The Prologue

There was a large dark cloud hanging over Val-d’Or just before the start of the race tonight–400m sprints, two at a time. It was a bad omen.

The race organizers had some technical problems getting the cameras at the finish line working properly, and as a result, the race started about 35 minutes late.

The start times for the teams were based on randomly picked numbers. Borah had a fairly late number, and was originally scheduled to start riding around 7:50 p.m. Because of the technical delay, they didn’t actually start until around 8:25 p.m. Unfortunately, the rain started coming down pretty heavily around 8:00 p.m. This, of course, meant for much more treacherous conditions.

Despite that, all six Borah riders finished without incident. Their times are available at http://www.tourabitibi.com/index_tour_en.php (click on the results link toward the top right corner of the page).

Photos have been posted to KodakGallery. The daylight photos are from the main street through town (3rd Ave), where the town was putting on a street fair. I’ve also posted photos of many of the teams competing in this year’s race–might have missed one or two.

Tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. (start time) there is a road race from Preissac to Val-d’Or. The road race is expected to last about two hours, so I estimate it must be about 50 miles. Haven’t seen any official numbers, though.

That’s it for tonight. Go Team Borah!

Tags: cycling