebrate the day's effort.
With this win, Balestrini is undefeated on the season, also winning the Good Friday Road Race in April and enlarging his gap in the Ontario Cup standings. Also, Chris has gained automatic entry for nationals in Edmonton, being the first rider named to Team Ontario for the race. Next on the agenda is Killington Stage Race in Vermont, where Chris Balestrini hopes to secure either the King of the Mountains jersey or the Overall Title.

Keep you posted!

Team Reynold Cycle

Springbank Road Race

Sunday May 2nd.

This Sunday, the Springbank Road Race is where we'll be, should be a very exciting race on the 2.25km loop. Our race is at 10:00am and we would love to see some support out there. Also if you just feel like checking out some of the cycling scene, its a great opportunity for you.

Our race is 40.5km and we're predicting a fast paced race full out.

Can't wait to see if we can go 2 for 2 on wins this season!

Good Friday Race Report

Two riders attended the opening race of the O-Cup season, Chris Balestrini and Andrew Scollard. With the weather looking great for the race, we were pretty pumped to be lucky enough to race in such good conditions as last year it was about 7 degrees at Good Friday. While we were a bit rushed registering and such, made a wrong turn on the way, we felt pretty good at the start line, it was a really windy day, so we just hung in the peloton and didn't worry about the attacks at the beginning, as the pace quickened, the attacks increased, on each of the climbs in the final two laps, Chris Balestrini attacked frequently trying to get into a break with the other strong climbers, nothing took, and the largest gap achieved was only about 10seconds. With over 10km of flats to the finish a bunch sprint was in order, and with 1 km to go Chris set himself up perfectly near the front. With about 30 guys coming to the line all out, it was a crazy finish, thankfully Chris was ahead of a small crash that took out a few guys, and by a small margin took the victory! Andrew Scollard couldn't hold the pace in the end and finish off the back.

But what a great start to the season for the Reynold Cycle boys, a win in the first race of the season, also got pretty sunburnt too.

Good Friday RR

Less than a week to go before the first race of the season.

Traning has been going really well the last couple of weeks, put in lots of miles and lots of speed and hill training too.
Chris Balestrini cracked his frame a little over a week ago, luckily he got a crash replacement and just got it back now, in time for the race. The weather looks great for the race on Friday, can't wait to get out there and see how we fair against the competition.

If you don't hear from us before the race, its because were getting mentally prepared ;) lol!

We'll definitely update after with the results though!

3 Weeks Until First Race!

Good Friday Road Race is 3 weeks away, today! We've been putting in big miles, and we are really looking forward to the upcoming week of training we have planned, since its March Break for all of us lucky guys. Hopefully the weather stays as nice as its been lately, a very welcome change.

Also I don't know if we've mentioned, but feel free to email us at teamreynoldcycle@hotmail.com, we're open to any questions or anything, or if you want to get a group ride going.

Upcoming Season

The first race of the O-Cup season is fast approaching. The Good Friday Road Race is on April 2nd in Hamilton. With just over a month to go until we are racing again the training has really picked up, too bad we just got a snow storm after an awesome weekend for riding outside. Possibly a march break training camp on the schedule, but either way we will be ready for Good Friday, and plan to start the season off with a bang.

Triathlon Seminar

Yesterday some of us attended the triathlon seminar held at Reynold Cycle. It was a great event, had a couple guest speakers, friend of our Connor Hammond spoke, came 12th at World Jr Triathlon Championships last year.

Also we've been keeping up with our training, been going real hard the last week or so, now that exams are over the real training can begin.

Can't wait for the season to get going.

Avoiding Studying For Exams, Might As Well Ride :)

Hey everyone,

While procrastinating immensely (not studying for exams), we've been on the bike day in and out, preparing for the 2010 season. The weather is finally warm enough (or at least not too windy) to ride outside so the Reynold Cycle boys have been hitting the roads pretty hard. Once exams are done later on in the week it will be time to add some more volume in the training, hopefully outside, the Trek Madone's are too pretty to be sitting on the trainer.

Don't forget to come out to Reynold Cycle @Meg Drive on January 30th at 3p.m. for our free triathlon clinic featuring Sheri Fraser, Connor Hammond, Janice Almeida and Katrina. The more the merrier.

