Hardwood Hills Canada Cup

So i just finished a busy weekend up at Hardwood Hills... one of my favorite places to ride and a course that i usually do well on. The Trek Store Toronto team was having some fun on the Saturday with a group pre-ride that people could have signed up for, some photo shoots and just a good time getting together... it can be somewhat stressful racing every weekend, so it's nice to get together and laugh when we can. After a great day Saturday, the weather turned a bit ugly for sunday's races... i was driving up and came across "hail" (it was really snow.... but i refuse to use that word so close to June) falling and blowing across the snow... and the temperature didn't get above 8 degrees. It felt more like 'cross season that the middle of mountain bike season. The course was amazing and very fast, so off we went. The Ruppel brother, Sean (the anaeorbic animal) and Adam (a former national level racer) decided to step out from behind the microphone and join the race.. and they are always fast. It took a while to shake off Adam, and i found myself riding with Sean for a few laps. He was riding great until i got a bit of a gap and he crashed on the 3rd lap, and i just kept the pressure on. I was feeling pretty good, although Hardwood is so hard to race if you are not in great shape. The rolling hills and power never let up, so it's tough on your back and legs. In the end, i finished up beating Sean by almost 2min, which i was quite happy with since i haven't seen Sean that fast (or ripped) in a long time. I don't have any pictures of the race to post right now... my family (and camera) decided to stay home and keep warm... probably a better choice considering the temperature and the wind. Even though the weather did not agree, it was a great race, well run by the crew at Hardwood, an amazing course and nicely put together by the one and only Barry Near from the Trek Store... just one more reason why he's the best. So now i'm getting ready for another O'Cup in London this weekend, and then a few much needed weeks off. The Canada Cup at Bromont and Nationals are the next big focus, so it's time to create another training block so i can be ready for those big races. I'll do my best to get some pics and post them soon.