Wednesday July 3rd:
The Hammer Team of Jim Murdock and Rich Voss arrived in Montreal, Quebec at 8:30pm. Mark Pelletier would be meeting them the next day in Bromont. They picked up their gear and rental car and went to the Hotel for the evening.
Thursday July 4th:
Jim and Rich had breakfast at Tim Horton's. This is a large chain similar to Dunkin Donuts except it has many healthier options in addition to the standard donuts and coffee. Leaving Montreal they headed to Bromont. Bromont is 45 minutes southeast of Montreal. It is a small town of about 3000 people. Every year many cyclists come to Bromont for the North American Master Road Championships and the World Masters Mountain Biking Championships. This weekend was the inaugural North American Masters Track Championships. Jim and Rich checked into their rooms only 15 minutes before teammate Mark Pelletier arrived with his family. After a quick change, it's off to the track for a pre race workout. The track was less than 5 minutes from the rooms. Very convenient! The track was first used in Atlanta, Georgia for the 1996 Olympic Games. It is a 250-meter track with 45 degree banking. The surface was a bit rough which allows the rider to stay on the banking easier. The downside to this is the rolling resistance is higher and the times are slower. Couple this with the thick, cool air at sea level and high humidity and the Colorado Gang was not expecting any stellar times. After a 2-hour workout it was time to refuel with some local French Canadian food. Dinner was eaten as La Me Du Pain. This was NOT the local bondage house. Pain in French means Bread! The food was out of this world! After a long day with a good meal, it was bedtime.
Friday July 5th:
The first session was scheduled to start at 3:30pm. Actual start time turned out to be 4:30. First on the schedule were the 200meter sprint qualifiers. The sprint format was modified to final sprints based on the 200meter time. The top 2 times raced for the Gold and Silver. The 3rd and 4th times would race for the Bronze and 4th place. Jim Murdock showed his speed by qualifying with a 12.710. He is used to going a second faster in the rarified air of Colorado Springs. It's all relative when the competition has to ride the same track. Jim qualified 1.2 seconds ahead of his next competitor!!! In the 40-49 age group Rich Voss went first and set the standard with a decent time of 12.394. It held up until teammate Mark Pelletier beat it with a blazing 12.223. Mark's time was good for 2nd as John Sutherland of Canada beat it by .002 with a time of 12.220. Mark and John need 3 heats to decide the sprint champion with John Sutherland edging out Mark Pelletier after Mark rode a tactically brilliant race. Rich Voss beat Canada's Rob Good in two straight for the Bronze. Rob Goode rides for the Waterloo Flying Dogs. This is my vote for coolest team name! (Next to Hammer Racing Team of course). In the 60+ category, Jim Murdock showed why he is the odds on favorite at next month's Masters Nationals with a strong pair of sprints against multi National Champ George Hanson of the Jaeger Cycling Team.
After the sprints was the elimination race. Jim Murdock finished the day like he started, fast and strong. When his age group was combined with the 50-59 he won his group and beat all but the speedster Pat Gellineau. Mark and Rich didn't fare as well but still finished 3rd and 4th in their race.
Day one- 2 golds, a silver and 2 bronzes for the Hammer Team.
Saturday July 6th:
Jim Murdock started Saturday morning right where he left off on Friday evening. Jim took another (number 3) gold medal in the 500 Time Trial with a time of 38.964. A very good time with the slow track and cool temperatures. Rich Voss went second in his category and needed a strong effort after Rob Good set the bar pretty high with a 750-meter time of 55.709. Rich was in second through every half-lap split, but was making up ground as the meters flew by. With a half lap to go he passed Rob's split time and finished with a time of 54.647. He then had to wait while the rest of the category took their turns trying to beat that time. Teammate Mark Pelletier came close with a strong effort at 56.031. The final rider was John Sutherland. John took off and like a true sprinter he smoked the first lap. He then started losing ground through each half lap split but was able to hold on and win the Gold by .2 seconds over a disappointed Rich Voss. Mark finished the Time Trial in 4th place.
Next was the 30 lap scratch race. A confident Jim Murdock showed that he is not just a sprinter. Very few can excel in more than one or two track disciplines. Jim can do it all!!! He rode a smart Scratch race, keeping George Hansen in view and not allowing him to get too far ahead when George went off the front. Jim waited until the end of the race to unleash a fierce sprint and win his 4th Gold medal of the Championships.
Rich and Mark started the Scratch race with no aspirations of doing well as, unlike Jim Murdock, they are known to be sprinters, and are not known for their "endurance racing". The race was combined with the 30-39 age group and went ballistic right from the start. Pete Coulson took off like a bat out of hell and kept on going. A group consisting of Rob Goode, Ted Ritter, Rich Voss, Greg Durovich, and Jeremy Story took off in pursuit of Coulson. It was non-stop, high speed, all out racing for the entire 30 laps. In the end, the surprise of the race if not the championship was a Gold medal for Rich Voss. Mark Pelletier rode a strong race finishing 6th.
The evening session was to have the points races. These were rained out and rescheduled for the next morning.
Sunday July7th:
The first Points Race was a combined race of Jim's 60+ category and the 50-59 age group. My money was on "The Champ" Jim Murdock. Guess what? You got it! Jim won his 5th Gold by methodically sprinting for points and easily winning the race. Is there any way to beat this guy? Not this weekend!
Going into the 100-lap Points race, Rich Voss was leading the overall Championships in his category. Ted Ritter of Vancouver was sitting only 3 points back, and Rob Good was 5 points back. Mark and Rich decided that Ted was the man to beat and keyed on him for the points race. Mark was going to do whatever he could to help his friend and teammate win the overall title. The race was going well. Rob Good was in the lead and Rich was a point up on Mr. Ritter with 11 laps to go. Setting up for the second to last sprint, an unknown rider decided to go up to the rail. The only problem was Rich was there. Physics tells you that when a similar object hits an object something has to move. Rich was run right into the rail, as there was nowhere else to go. A crash which was followed by a slide down the 45-degree banking ended with a lot of lost skin and an injured shoulder. Mark Pelletier finished the race while Rich went to the hospital for x-rays. (A note to Dave Hansen: If you are reading this, Rich WILL be ready for that Kilo battle on August 6th at Masters Nationals).
The last race was the Pursuit. Again, Jim Murdock showed "his stuff" and went 6 for 6 in the Gold medal department, sweeping the competition with a strong, steady ride. Jim is now officially known as "The Champ". Jim Murdock IS the 2002 North American Masters Track Champion!!! This bodes well for Masters Nationals and Masters Worlds, which have yet to be contested.
Mark Pelletier did his first Pursuit ever, in his long and illustrious Sprint career. Finishing 4th gave him 5th overall for the event.
Rich, having missed the final two sprints in the points race and the Pursuit dropped from the overall lead to finish 3rd.
A strong showing from Hammer Racing Team at the inaugural North American Masters Track Championships!
Congratulations Jim Murdock!!!!!
Rich, Jim, and Mark would like to thank their families for their support and to thank their Coach, Garth Blackburn for getting them to where they are!!!!