Better get back to studying,

Happy Riding Everyone :)

The next few days...

For all us riders, this is one of the least pleasant times of the year,
EXAMS!

Sadly, they are approaching quickly next week and if any of the other guys are like myself, then I got a lot of studying to start doing.

On the biking side, we still hit the trainers at night when we can, or if we are procrastinating, haha, at least the weather is cooperating for now, we've been riding outside a little and will continue to as long as possible.

We can't wait for the warmth to come, (28C in Australia today for the TDU!)

Early Season Training

It's been a while since the last team post, but after a winter break, and focusing on school and other sports, we're getting back on the bikes!

Quick synopsis of the fall and winter.

All the riders on the team did cross country for their respective school during Sept, Oct, and into early Nov. Lots of great results throughout the season, notably Chris Balestrini 25th at ofsaa.

Then after a well deserved break, we started hitting the gym and trainers to train over the snowy months. Some of us also hit the pool and are currently swimming for our high school teams.

Yesterday, Andrew Scollard and Chris Balestrini hit the roads for an awesome ride out to Coldstream and back, weather was chilly, but no wind made it bearable. Looking forward to getting outside more often!

Another goal I have for this season is to frequently update the team blog, so stay tuned for info on the team and whatever else we feel like posting :)

Green Mountain Stage Race

The 2009 Green Mountain Stage Race was a great success for the Reynold Cycle riders. Overall we gained a lot of experience that we are hoping will help us do very well in the overall finish at next year's race. From the moment we got in the mountainous area of Vermont we knew the race was going to be extremely difficult, with hills greater than we had all seen before. We got there Thursday evening with the first stage being Friday morning.

The first stage was a tough 9.2k individual time trial that started with 3.5k of climbing, and then flats before a short uphill finish. Many riders finished in very fast times and Chris Balestrini was nicely placed in the top 20 on GC.

The second stage was 54k and would see the first points be awarded for the green jersey and KOM jersey. 15kms into the stage a large freak crash caused a big pileup of about 20 riders, close to 1/3 of the field. Unfortunately, Reynold Cycle rider, Chris Ling was caught in it and was unable to finish the stage with some major cuts to the arm and hand. Luckily Chris Balestrini and Andrew Scollard made it through and both finished the stage, Chris B in the chase group and Andrew S a few minutes farther back.

The third stage was what would most likely decide the GC, with 120kms of riding over two large Gaps, including the finish at the summit of the Appalachian Gap at approximately 2400ft. The pace was very quick from the start with many riders trying to get in a breakaway, but Andrew Scollard and Chris Balestrini were saving there energy for later in the stage. On the first KOM climb, the Brandon Gap, a 7k mountain with average gradient just over 7%, Chris Balestrini was well placed, crossing with the lead group who had let a 3 man break get away. Andrew Scollard had fallen off the back of the group a few k from the summit. On the descent a small crash seperated the field and the attacks continued. Then up the second KOM climb, Chris Balestrini was still right there with the leaders and was feeling very strong, but on the descent he crashed extremely hard on a gravel patch and was scraped up from head to toe. He fought hard to chase back, but his injuries were causing serious pain, and he still had 40k to ride. He finished hard up the App Gap a 8k climb with the grade at the top of 20%, it was actually crazy, like Andrew Scollard was going 5km/h on some of it, that's how hard it was, (and hes not a climber, lol). Anyways he had an amazing ride just by finishing and Andrew Scollard finished pretty far back on the stage riding over 60kms solo, but failed to make the time cut. Chris Balestrini's injuries were pretty bad, so no Reynold Cycle riders participated in the 4th stage criterium.

All in all, it was a successul trip as we all experienced racing like never before, he stayed at an awesome ski resort, the Bridges, ate lots of good food, and just had a great time and an awesome end to their summer. We will definitely be going back next year! One thing we did miss in the US was our Tim Hortons, so right when we got back to Canada MOnday night we stopped there and got some coffee and timbits!

