MAX PLAXTON TO RACE CANADA CUP FINALS AT CRANKWORX WHISTLER

Olympian and Two-time Canadian Champion is registered to race in Canada Cup Finals

(Ottawa, ON – August 5, 2013) Two-time Canadian Champion and Olympian Max Plaxton (Sho-Air Cannondale) of Victoria, BC is registered to race the Canada Cup Finals in Whistler, which will be held August 14^th in Whistler. The Canada Cup event is part, for the first time, of the internationally-acclaimed Crankworx mountain bike festival.

The race, which will be held on the Lost Lake Trails at the world-class resort, will be the last one of the 2013 Canada Cup season, proclaiming the newest Canada Cup Champion.

“It’s always good to race at home, in your province. I don’t get the chance that often to race close to home, especially in such a beautiful place like Whistler. In addition, it’s great preparation for the upcoming world championships in South Africa. I’m really excited about this race on the west coast, and it would be nice to have this event become a fixture on the Canada Cup circuit year after year,” said Max Plaxton, Olympian and two-time Canadian Champion.

The leaders entering this final race of the 2013 Canada Cup Series are Antoine Caron (Specialized Racing) and Sandra Walter (Liv/Giant Canada), who both won medals at the recent Canadian Championships, in the elite categories, and Félix Burke and Canadian Champion Rachel Pageau in the junior categories.

Caron, with 485 points, currently has a 75 points lead over Evan McNeely (Norco Factory) in second place of the Elite Men category, while American racer Stephen Ettigner (BMC Mountain Bike) sits in third with 400 points. Evan Guthrie, who is already registered, could ride away with the title with a strong performance in Whistler, currently sitting in fourth at 350 points.

In the women’s Elite standings, Walter is enjoying a perfect season at 600 points. Her closest competitor is Andréanne Pichette (OPUS) with 505 points, while Frédérique Trudel (Specialized Racing Canada) is sitting third at 415 points. It will take a very strong performance for Pichette to dislodge the perfect Walter from the top spot, but her second place is not guaranteed with a roaring Trudel, in her rookie season in the elite category, still within reach of the second place.

The tightest race might very well be within the junior men category, with three riders separated by only 50 points. Félix Burke (CVM 2 Vals) is leading with 255 points, but not too close is the red-hot Peter Disera (Team Ontario / CSAJCC p/b Norco) with 230 points. In third comes Félix Belhumeur (Lessard Bicycles). All three have just been named to the Canadian team headed to the World Championships in South Africa.

The women’s junior race is currently an all-Quebec affair, with the current Junior Canadian Champion Rachel Pageau (Club Cycle D’alma / Ekoi Devinci) leading the pack with 285 points. Marine Lewis is sitting in second place with only 15 points separating her from the top spot of the series. Sarah-Claudie Dostie-Ménard (CVM ProCycle Hull/Aylmer-Specialized) is sitting in third place, with 200 points

Registration recently opened for the Canadian Open XC / Canada Cup Final. All race information can be available at the following event page: http://www.crankworx.com/whistler/events/canada-cup-xc

Current rankings – 2013 Canada Cup XC Mountain Bike

• Men Elite: https://cyclingcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/2013-Canada-Cup-Rankings-EM-XC-July-151.pdf
• Women Elite: https://cyclingcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/2013-Canada-Cup-Rankings-EW-XC-July-15.pdf
• Men Junior: https://cyclingcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/2013-Canada-Cup-Rankings-MJ-July-15.pdf
• Women Junior: https://cyclingcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/2013-Canada-Cup-Ranking-WJ-XC-July-15.pdf

Although the race is sanctioned by the UCI and Cycling Canada, every participants will be able to take part to the Crankworx mountain bike festival as a complimentary event licence will be provided by Crankworx in collaboration with Cycling BC. All the cycling community for Whistler and Vancouver area will have the chance to ride this amazing course alongside of Olympians.