Legendary Sunshine at the Tour de Victoria?

MEC Skiing Envoy Chris Christie was part of our 100-rider strong team at the Whistler GranFondo. He was so pumped on that fondo experience that he squeezed in one more big ride before hanging up his road bike for the winter: Ryder Hesjedal’s Tour de Victoria on September 22.

Tour de Victoria seemed like the perfect excuse to head over to the island and soak up the legendary sunshine they supposedly get. The event has three distances (50km, 100km and 140km), and I chose to tackle the longest route, which follows many of the classic roads around Victoria and has over 1500m of climbing.

The morning of the race, my alarm jolted me awake and instantly my ears were alert to the sound of rain hitting the patio deck. It’s hard not to let rain dampen your spirits, but I was surprisingly optimistic for someone rolling out the door at 6am in pure darkness for a 7am start time. It likely had something to do to with the combination of a quad shot Americano my friend brewed up for me and the heat rub on my legs.

Essential for a long, cold day in the saddle: Chamois Butt’r and Hot Balm

At the start line, it was great to see some familiar faces and all kinds of riders. Some were there to be competitive, others were more goal-oriented and wanted to finish the event as part of their bucket list. The staging area is one of the nice aspects of fondo-style events. You place yourself based on your anticipated finish time, so it’s low pressure and you get to ride with other people who have similar fitness/skill levels and ambitions.

After some quick speeches from local celebrities, we rolled out to the national anthem for a 5km neutral start in an absolute deluge of rain and wind. Victoria is not excluded from the coastal mountain monsoons! Though the weather was nasty, the 1500 riders doing the 140km route looked dressed for the occasion, and it was clear that spirits weren’t dampened one bit.

Start and finish in front of the Parliament Buildings

The route took us through some amazingly scenic back roads, secondary feeders and bike paths. The roads were slick, so being conservative on the corners was key to keeping the rubber side down.

The high point of the course was on Munn Road with a 6km climb and grades up to 18%. We were rewarded with a fast 8km technical downhill that demanded careful braking and line choices. On this section, a rider crashed in front of me and I had to change my line off the road to avoid what looked like certain carnage. My mountain bike instincts kicked in and I negotiated and weaved through some big rocks before going over the bars at a manageable speed.

I quickly ran back to the road, got back on my bike, and took off with the calm but disappointed realization that I might not catch the front group. Riding on my own gave me ideal line choices and little stress from having others around me. After 15 minutes of chasing, I reattached to the lead group, refueled, and put my raincoat back on.

As the roads snaked along the coast, I had to keep my guard up for slick corners – especially the slippery crosswalk paint. There were a few crashes, usually at low speeds and with minimal consequences, but they likely meant losing contact with the front group. In one of the larger of these crashes, I nearly hit the deck but was able stay on my feet. I got my chain back on, put my head down, and ran through my gears at my aerobic threshold in time trial mode until I rolled into the back of the peloton.

Just as I arrived at the group, Rob Britton, a local pro riding for a British team, jumped away on a set of small rollers. He slowly pulled away as our speeds fluctuated from lack of pack commitment. Our group was rolling along at a moderately fast pace, but Rob was going to take the race if we didn’t commit. At about 3km from the finish, the group hesitated and I decided to have a go, thinking that if I could make it to the final corners I had a shot at second place.

I immediately opened up a gap sizable enough to pull it off – or so I thought. As I turned into Victoria, I was faced with a strong headwind and the peloton was breathing down my neck. With fading legs, I was caught 100m from the finish for ninth place overall.

Sooo close.

Roger Lee, also riding under the MEC banner, finished eighth after overcoming some difficulties along the route

It was awesome to see the continuous stream of riders coming across the line. It didn’t matter if you were a 50km or 140km participant, the achievement of taking part in the Tour de Victoria and taking on a personal challenge brought a great cycling community together.