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Burnaby Fall Challenge

Jen Triplett heads north for the first big event of the winter

By Jennifer Tripplett
November 14, 2007

I figured my lungs would hurt pretty badly after a month of no high intensity - but I did not anticipate the leg burn by any means. Burnaby is a short track and it's smart to run a small gear to save your legs with high leg speed. I did not heed this advice - running a larger gear than most and paying for it as the night went on. I had the power to sprint, but the slow steady grind of trying to keep my cadence up started to burn matches I didn't have.

The competition and programing was great with a mix of sprints and endurance events for all. The organizers did a great job of sticking to the schedule and keeping things on track, pardon the pun. Being a long legged endurance rider makes it easy to shy away from any sprints, including the Keirin. But there are some die hards (ah-hem, Matt Chater) who like to rip it up in both disciplines.

Of course the usual happened: the seasoned pros made it look easy and the rest of us just hung on for dear life. Despite over-sleeping his alarm, racing three days in a row and being a one-man-team wonder, Kirk O'Bee was by far the most exciting to watch. You could write a report on his racing style alone. But the thing that most impressed me was during the Snowball, when the officials had some confusion when a group of four went off the front and then slowed down to prevent them from rejoining the pack. O'Bee decided to make the junction, but as it turns out, if a group breaks away and one of the riders breaks from them and then rejoins the pack, the break off the back are still considered the leaders. S there was a lot of yelling to decipher the rules during the race and O'Bee took several laps before figuring out they needed to get back into the break. (Their Snowball was 60 laps with each points awarded for the first person across the line in a lap. One point for the first lap, two for the second, three for the third, etc. Of course early points are fruitless because by the end of the race the points are worth way more.) So O'Bee, realizing the race is now behind him breaks off the front of the pack and rejoins the break, which was off the back. Sound confusing? It was.

The B races were fun and fast, and positioning was key when the speed turned up. One little gap would turn into a couple bike lengths quickly, and next thing you know, the lead group would be a half-lap ahead. Meanwhile, you're picking off dropped riders like flies and putting in more effort to pass them, hoping and praying they don't decide to move up track suddenly. Any additional travel up the steep banking really scrubs speed, so you pass as close and quickly as possible. Sometimes the inevitable happens though - and someone moves up track without looking or realizing there are more people on the track still racing.

Case in point: last lap of an unknown distance, a fella was off the front and couldn't hold his pace anymore. The rest of the pack was barreling down to finish the race and he decided to go from the sprinter's lane to the stayer's lane without any regard for anyone else on the track, causing a crash and taking out my teammate Annette. I nearly rolled over the guy's head, but managed to narrowly avoid him. Unfortunately Annette didn't fare as well. No aid car was needed, just a little tweezer action and some ice to reduce the swelling.

We had two women's only races and it was a lot of fun racing with fast women. Iona Wynter-Park dominated the field and brought back what I thought would be a winning break with five laps to go in a forty-lap scratch race. The pack sat up, looking at each other up track when I seated in right behind a women who decided to go at just the right time. When her speed started to slow with a lap or so to go, I came around her and got pipped at the line by a fast charging Iona. Here's to being in the right place at the right time.

Another bonus of attending these events year after year is watching the juniors progress through the rankings. Burnaby has quite a few juniors who race under dEVo in their development program. Cody Campbell is a great example: a few years ago he was racing in the B's and now he's signed with Symmetrics and his legs have doubled in size; abona-fide man child. Rachel Canning is ripping it up on the women's side and has some great pink booties.

Speaking of girl power, the B field had about six ladies in the mix and were often the initiators of ripping the pack apart. Kele Murdin, Iona Wynter-Park and Mandy Portalis are all world cup bound and used the weekend as a final tune leading up to Sydney's World Cup later this month. Ok, so maybe it wasn't the gear that ripped my legs off but rather it was them keeping the speed up and demonstrating just how ready they are to go overseas. Good luck to each of you representing the U.S., Jamaica and Canada!

