(Sun Peaks, BC – July 25, 2016) One week after the Canadian MTB XCO Championships, it was the turn of the gravity athletes, at the 2016 Canadian MTB DH Championships, held at Sun Peaks, BC.

Over 230 riders competed at the Championships across multiple age categories, with the Elite titles going to Miranda Miller of Squamish, BC, for the women, and Kirk McDowall (Dunbar Cycles) of Anmore, BC, for the men.

After qualifying in fourth place, Miller stepped it up for the final, finishing with a time of five minutes and 44.72 seconds to successfully defend the Elite Women’s title. Georgia Astle of Whistler, BC, who set the fastest time of the weekend in qualifying, had to settle for silver, 3.17 seconds behind Miller. Claire Buchar of Whistler, BC, was third, a further 0.06 seconds back. In the Junior women’s category, Stephanie Denroche (C4 Rider Training Inc.) of Whistler, BC, was the top rider.

“The track was pretty good and long, which I like,” said Miller. “It was getting pretty blown out towards the end of the weekend, so I took it a little more cautiously. A massive thank you to the organizers, the new track was pretty sick!”

In the Elite men, Kirk McDowall was clearly the fastest, setting the only sub-5 minute time in qualifying. In the National Championship final, his winning margin was less then half a second over Mark Wallace (Devinci Global Racing), with McDowall recording four minutes and 55.03 seconds, and Wallace only 0.59 seconds back. Max Scharf (Skookum Cycle and Ski Ltd) of Salmon Arm, BC, took the bronze medal, over eight seconds behind McDowall. In the Junior men’s competition, World Cup leader Finnely Iles (Specialized Gravity p/b SRAM) was head and shoulders above the competition, with a time that would have put him third among the Elite men.

“I was saying that it was probably the hardest run I’ve ever done,” commented McDowell. “It started off pretty wild, but I knew that I had to dial it back and settle down for the bottom section. I’m hoping this opens up the option for me to go to Worlds. I’m really stoked about the new track, it’s pretty awesome.”

Event organizer Henry Pejril said: “We are proud to have been able to host the Canadian Downhill National Championships for a three-year sanction. We can’t thank the resort corporation enough for building a completely new downhill course specifically for this final event. Trail boss James Jeffries and his crew created a technical course designed to challenge riders’ skills. We are thrilled to be back to the technical 5+ minute course Sun Peaks has been famous for. The event went smoothly and on time, working with mountain staff was fantastic, the weather cooperated, no major injuries and by all accounts the riders really enjoyed the course and venue. What a great way to celebrate our 20th anniversary of organizing races at Sun Peaks!”

(Panorama, BC – July 18, 2016) The 2016 Canada Cup Downhill series moved out West to Panorama, BC, for the third round on Sunday, with new winners in both the men’s and women’s categories. Georgia Astle of Whistler, BC, took the women’s win, while Kirk McDowall (Dunbar Cycles) of Anmore, BC, was the men’s winner.

Panorama has hosted multiple Canada Cups and national championships in the past, and is known for its rough, rooty and dusty run.

In the women’s race, Astle, riding in her first Canada Cup race of the season, won with a time of 3:57.92, finishing 5.22 seconds ahead of Claire Buchar of Whistler, BC. Vaea Verbeeck (Rocky Mountain/Hope Tech) finished third, 19.98 seconds back. Kyleigh Stewart (Liv Giant Canada) was the top Junior woman, with a time fast enough for fourth among the Elite women.

Skye Follas of Fergus, Ontario, continues to lead the overall standings, despite not attending Panorama, after finishing first and second in the first two rounds. Follas, a Junior rider, has 375 points, followed by Nicole Soulsby of Vancouver, BC, is second in the standings with 330 points, followed by Sarah Konefal (Equipe Laferte/Trou du Diable) of Montreal, Quebec, at 295 points.

In the men’s race, McDowall finished with a time of 3:18.58, 3.76 seconds ahead of Forrest Riesco (Intense/Fox/Raceface/Ryders) of Gibsons, BC. Matthew Beer (OGC/Intense/Fox) of North Vancouver, BC, was third, 5.38 seconds behind. Magnus Manson (Devinci Global Racing) of Schelt, BC, was the top Junior at 3:24.87, a time fast enough for fourth in Elite men.