7 Days Until Green Mountain Stage Race

With only seven days remaining until we head out to Vermont for the GMSR, we thought we'd let you know what we've been up to lately. Training wise, we've done a lot of hills, as one stage is a mountain top finish with a 7k climb, and steeps hitting 20% according to the race bible. Also putting in lots of distance on our fequent routes, mostly west of London, main hills repeats are on Old River Road for those of you who were wondering.

Hopefully once we get to the hotel we'll be able to keep updating the blog with daily reports on the stages. However if there isn't a computer we'll still be updating our twitters, so be sure to check them out.

Biggest Race Of The Season

Sadly we did not end up going to Elliot Lake, but instead have already confirmed our entry in the Green Mountain Stage Race in Vermont. This is a 4 day, 4 stage race that is one of the biggest around. The competition will be great and we are really looking forward to showing what we can do. If you want to take a look at the race and all its info the website is http://www.gmsr.info/

We leave for the race in 2 weeks so we're training super hard right now.

Elliot Lake Update

We're still planning to go to Elliot Lake for the 3 stage race this Saturday and Sunday. All our riders are looking forward to competing in the first stage race of the year, including the Provincial Hill Climb TT, Criterium, and Road Race. We just have to finalize driving plans, (none of our parents want to drive 9 hours). Training lately has been going really well, the hot weather is great as well.

Burlington Road Race Report

Last Sunday four members of the team were in Burlington for another road race. The conditions were far from mediocre for the race with severe rain and the odd bit of lighting during the race. The bad conditions took a toll on many of the racers, including two Reynold Cycle riders, Chris Ling and Payam Saboni, no severe injuries, just some cuts. On a good note Chris Balestrini and Andrew Scollard both finished without crashes and both finished in the top 10. The Breakaway group of 3 riders escaped after a crash went down. The first chase group was assembled but none of the other teams wanted to work with Chris or Andrew. The gap was 5 minutes with 18 km to go. Chris Balestrini attacked the chase with 18k to go and tried to bridge the gap solo. His efforts fell short but was only 40 seconds away from 3rd by the time they finished the race. Andrew finished in the first chase pack to claim 8th overall. Solid showing from the whole team, hopefully a good result will come in the near future for the team.

Next race is the Elliot Lake Stage Race on August 15th and 16th.

Owasco Road Race Report

Team Reynold Cycle had an awesome race in New York at the Owasco Road Race. In the race was both the Junior Men and Cat 5 Men. Right from the beginning of the race the Reynold Cycle riders controlled the pace, riding at the front setting tempo and staying out of trouble. Up the first climb three Reynold Cycle riders attacked, causing a large split in the peloton. Then up the first KOM climb, a 500m climb at 15% grade, Chris Balestrini attacked and took one man with him, he went over the top first taking max KOM points. Andrew Scollard came over the top fourth and Chris Ling followed behind. Then after a fast descent Chris Balestrini attacked again on the next KOM climb, a 1.2km climb at 7.6% average grade. He put in a huge move and went away solo from there. Andrew Scollard came over the top third and formed a 4 man chase group. Chris Balestrini stayed away until the finish, having a 2:08 gap over the 4 man chase. Andrew Scollard then attacked with 200m to go and finished 2nd overall. Chris Ling followed a couple minutes back in another small group and finished strong, taking the 3rd place in the Junior Mens category. In the end Reynold Cycle swept the podium and Chris Balestrini took home both the yellow jersey and the polka dot jersey.

We will post pictures from the race as soon as they are available on the website.

2 Weekends - 2 Races

Over the next two weekends members of the Team are competing in two races.

First this Sunday, we are heading to Owasco, New York to participate in a road race, we are hoping to set Chris Balestrini up for the win to make a strong showing for the team.

Then next Sunday, we are racing in another OCup race in Burlington. It is a hilly course suited towards a few of our riders so we are looking for strong results there as well.

Update on Training

Lately many of us have been doing a lot of tt training for the upcoming individual time trial in Peterborough, which is on July 12th. Also we've been working on some hills, as we are hoping to go to a stage race in New York the following weekend.

New Kits

Yesterday, Andrew and Chris went to Reynold Cycle to pick up the new team apparel that just came in. We were really pumped to try it out, and we decided to take some pics as well.


















Top photo is of Andrew Scollard and the lower two are of Chris Balestrini.