So, what's next in terms of track racing? Friday Night racing is well under way in Burnaby and the schedule is posted online at www.burnabyvelodrome.ca. And don't forget to mark your calendars for the Six Day - where multiple international caliber racers will take to the boards and demonstrate their world class abilities. There's racing for all, from novice to advanced. It's a great way to get in some dry intensity and remind your legs they can hurt so good.

And two more shout outs: good luck to Dan Harm who heads down to LA to attempt another Pursuit qualifier for the World Cup scene in 2007-08. And to Kenny Williams who heads down under to race in Sydney shortly, followed by a trip to a World Cup in Beijing. It's awesome having so many talented local riders to race with. Want to get involved? It's easy! Burnaby offers Learn to Ride and Race clinics - a great way to see what it takes to pedal in circles and bump elbows with world class riders.

feature story

One Track Mind

Jennifer Triplett Reflects on the Track Season That Was
and Previews That Which Will Be

Jennifer Triplett
October 19, 2007

Velodrome

It's been a week since Elite Track Nationals and I still find myself waking up in the morning dreaming of the pursuit. For all of you non-trackies out there - the pursuit is the simplest form of track racing. For women, it's an all out three kilometer time trial. Sarah Hammer, the current US World Champion, can clock in at over 31 mph, average. But she's super human. I've heard you don't truly know what you're doing in the pursuit until you put in at least 100 efforts, and I'm well below that. But who's counting?

There's something about competition, maybe it's the natural high you get from having your heart beat out of your chest and lack of oxygen, that makes you yearn for more. It quickly helps you forget how much blood, sweat and tears go into training for such a short event and all of the days you spent recovering on the couch, unable to muster up enough energy to do the dishes. With the end of nationals, comes the beginning of the "off-season." The dark months begin and no sign of high intensity is in sight. Funny though, since I'm not riding but a fraction of what I did before, I suddenly have more energy to actually do the dishes, and other ignored tasks. And just when I'm ready to start settling in to a nice long, wet winter with fenders and blinky lights, Burnaby, B.C. starts to heat up its racing.

Someone actually thought about the environment they're located in and built an indoor track. Leave it to the Canadians! It's a fish bowl of a track - 200m in circumference and steep, with 47 degree banking. It requires a minimum of 15 mph average or you slide down and meet Mr. Tweezer. Note to first time Burnaby venturers: make sure you wear long fingered gloves. It's a bummer to have to tweeze out splinters with splintered fingers.

The track season at Marymoor is long over - but the actual world cup circuit is just beginning. Someone decided to make track a winter sport, and if you have access to an indoor track, or reliably good weather, then perfect. If not, well then you'll be putting in some time at the Canadian border en route to a domed 'drome.

Burnaby typically holds three track events throughout the winter in addition to their Friday night racing. The first one of the season is November 9-11, 2007. Competition should be incredible, especially for the women. Several ladies are in hard core training mode getting ready for the upcoming Sydney world cup. Kele Murdin, Iona Wynter-Park, Mandy Portalis, just to name a few, will be in attendance. That makes for one of the stronger women's field to date. It'll be interesting to compare my off the couch fitness, but it's all for fun. It is winter after all and I'd much rather substitute a weekend of dry intensity than another one in the wet and cold, riding slow and shivering in the rain.

I'll let you know just how badly my heart wants to beat out of my chest afterward.
Until then, happy pedaling.

Velodrome

Jennifer Triplett started racing in 2005 as a means to get back in shape and express her competitive urge. Since childhood, Jennifer has played mutilple group and individual sports - from volleyball, basketball, to track and field. While attending WWU, she started boxing and was a Washington state Welterweight champion in 2001. Her coached moved and she found herself looking for a new sport to fulfill her time when a friend suggested bike commuting. After completing many recreational rides (STP in a day, RSVP, etc), she found she was passing most men and decided to try racing. Now Jennifer competes with the Category 3 men on the track as a Cat 2 trackie and is a Cat 2 road racer. She aspires to push her self to the limits and is focusing on the pursuit for 2008.