Hugo Langevin (Cycles Performance) of Bromont, Quebec, leads the men’s standings with 444 points, after winning the first two rounds. Sidney Slotegraaf (Dunbar Cycles/Transition) of Squamish, BC is second with 415 points, followed by Junior-aged Adam Robbins (Eastern States Cup North American Downhill Team) of London, Ontario, in third, at 355 points.

The Canada Cup Downhill series concludes in Whistler, BC, with the fourth and final event, on August 20th.

(Baie-Saint-Paul, QC – July 16, 2016) Eight National titles were awarded on Saturday at the 2016 Canadian MTB XCO Championships, in Baie-Saint-Paul, Quebec. The marquee Elite titles were won by Emily Batty (Trek Factory Racing) of Brooklin, Ontario, for the women, and Derek Zandstra (Scott-3Rox), of Trenton, Ontario, for the men.

The 5.9-kilometre circuit challenged both the technical skills and endurance of the riders, in hot and humid conditions. Riders had little chance to recover from the climbs before having to focus on the technical descents, covered in roots and rocks.

Batty, who will represent Canada at the Rio Olympic Games, came into the women’s race as the favourite, after a bronze medal performance at the world championships two weeks earlier. She and Sandra Walter (Liv Giant), of Coquitlam, BC, dropped the rest of the field on the first lap, and then Batty rode Walter off her wheel to record her second national title. Cindy Montambault (Equipe du Quebec), of Val-David, Quebec, took the bronze medal.

“It’s been a few years since I’ve been here in Baie-Saint-Paul, so it was fun to be back,” said Batty. “It’s a unique course and you always have to be focussed. I was able to pull off a good result, but unfortunately [defending champion] Catharine [Pendrel] decided not to race, and I was looking forward to that battle. But I still had a great race, so I’m happy.”

The Elite men’s race quickly came down to three riders – Zandstra, defending champion Raphael Gagne (Cannondale 360Fly p/b Sugoi) of Quebec City, and Leandre Bouchard (Cyclone d’Alma-Devinci) of Alma, Quebec. By the halfway mark, Gagne was falling back, since he is still recovering form illness, leaving just Zandstra and Bouchard at the front. Zandstra was riding aggressively at the front on all the climbs, and opened a gap on Bouchard with a lap and a half to go, extending his lead through the final lap to finish 42 seconds in front. Geoff Kabush (Scott-3Rox) of Courtney, BC, overtook Gagne on the final lap for the bronze medal.

“I had some good feelings going into the this,” stated Zandstra. “Training has been going really well, and the whole race, right from the go, the pace felt light to me. So on the second lap I took the lead on the big climb and really pushed the pace. It felt really good and I could see I was getting gaps on the climb, so I knew as long as I was in front on the climb at the end, I could get it.”

In other championship races, Peter Disera (Team Ontario) of Barrie, Ontario, took the men’s Under-23 title, and Catharine Fleury (Cyclone d’Alma) of Alma, Quebec won the Under-23 women. In the Junior category (17-18 years), Sean Fincham (Cycling BC) of Squamish, BC, was the men’s champion and Emily Handford (Rocky Mountain Factory) of West Vancouver, BC, won the women’s title. Roxane Vermette (Equipe du Quebec) of Mont-Ste-Anne, Quebec, won the Cadet women’s title and Tyler Clark (Team Ontario) of Orillia, Ontario, was the Cadet men’s champion.

(Lenzerheide, SUI – July 10, 2016) Canadian riders had to fight back from mechanical problems at Round 4 of the Mountain Bike World Cup in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, on Sunday. Catharine Pendrel of Kamloops, BC, and Emily Batty of Brooklin, ON, finished seventh and eight, respectively, in the Elite women’s race, while Leandre Bouchard of Alma, QC, was 18th in Elite men. On Saturday, Finnley Iles of Whistler, BC, won the Junior Men’s Downhill, and currently leads the overall standings.

