2018 Easter Sunday Criterium: Not the Oldest

I was wondering where the Easter Sunday Criterium fit, longevity-wise, within the pantheon of the Ontario Series races. I thought it might be the oldest but was not sure, so I went to the expert, the man who has been behind them all. Turns out it slots in at number three, so while it has definitely grown long in the tooth I overestimated how long it has been around - somewhere between fifteen and eighteen years. The, now defunct, Summer End Criterium is/was the granddaddy, with Dare to Race Grand Prix at number two.

With that little bit of history now out of the way, I can move on to other, more imperative, matters - like today's racing. So...

I was busy hunting for colored eggs when the masters 55/60+ race came whirring around the corner shocking me into remembering the other reason I was there. Distracted for just a moment a younger, much quicker and more agile, egg hunter swooped in and swiped the green polka dot one I had my eye on. Curses, foiled again. But at least I had a lap more to continue my search before getting down to business. Unfortunately it was not until I lifted the camera up to my eye when my old crony compatriots finally came around again, that I realized the lens cap was making everything look black. Fumbling to get it off, all that chocolate and carmel on my fingertips smudged the lens but good and the rest of the race was spent attempting to clean things up before the start of the women's cat 4/5 race.

Whaaaat? Women? Ontario? Yes, if you didn't know, women's races were added back into the mix for this weekend - two of them to be exact - that cat 4/5 race, and a little later another for cats 1/2/3. I might be able to fool you into believing that covering the racing was more important than the chocolate easter egg hunting, but I won't attempt to convince you that the women's fields were anywhere near as full as the other races. On the other had, I am sure those racers who did turn out appreciated the competitive opportunity.

In between other things, all the races I saw ended in field sprints, break away attempts during the races being effectively neutralized every time. The women's cat 4/5 race was won by Grace Hutton (Serious Cycling), with Sophia Wafa taking second, and Mayra Hernandez third. Though I have no photographic proof the 55+ race went to Anthony Reguero, ahead of Craig Miller and James Edwards. The 60+ers race was won by Cyril Hunte, ahead of Robin Kinney and Bruce Hartley. The 50+ race was won by Bert Clifford, David Holland second, and Craig Miller third. The Cat 3/4 race was won by Giovanni Ortiz ahead of Eric Boarman and Ricardo Sanchez.

The selection of 134 photos in the album were selected from the women 4/5, masters 50+, the cat 3/4, women 1/2/3, and a few from the cat 4 races.

Ray didn't really want to be in the photo, but someone had to hold the jersey steady. If you just ignore three quarters of the shot you will notice the special race jersey created by JL Velo. Pretty cool, I thought.