When: This Thursday at 6:30AM. Almost always finishes in time for 8:30 classes.
Where: The base of the Houde (i.e. right here)
What: the most exciting hill climbing competition of the year. At least in Montreal
Level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced.
KOM/QOM, short for King/Queen of the Mountain, is the oldest regular ride for McGill Cycling, and something of a fall tradition. It’s a seven week long competition to crown the best climber on McGill Cycling. The format consists of seven climbs every week, all of which have their own flavour and suit different riders. The first person to the top is awarded 5 points, the second gets four points, and so on down to fifth place who gets one measly point. Totals are kept over the entire seven weeks, and the highest score come December in the advanced category gets to keep the MatBR Commemorative Polka Dot Jersey for the rest of the year.
However, this is not just a ride for helium-filled rocket-legged climbers. We will split into three groups, and you can use the first climb of the day to test yourself out if you want. There is a separate score sheet (and competition) for the intermediate group, and if you’d prefer not to compete at all, the beginner group will not be keeping (a recorded) score.
Note that the scores gathered this week at KOM #0 will not count towards the cumulative rankings. We’re starting one week earlier than in previous years, and I don’t want anybody to be at a disadvantage if they don’t know about the team yet or if they are unfamiliar with the climbs. We will still of course keep and post the scores - it will be just like every other KOM/QOM apart from the fact that it won’t count towards the series ranking.
As a quick reminder, a helmet and two working brakes are mandatory for McGill Cycling rides. Also you might want to check your brake pads, as there is a tiny bit of descending on this ride (note though that it doesn’t matter for the competition - we regroup at the beginning of each climb.) Also, I am happy to collect team/club fees on this ride.
On a personal note I’d like to say that this is one of my favourite parts of the whole team - and as I’ve said before: KOM is won on the climbs, but it’s lost in bed.
I hope we’ll stay true to KOM tradition and START at 6.30 (so that people can get to where they need to be afterwards on time), which means aiming to arrive at the base of Houde at 6.20 if you’re new and want to meet people.
I was just wondering what time the ride is expected to finish. I live in Montreal so I would need to go back to my house after the ride, then metro to school. Please let me know!
Is there any good place on campus you can store a bike? Does the cycling team have any space at the gym? I am not near campus. So I can’t simply skip off to class after a ride.
All in all pretty anemic KOM but I’m sure we’ll get back into the swing of things next week. I’ll have a spreadsheet ready for the season next week but for today the advanced scores were:
Eric - 23
MatBR - 19
JR - 15
Phil - 15
Pavel - 10
Jon - 5
Pete - 3
On another note, I just coughed up some blood. Yay KOM.