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26 Independent & Free Press,Thursday, June 23, 2011 SPORTS & LEISURE Logan-Sprenger to take part in Saturday's downtown event Local cyclist thrilled to race at home By EAMONN MAHER Staff Writer Local resident Heather LoganSprenger hopes to land a spot on the medal podium when the Canadian Road Cycling Championships & Festival comes to downtown Georgetown Sunday for a series of criterium races. Logan-Sprenger is among approximately 230 women's and men's elite cyclists from across Canada eager to take on the 1.1-km course that winds right up Main St. and includes a punishing climb on Park Ave. Spectators will get an up-close view of the action from the festival area contained inside the race course or other vantage points along the route. The women's race is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. and the men at 2:15 p.m. "I'm really excited that the national championships are coming to my hometown and it's awesome that I can stay at home and ride five minutes to the race course that day," said the 29-year-old Sprenger, a Madoc, Ont. native. "The Canadian championships are something for me, personally, that's really important and I know a lot of the other riders are looking forward to it. With that big hill to climb, it's going to be really wearing on you for 60 minutes." A number of age group races will also be part of the day's festivities. The Georgetown race is just one stop in the Canadian championship series of races in Halton region from June 23 to July 3, organized by the Toronto-based Midweek Cycling Club. The 29-year-old Logan-Sprenger, a Madoc, Ont. native who races internationally for Team Colavita, moved to Georgetown 18 months ago with her husband Jon. Formerly a forward on Canada's national women's hockey team, LoganSprenger gave up that sport for cycling a couple of years ago and had a strong showing at the 2009 world championships just a few months after turning professional. She also owns a Ph. D. in exercise Race notes Streets in the downtown core will be closed from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and a festival featuring BMX demos, a safety clinic, various vendors, a youth cycling skills challenge and buskers are planned for the enclosed area in the Back St. parking lot. ··· Admission is free, although youths must have parental permission to participate in festival cycling events. ··· Downtown residents will be able to drive to or away from their homes between races and pedestrian traffic wait times to cross closed streets are expected to be no longer than a minute. ··· A "stop-and-lock" service will be provided by local service clubs to allow attendees to walk around the festival site and race course. ··· Criterium races are usually held on a short course and the duration is determined by a number of laps or total time as the race progresses. The winner is the first competitor to cross the finish line without being lapped. ··· The second stage of the Canadian championships will be held Friday in the Rattlesnake Point Conservation Area of Milton, with the men's race set for 4 p.m. and the women at 6 p.m. Heather Logan-Sprenger of Georgetown celebrates her solo victory during the second stage of the Gila Monster Road Race in New Mexico earlier this year, in which she placed seventh overall while also winning the Queen of the Mountain jersey. Logan-Sprenger will be in the field Sunday afternoon for the Georgetown Criterium race as part of the 2011 Canadian Road Championships. Submitted photo physiology from the University of Guelph and will defend her thesis on the effects of dehydration in a paper due in August. "After six seasons of playing pro hockey, I wasn't going to go any farther with it after what I'd been able to accomplish and it was time for a change," said Logan-Sprenger, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on the Esso Wall of Champions in 2004 for captaining Canada's junior women to the world championship, collecting See LOGAN-SPRENGER, pg. 28 NEXT GENERATION $ 2012 Civic. There's one for you. 0 Down per per month month 2012 CIVIC SEDAN** $ 0 Security Deposit $ 25091* **Car may not be exactly as shown. INCLUDES: · Auto Transmission · Air Conditioning · Blue Tooth · Power Windows & Locks · Cruise Control *60 month lease @ 4.49%. First payment registration due on delivery. O.A.C. www.georgetownhonda.ca Serving Georgetown for over 30 years! 316 Guelph Street, Georgetown 905-873-1818 905-874-3021 HONDA