As Camden Rutherfurd blazed through the 1199 track's final turn in Creekside, the last thing he expected to see was fellow U17 rider Luke Stopanski's bike lying across his path like a discarded piece of refuse.
Stopanski had wiped out on the challenging shark-fin feature moments earlier and was trying to gather himself. Audience members held their breaths as Rutherfurd hurtled onward. Nobody could do a thing to avert possible catastrophe except the athletes themselves.
"I came around the corner and I saw [Luke] on the landing trying to move his bike. It was kind of scary," Rutherfurd said. "I tried to jump over him and then get on the gas at the finish line."
Fortunately, Stopanski dragged his vehicle clear at the last moment. Rutherfurd then punched it for what turned out to be the winning time: two minutes and 56.213 seconds.
An ill-timed bobble cost Ryder Wilson a chance of bettering that mark, but the Nanaimo native grabbed silver as the only other boy to get under three minutes (2:59.253). Alex Mallen of the United States somehow held on for bronze despite a crash midway through his run (3:01.596).
"The track was so gnarly, long, hard on the hands," Wilson commented. "I had a spill halfway down—I just slid the front and kind of washed out a little bit. But other than that, it was a clean run.
"I was pushing so hard at the top, trying to get all my lines and hit my pedaling spots right. There were a bunch of big loam holes that just suck up your speed, so I tried to pump over those and gap them."
Do it again
Aletha Ostgaard, too, faced some adversity en route to the top of the podium.
Race officials halted the swift American with a red flag on a flat stretch of dirt. She didn't know why, and admitted to being "pretty upset" for a brief period. Then she was able to calm herself going back up the chairlift.
"I would say it was a pretty good run," Ostgaard remarked about her second attempt. "I'm not going to complain too much. I just thought of [my first try] as a practice run. I told myself: 'Now you know what the course is like. Go do it again.'"
Pretty good is an understatement. Ostgaard (3:34.198) took command of the U17 girls' field, with runner-up Cami Bragg well back (3:43.397). Matilda Henness did all she could to finish third (3:55.518).
"I think I had a fairly good run," noted Bragg. "I didn't make many mistakes, so I'm happy I made it down without crashing. I was still at the top when they called the red flag, so I was fortunate enough to wait in the start gate."
1199 is never an easy day at the office. It is a World Cup course for all intents and purposes, and even the ride-around routes that youngsters use to avoid pro-level elements are difficult in their own right. The burly venue claimed a number of victims on Saturday, including pre-race favourite Tayte Proulx-Royds who was unable to complete her run after crashing.
Still, Ostgaard believes her opposition brings plenty of skill to the table.
"They always seem to push me and they keep me super honest," she said. "If you don't face competitive women, you're going to slack, and they [never let me do that]."
'Pressure is a privilege'
Local kids and their parents know all about Mack Manietta's speed. He's been tearing up regional youth events for years: Kidsworx, Phat Wednesdays and so on. Now he's wasting little time making his presence felt as a U15.
Manietta blasted through his first Canadian Open DH in 3:04.823, looking in no way like a rookie. Chilean Tomas Abrigo settled for silver after occupying the hot seat for much of the day (3:12.634), and Eli Bundy added to Team USA's medal haul with bronze (3:14.706).
"I love the track, and it was probably one of my best race runs: smooth and controlled," said Manietta. "I knew I had the speed, so I went for it."
Adds Manietta's father, Kristian: "One of the top trainers here, Todd Schumlick—who coaches Richie Rude and Aaron Gwin—spoke to Mack the other day and said: 'pressure is a privilege.' I think Mack understands that."
Ruby Wells evidently grasped the assignment too, claiming top prize among U15 girls (3:39.578). Megan Pretorius (3:43.912) and Arleigh Kemp (3:47.893) filled out the top three in that order.
"I thought it was a really fun track, and I was just stoked to be able to ride it," Wells said. "1199 is steep and gnarly, which makes it fun to surf down. I just wanted to have fun and do my best to go as fast as I could."
Other champs from the first day of Canadian Open DH action include George Chapman (senior men), Rafael Webber Pereira (masters men), Shane Gayton (veteran men) and Pip Parr (senior ladies). Full results are available here.
