Experienced rider takes Blizzard Bicycle Club’s Spring Road Race

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — A local bicycle club has wrapped up its annual spring race with a familiar face at the top of the podium.

Nigel Wray stood above all competition in taking the Blizzard Bicycle Club’s 40th Spring Road Race which wrapped up this weekend.

Having taken the first four stages over Easter week, Wray continued his dominance at the fifth stage time trial in Baldonnel on Thursday, April 24th in what was described as “warm and sunny” conditions with “barely a breeze,” according to a Facebook post. 

Wray posted a time of 22 minutes, 47 seconds, a full five minutes ahead of Kevin Hunt who came in second at 27:53. Jay Weber was third at 27:58.

“The weather gods heard us complaining,” joked Blizzard Bicycle Club co-founder Pat Ferris.

“Thursday was really good. Relatively calm for wind. Sunday was also really good.”

The veteran Wray finished a clean sweep of all six stages during Sunday, April 27th’s final stage, a road race from Fort St. John’s Kal Tire location to the Montney Loop. 

With the option of a 20-kilometre or 45-kilometre race, Wray won the longer distance in a time of one hour, eight minutes and 36 seconds.

Ferris attributes Wray’s dominance to his “diligent training” regimen.

“This is his third year cycling,” said Ferris. “So he’s also getting very experienced. He also attends races in Alberta, which adds another level of experience.”

Meanwhile, Weber took second place with a time of 1:26:25.

Richard Wood took the 20-kilometre race, beating out Sam Keats with a time of 58:05, with Val Weber getting third at 1:01:35, narrowly defeating Ferris.

Wray took the overall men’s points title with 30 points, comfortably ahead of Weber, who came in second with 16 points.

Theresa Loeseken won the women’s title with 10 points, with second place shared by Kristine Bock and Val Weber with five points.

Looking ahead, Ferris describes the month of May as “busy” with the club’s annual general meeting on Wednesday, May 14th.

On the agenda is the search for a new president and secretary/treasurer, as Bock and Ard Hoogenboom will be moving to Alberta.

“We’re going to be looking for some big shoes to fill,” said Ferris.

The next race for Blizzard will be a Baldonnel time trial, slated for Thursday, May 1st at 7 p.m. at Baldonnel Elementary School.

More details about Blizzard Bicycle Club are available on its Facebook page and website.