Rally Cycling鈥檚 Eric Young calls BC Superweek and the Tour de Delta home turf for the powerhouse Canadian teams, but with the amount of victories and podium appearances he鈥檚 racked up over the years, he might as well claim home field advantage too.聽
On Friday night, Young sprinted ahead of German rider Florenz Knauer to win the North Delta Criterium for the second straight year in front of a raucous crowd in the social heart of North Delta.聽
Young and teammate Brad Huff were the only two Rally Cycling riders in the race, and they felt the pressure from teams like Silber, which had Ryan Roth win this race in 2014 and 2015, as well as two riders on the podium in 2016. As the race progressed, it looked like it would come down to a bunch sprint on the final lap, and it did.聽
"Brad and I were just trying to hide as best we could. It went super well, we weren't sure if it was going to stay together or not. The Silber team seemed like they were content with having everybody together so there were a few moves that they were in where we had to react, we just played off them the best we could because they seem like the best team here so far,鈥� explained Young, who finished the 45 lap, 54 kilometre race in one hour, 11 minutes, and one second.聽
Huff found himself as much of a spectator as those in attendance heading into the final corner as Young and Knauer went to work.聽
"My plan was to take Eric up to the front, but the Silber team did an amazing job, they're the ones who want to control it. Florenz came around everybody with momentum, Eric was the second guy to react, I was third and it almost stayed that way to the finish. Eric overcame him in the final turn and both those聽guys on the podium, first and second, are phenomenal sprinters so it was pretty cool to watch it happen in front of me,鈥� said Huff.聽
Earlier in the women鈥檚 race, Kendall Ryan flashed a huge smile minutes after crossing the finish line to kick off BC Superweek.聽
The 25-year-old Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank from Camarillo, California was part of a break with ten laps to go that saw she and the other five riders take a turn at the front to stay away from the peloton. Ryan had to be creative tactically to play to her strengths as a sprinter and get the win.聽
During the breakaway, Ryan took short turns at the front to conserve energy 鈥� and the other riders let her. It surprised the 2015 US National Criterium Champion. "I was expecting them to yell at me at some point because I was short pulling them. It's not a cool thing to do, but a sprinter's gotta do what a sprinter's gotta do!", expressed Ryan.
BC Superweek and the Tour de Delta continue Saturday with the Ladner Criterium. The women鈥檚 race starts at 6:15 pm and the men begin at 7:25 pm.聽
