- Cyclists finish 6,521-kilometre cross-country race in Halifax more from The Chronical Herald . . .
- Belgian Geert de Cock is the mountain champion for The Crossing 2006.
The Order of Merritt is the recognition for a rider on The Crossing with the best combined times over mountain regions across Canada in this 6500 kilometre trans-continental ride.
The five stages, with Geert's time, are:
- Hope to Merritt, over British Columbia's Coast Mountains, 111 km (69 miles) in 3 hours 31 minutes with an average speed of 31.56 km per hour (19.61 miles per hour)
- Jasper to Saskatchewan River Crossing along the Icefields Parkway in the Rocky Mountains, 193 km ( 120 miles) in 6 hours 5 minutes with an average speed of 31.73 km per hour ( 19.71 miles per hour)
- New Liskeard to Mattawa, Ontario through the Canadian Shield and the western fringe of the Laurentian Range, 219 km ( 136 miles) in 6 hours 27 minutes with an average speed of 33.95 km per hour (21.10 miles per hour)
- Mattawa to Cobden, a continuation of mountainous terrain that begins in New Liskeard, 190 km ( 118 miles) in 6 hours 0 minutes with an average speed of 31.67 km per hour (19.68 miles per hour)
- St. Alexandre, Quebec to Grand Falls, New Brunswick, over the northern tail of the Appalachian chain, 195 km (121 miles) in 5 hours 41 minutes with an average speed of 34.31 km per hour (21.32 miles per hour)
Geert's combined time over the total distance of 914 km (568 miles) on those five days of climbing was 27 hours 44 minutes. His average speed was 32.64 km per hour (20.28 miles per hour).
The name for this distinction comes from the destination on the first of these five difficult days on The Crossing. In total there are 36 riding days on The Crossing which began this year on July 9 and finishes in Halifax on August 20.
The friendly camaraderie between the four cyclists participating in The Crossing belies one simple fact – these guys are racing each other across Canada.
, the leading solo rider on The Crossing, Geert de Cock of Belgium, has averaged 32.73 km per hour over 3,215 kilometres since leaving Vancouver. His elapsed time for the distance is 98 hours, 37 minutes (4 days, 2 hours, 27 minutes).
The Crossing is a timed cross-Canada ride for solo cyclists or two-member teams. Over 36 days of riding, riders cover 6,532 kilometres with a daily average distance of 181 kilometres. There are nine days of more than 200 kilometres in the schedule.
Drafting is not permitted and the performance of solo riders on such a long course is extraordinary.
For individual times, go to Riders Times
In miles the distance for the first half of the ride is 1,998 and the daily average distance is 111 miles. Total miles from Vancouver to Halifax is 4,060.
Over the first 18 days of the ride, de Cock’s daily average speed has been above 30 km per hour on all but two days.
The pace set by de Cock is closely followed by Gerry Dunsmore of Vancouver with a daily average of 32.21 km per hour and an elapsed time of 100 hours, 44 minutes (4 days, 44 hours, 44 minutes).
During the first half of the course, riders have had generally favorable weather conditions – generally moderate daytime temperatures through British Columbia and Alberta but increasingly warm through the rest of the Prairies and into northern Ontario.
The route so far has gone through the Coast Mountains of British Columbia to Merritt and then into the Rocky Mountains at Jasper. From there, riders traveled the Icefields Parkway to Saskatchewan River Crossing and then through the Alberta foothills to the Prairies. They passed through Saskatoon and the interlake district of Manitoba to reach Ontario and a mid-point rest day at Atikokan.
From there, the route goes along Lake Superior to Nipigon and then the large central north plain towards Cochrane and New Liskeard. Then they mainly follow the Ottawa, St. Lawrence and Saint John Rivers to go through Quebec and New Brunswick. Past Moncton, New Brunswick, the route goes past the Fundy coast and then overland to Halifax.
The first riding day was July 11 and riders end at Citadel Hill in Halifax on August 20. Tuesdays through Sundays are riding days and every Monday is a rest day.
, Cycle Canada is implementing a distinction called The Order of Merritt to recognize hill climbing ability on the Vancouver-to-Halifax ride.
During the 36-day ride schedule there are five difficult climb days and Merritt, British Columbia is the destination on the first of those five climb days.
The Order of Merritt goes to the rider with the best combined time for those five days.
