Bastion Square Grand Prix 2005

The 14th annual Bastion Square criterium road bike race in historic downtown Victoria Canada, 2005, was great as usual. An annual event I’ve attended over the past eight or nine years, both as a competitor and (as today) a sangria-swilling, chicken sandwich-eating, patio-lounging spectator.
Team Symmetrics Cycling had about 100 guys in the race. Their man Svein Tuft had a pretty good solo break (up to 30 seconds) going for almost half the 70 laps while home-grown world champ Roland Green picked up prime after prime in the pack. Local OrganicAthlete’s Luca Segato boldly manoeuvred himself into a solo bridge to try and join Tuft but it wasn’t to be, even after Green and Tuft’s teammate (and thus not likely willing to help much), Andrew Pinfold, joined up. But Green completed the move, at first swarmed by Symmetrics but eventually pulling alongside, mano-e-mano, with the Tuftster.
One of the official announcers called it “No soup for you!”
So it came down to a hell of a sprint for first, and the clambering crowds got quite a finish: Roland over Tuft by about a wheel. Segato sprinted into fourth (second in the main pack) just after Pinfold came flying by to add a podium finish to his podium triumph the day before in the 140km Sooke Classic (aka Gary Lund) road race.
So once again the Elite Men’s category and overall Bastion Square winner (familiar territory for him) was Roland Green, with Tuft second, Pinfold third and Segato fourth.

Roland Green (left) and Svein Tuft during their solo and decisive breakaway on the Bastion Square race course.

Team Symmetrics never faultered in their control at the front of the race pack.

Roland Green (left) and Svein Tuft in the final sprint. Green won.

Luca Segato finsihed fourth place. His son, Fabrizio, was pretty excited about the whole thing.

Roland Green, Bastion Square Cycling Grand Prix, Champion, 2005.