Robin Horsfield stood on top of the podium at Ontario Cup #3 held in Sudbury, Ontario.
A provincial level win had eluded Horsfield until this race, despite being ranked second overall in the province last year.
While gunning for the win was really only possible for the last two years, Horsfield first competed in an Ontario Cup about a decade ago - long before he even became a perennial winner at Bermuda's Fat Tire Massive mountain bike series.
"I remember Robin looking around with big shocked eyes," notes Mark Brown, Horsfield's longtime coach. "He'd never been in a race with more than 5 other riders nor seen an event with more than about thirty people. The Ontario Cup, at that time, was the big time for him. A win here was never even considered."
The way that the win happened on Sunday was fitting. Horsfield snapped his chain just over one hundred meters in to the race, just as he did in Brazil while representing Bermuda in April. A chain change again resulted, but Horsfield had to overcome a three minute deficit.
Horsfield won the race, catching the leader one hour into the race and eventually finishing over a 1 minute ahead of second place.
"Robin was disappointed when he saw the start list for this race - he wouldn't say it but I knew he felt he was the strongest racer present," explains Brown. "Robin likes to be challenged and he doesn't want to win unless it's well deserved. The chain snapping was actually a gift. It gave Robin the challenge he wanted. "
Horsfield is currently ranked 2nd in the province of Ontario and 19th in Canada. He next competes in Quebec in mid-August, back at the national level with a Canada Cup at St. Felicien.
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