CYCLO-CROSS CHAMPIONSHIPS BRING CANADIAN SEASON TO A CLOSE

The Canadian domestic cycling season concluded on Saturday, November 30th, with the Canadian National Cyclo-cross Championships, held in Surrey, BC, for the second consecutive year.  Over 200 athletes across nine categories competed for the honour of wearing the maple leaf jersey awarded to each national champion.  Olympic mountain bike professionals Catharine Pendrel (Kamloops, BC) and Geoff Kabush (North Vancouver, BC) won the premier Elite women’s and men’s titles.

Cyclo-cross is a fast and exciting discipline of cycling that requires both bike handling skill and stamina.  Athletes compete on a circuit of grass, gravel and mud with numerous obstacles that require them to dismount and run with their bikes.  It is extremely popular in Europe, with crowds of over 75,000 attending major World Cup events, and has been growing in popularity in North America over the past decade.

More than one rider referred to the 2013 Canadian Cyclo-cross Championships as epic, and it certainly was an appropriate description.  Rain throughout the day created a muddy, slippery circuit that became more treacherous every race, and strong fields resulted in aggressive racing.  In the marquee Elite races, Catharine Pendrel took her first cyclo-cross title for the women, while Geoff Kabush proved that he is still the man to beat with his fifth title.

Pendrel was the odds-on favourite for the women, but defending champion Mical Dyck (Victoria, BC) and another former champion Wendy Simms (Nanaimo, BC) kept the pressure on all race, with Pendrel beating Dyck by a scant 16 seconds, and Simms taking the bronze medal.

In the Elite men’s competition, Kabush battled with Aaron Schooler (Edmonton, AB) and Mike Garrigan (Hillsburgh, ON) in the early part of the race before soloing away for his fifth title.  Garrigan faded in the second half of the race, leaving Schooler alone in the silver medal position, while Kabush’s team mates Cameron Jette (Toronto, ON) and Derek Zandstra (Trenton, ON) were steadily moving up through the field, with Jette taking the bronze medal just ahead of his team mate.

In other categories, Manitoba riders Michael van den Ham (Brandon, MB) and Willem Boersma (Portage la Prairie, MB) dominated the Under 23 and Junior Men races, respectively.

The 2014 Cyclo-cross National Championships have been awarded to Winnipeg, Manitoba.