Preston Street on TV at the Prescott, June 30th

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WORLD PREMIERE EVENT!

It's a go at the Prescott Hotel (Preston at Beech) for Thursday June 30 to watch the 2011 Preston Street Elite Men's race on Rogers Cable 22. Kris Westwood has completed the voice-over and assures us that the action caught by the eight cameras including two on bike handlebars was very exciting.

The room is downstairs and we'll have it to ourselves. There are about 6 TV screens. Pizza/snacks can be purchased and of course there's beer. 

The room is limited to 105 people. If there is overflow, the Prescott will tune other TVs on the main floor to Rogers 22.

Doors open at 6:30. Please arrive in time to finish eating by 7:30. At that time, we want to acknowledge all the key people who helped make the event a great success.

Showtime 8:00 pm.

Entry fee: donation to NCR Cycling Bursary (coordinated by Doug Corner, Kris Westwood and Ross Knight).

Preston Street news

click for bigger. photo by My Wedding PhotographerLooks like the Bikerace Ottawa team of Carlo Dal-Cin, David Bilenkey, Jon Gee and Doug Corner have kicked the 39th Annual Preston Street Bicycle Races up a notch.

Bikerace Ottawa is excited to announce that the premier event at the 2011 Preston Street Bicycle races, the Elite Men/Master 1 category, will be televised on Rogers Ottawa TV. Stationary and mobile cameras will capture all the excitement around the entire 1.0 km course in Ottawa' s Little Italy.

Racers will come to Ottawa from across Ontario and Quebec to compete for the first prize of $1000.There will be expert commentary plus pre and post race interviews of key racers. We'll catch all the sprint laps and the unique presentation of the winner getting his weight in Italian products. 

The Preston Street races are part of the Ottawa Little Italy Festival and the entire weekend of June 17, 18,and 19 will be full of activities. The Preston Street Criteriums are set for June 19, 2011,The street will be decorated for the Festival and all the restaurants will extend their patios to provide a welcoming atmosphere.

More details will be posted in the coming weeks.

Contact: info@bikeraceottawa.com

Preston Street Races- June 20, 2010, by Doug Corner

click for bigger. photo courtesy www.cyclingphotos.ca/There are so many stories that come out of a day of racing and we want to highlight a few.

We were required to place more volunteers and more barricades around the course this year. It took more time to get the numbers together but we received an excellent response from the cycling community. A big thank you to all those that helped between 9: 00 am and 5:00 pm. with the many tasks that have to be carried out, both around the course and at the Start/Finish area. This includes the announcers, prime coordinators, race timing/lap cards, marshals, street captains, food distribution etc.

This year, we were required to remove all cars from all locations around the circuit and this process took longer then we expected. It caused a delay of 30 minutes for the first race and this delay carried through to the rest of the races. Next year, we’ll start the process earlier.

photo courtesy Bernard DurandFor the third year in a row, wet roads created very difficult riding conditions in the Master 2,3 Men race, the Kids race, and the Womens’ race. We shortened the Master 2,3 race in an attempt to avoid the rain but the timing did not work out.

This year, with the help of Rob McClure of the Ottawa Bicycle Club we expanded the age categories of the Kids races. Total participation went from about 30 last year to about 60 this year. A great success. Osmond Bakker continued his great work with the kids aged 7 and under. All this took place during the worst of the rain but the kids handled the conditions very well. A credit to the skills they are being taught in the Learn To Race program.

Click to read more ...

bike race ottawa updates

Doug Corner over at Bike Race Ottawa sends us some updates about the 2010 Preston Street Criterium and offers some feedback for the organizers of the Dandelion Grand Prix.

Preston Street Criterium

click to download the technical guideThe Technical Guide for the June 20th 2010, or 38th running of the Preston Street Criterium is available for download here (PDF, 1.7mb)

Dandelion Grand Prix

Results are up over at Canadian Cyclist. Here's what Doug had to say about the Dandelion. And consider this: these words are from one who also has the very difficult task of organizing and running races of his own, so you know it is high praise indeed:

The race was run very well and it was unusual to have a long circuit without car issues. This meant that the strong riders could use the crosswinds to their advantage and the "death line" at the edge of the road created the gaps that it was meant to do. The rough part of the road was exactly that but there were no potholes or ruts so speeds in the low 50's were common. Gotta love a tailwind.

Next year, the rough road will be smooth again so it will be even better.

The community was very welcoming and the BBQ on the grass under the trees gave everybody a chance to trade stories. The Bikerace Ottawa podium has been splashed with champagne once again and had I been stopped by police on the way home, I suspect the aroma would have required some extra explanation.

This event is a keeper and hopefully it will lead to an OCup race which has bypassed Eastern Ontario on the calendar.

Great job Ryan and your crew!