The Burnaby NOW made news at the Burnaby Velodrome 4Day bike race.
The Burnaby NOW-sponsored team of American riders Jacob Duehring and Daniel Holloway rode away with the top prize after four nights of exciting indoor track racing before record crowds at the Barnet Highway bubble on Tuesday.
Going into the final races up a lap and trailing Team Canada’s Zach Bell and Jacob Schwingboth on points, Holloway claimed the elimination sprint over Bell, setting up the California pair for a winning ride in the final 140-lap Madison.
Duehring, a U.S. team member to the upcoming world championships, and Holloway, the reigning U.S. Elite criterium champion, lapped the field to claim the top podium at the 4Day.
The California pair made a break from the pack with 38 laps to go and kept the hammer down all the way to the finish.
“I’m glad we won for Burnaby,” said the 29-year-old Duehring. “It was a risky decision. If we ended blowing up, we could have ended up losing. But we knew we both had enough experience to put in a big dig.”
In the women’s elite division, hometown favourite and Olympian Jasmin Glaesser took top honours over World Cup medal winner Stephanie Roorda and eight-time New Zealand national champion Joanne Kiesanowski.
Holloway, who won a 6Day title with Colby Pearce at the Burnaby Velodrome in 2011, dedicated the win to everyone who had lost a loved one while cycling over the Christmas holidays.
“I want to dedicate it to all those families,” said the 27-year-old 6Day regular.
“It’s not just your run-of-the-mill bike race. We have tactics to follow. We have to evolve and change with the racing, with how we feel,” Holloway added. “It’s what makes this sport so great.”
Holloway, who has competed in more than 20 multi-day track events, will be going to 6Days competitions with Duehring in Berlin and Copenhagen in the coming weeks in preparation for the outdoor racing season in the early spring.
The two met on the track and make a solid pairing.
“We’re both kind of spinny,” Duehring said, meaning the two racers have similar good leg speed.
But both cannot deny their likeness for how the sport of Madison cycling brings people together to everyone’s mutual enjoyment.
“I like the sense of community it brings to the sport,” Duehring added. “It’s unique.
In the competitive B division, Vincent Marcotte came out on top, with Michael Wegner and Zane Hayes in the runner-up spots.
Neil Davies was first in the C division, with John White and Niall Dempsey tying for second place.
The master's division was wn by Julian Base. Emil Marcetta and Mike Buckosky placed second and third, respectively.
Cooper Rombold won the under-17 and -19 division. Brendan Cowley placed second and Josh Bateman was third.
In the u-15 division, Eric Inkster placed first, while Brennan Hughes came second and Tyler Davies in third.