Climbs are in five unique mountainous features of the continent. Summary details of those days are as follows:
● Hope to Merritt in British Columbia; 111 kilometres (68 miles); climbing to the Coquihalla Pass through the Coast Mountains. This is the second day of riding and the shortest day in the 36-day schedule. The first two days of the ride are warm-up days and daily distances jump to Imperial-century-plus after those two days.
● Jasper to Saskatchewan River Crossing in Alberta; 193 kilometres (119 miles); climbing along the spine of the Rocky Mountains and over Sunwapta Pass. The ride into Jasper from British Columbia goes over a pass that is by far the easiest route through the Canadian Rockies. Leaving Jasper, riders are on the Icefields Parkway and this is a tough climbing day pas several mountain peaks and a collection of glaciers.
● New Liskeard to Mattawa and Mattawa to Cobden; two consecutive days in the Canadian Shield and the western fringe of the Laurentian Mountains; to Mattawa it is 219 kilometres (135 miles) and to Cobden it is 190 (117 miles). The Canadian Shield and the Laurentians are marked by rugged granite formations and climbs in these areas often are quite steep because of difficult road-building conditions.
● St-Alexandre, Quebec, to Grand Falls, New Brunswick; 195 kilometres (120 miles); climbing over the northern tail of the Appalachian Mountains. This day starts at the St. Lawrence River and ends where the Saint John River tumbles into a steep gorge.
In the Prologue ride for The Crossing, a 12 kilometre hill climb up Mount Seymour on Vancouver's North Shore, the top time was 45 minutes 55 seconds. The course, popular locally for climbers, has a vertical gain of 989 metres to a thousand metre plateau at the top of the chairlift in an area that is a ski hill in winter.
The Prologue was staged on a muggy and slightly overcast day but riders still had a great panoramic view of Vancouver and its suburbs once they reached the top. The times ranged up to 61.35 minutes. Placings for the prologue determine the starting order for The Crossing leaving Vancouver on Tuesday, July 11, 2006.
The Crossing, from Vancouver to Halifax covers 6,534 km (4,060 mi.) and takes place over six weeks. There are six riding days a week with rest days on Mondays and riders reach Halifax on August 20. Daily average is 181 kilometres (112 miles) and the longest day is 224 km (138). There are nine days of 200 kilometres plus (125 miles). The Crossing is a timed event.
The Crossing begins in just 5 days and we are pleased to announce the line-up for this first annual event. Riders will be participating in the senior and grand masters category and come from Belgium and Canada. The participants are: Daniel Holland, Lawrence Fedoruk, Geert de Cock and Gerry Dunsmore. Their backgrounds are in competitive and randonneur cycling and triathlons.
Read about the participants here: The Crossing Participants.
The year 2006 is the inaugural year for The Crossing. The route and event were developed in the previous year and some adjustments have been made to the schedule for this year's event. The route is quite different to Cycle Canada's other event Tour du Canada. Over the total distances for these events there is only 900 km (560 miles) of overlap. Most of that difference happens where there is little or no choice of east-west routes to follow. Perhaps the best example is between Thunder Bay and Nippigon where only one road connects west to east. The Tour du Canada route caters to those who want to see the country as tourists on bikes. The Crossing route is a more direct cross-continent ride and is designed to be easy to navigate by riders who are on a challenge event.
There is a new look to The Crossing web page. The content has not changed except for updates to the daily route distances and some editing.
We are now in the final stages of confirming the details of the route for The Crossing in 2006. There have been some changes to the schedule due to road conditions and revisions have been made to the daily distances on the web page.This will not effect the overall schedule. However it will change overnight spots in some sections of the trip.
The Dates for the 2006 The Crossing are July 8 to August 20, 2006. The fee is C$5500.00 (plus G.S.T.) A deposit of Canadian $1200.00 will secure a place in the event. To receive registration documents by fax or mail please complete the application form found here: Application Form. To download them from the internet go here: Application and Registration Forms.
To view many of the forms you will need acrobat reader, see the bottom of this page for download and completion instructions.
If you have difficulty downloading the forms please call us at: 1-800-214-7798 and we will mail you a copy.
TheCrossing@CycleCanada.com
The PDF Version of the application form can be edited online. Use the mouse to activate a cursor at the point where you start providing information, and then type away! For a check box, just hit the enter key. Once complete, please print, sign and mail or fax to us.
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