Pendrel, ranked second overall in the World Cup going into Lenzerheide, was one of three leaders in the women’s race before crashing on a descent and damaging her saddle, causing her to lose places as she made her way to the Tech Zone. Batty, the bronze medalist at the world championships a week earlier, flatted on the first lap, dropping back into the mid-20s, before battling her way back into the top-10. Jenny Rissveds of Sweden was the winner, followed by World Cup overall leader Annika Lagvad of Denmark.

“Annika and I had gotten away from Jenny on the climb and then on the next descents I got my front wheel caught in a hole and went down twisting my saddle to 90 degrees,” explained Pendrel. “I couldn’t fix it, so had to ride it to the tech zone, losing four or so positions, but was still in the game. I was fine after the crash; hurt my right hand a bit but nothing serious. I was riding in fifth with Maja [Wloszczowska, Poland] and Alessandra [Keller, Switzerland] when again another unfocused crash allowed them to get away. Frustrating but the form is there.”

For Batty, it was a frustrating start to the race. “The flat happened on the first downhill,” Batty said. “As I was moving up, I was pushed off my line by another rider and I hit a stump with my rear tire. It cut the sidewall of the tire instantly. I ended up riding it to the Tech Zone but lost a lot of time and energy. It’s unfortunate because I felt even better then World Championships. I’m also motivated for a strong finish in the World Cup this season. I was focused on every spot I could get after I flatted. It was really bad timing but I was able to work my way close to the podium and collect as many points is I could given the circumstances.”

Pendrel remains second in the overall standings, but is now 156 points behind Denmark’s Annika Langvad, while Batty drops from fourth to seventh, 311 points back.

In the Elite men’s race, Bouchard steadily worked his way up through the field to 13th place in the final lap, before suffering a flat. The result is still Bouchard’s third top-20 of the season in the World Cup, and moves him up from 32nd to 28th in the overall standings. Nino Schurter of Switzerland won, ahead of Julien Absalon of France.

“I started well but the first lap is pretty short and I had no passing opportunities when the race hit the first climb,” said Bouchard. “I was around 25th, in a big group at the start of the climb. Then, I started picking off places, catching [Australian champion] Dan McConnell’s wheel and moving up really well. On the last lap, I flatted while I was still with Dan [who finished 11th]. I lost a few spots, but I’m still really happy about how strong I rode, and it was my best finish position ever in a World Cup!”

(Ottawa, ON – July 3, 2016) Canada concluded the 2016 Mountain Bike World Championships on Sunday, in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, with a top-20 finish in the Elite men category for Rio-bound athlete Leandre Bouchard of Alma, Quebec. In the Under-23 women’s competition, Catherine Fleury of Alma, Quebec, finished 22nd.

Fleury, who is racing for the first time after injuring her ankle in a crash at a German World Cup event in May, rode consistently around 20th all race, dropping a couple of spots in the last lap. Jenny Rissveds of Sweden was the winner. Other Canadian results include Frederique Trudel of Breakeyville, Quebec, in 25th, and Soren Meeuwisse of Orillia, Ontario, in 30th.

“I haven’t raced since Albstadt [World Cup], and with my ankle it was hard to run on some of the steep climbs. I gave everything that I had for today. I’m a little bit disappointed about my result and how I felt out there, but days like this happen, and for me it was today.”

Bouchard, who started well back in the men’s 104 rider field, moved into the top-30 on the start lap and then steadily took a few more spots each lap. Nino Schurter of Switzerland successfully defended his title, finishing five minutes and four seconds in front of Bouchard. Other Canadian results include Derek Zandstra of Trenton, Ontario, in 33rd, Andrew L’Esperance (Halifax, NS) in 53rd, Raphael Gagne (Quebec, QC) in 54th and Geoff Kabush (Courtenay, BC) in 68th. Evan McNeely (Kingston, ON) did not finish.

“It’s been my best year so far,” said Bouchard. “I was a little bit back at the start because of my plate number [64], but I am normally a good starter, so with the long start loop I knew that I could move up. It feels awesome to be in the top 20. The crowd here is so noisy it just makes you push and push. I’m really happy with this race.”