Dane Jewett paced all Sea to Sky riders in 16th at the Loudenvielle World Cup's junior male competition last weekend. Mikey Delesalle of Vancouver got to 12th, but neither were particularly close to victorious Max Alran (3:31.707), runner-up Tyler Waite (3:33.347) and Luke Wayman in third (3:36.098).
Finn Iles likewise did not perform to his own standards among elite men. The fourth-fastest qualifier came unstuck in an early left-hand turn that dropped him seven seconds off the pace. Despite Iles' best efforts to jump back in the saddle and carry on, he was victimized by another swerving corner and wound up 28th.
It's an underwhelming turn of events for the Whistlerite, who locked up bronze at the recent UCI World Championships in Pal Arinsal, Andorra. Instead, he had to watch Loïc Bruni secure a second consecutive overall world title despite his fourth-place outing.
Bruni's fellow Frenchman, Benoit Coulanges, triumphed in the race itself (3:40.480). Silver went to Reece Wilson of Great Britain (3:42.711) and Austria's Andreas Kolb held on for bronze (3:43.223).
"Oh my God, sick," Bruni told reporters upon learning that he'd won the season series. "I was really happy with today’s performance. We have a bad spell on the World Cup at the moment, we see conditions change on the last minute so it’s quite difficult to deliver proper race runs. I’m really proud of my performance and my team, we tried to stay confident, so super happy.
“Most of the lines were destroyed, so it was a new kind of ride… struggle-bus! I tried to have fun, the crowd was still pretty amazing, so can’t complain. I knew if I could put aside the negativity of failing [at the World Championships] I could keep riding pretty solid, and I think I showed this weekend the pace is good, and even on wet conditions we are not too shabby!”
Ladies' results
Valentina Höll took a rare loss in the elite women's contest, but her second straight overall World Cup crown may go a long way towards assuaging any disappointment she might feel.
Höll (4:06.585) found silver around her neck, but gold landed with Myriam Nicole of France (4:05.440) who gave her hometown fans reason to cheer. British athlete Phoebe Gale did enough to earn bronze (4:10.242).
Tahnee Seagrave's hopes of challenging Höll in the season ranking went up in flames as she crashed amidst dismal conditions partway through her run. Canadians Gracey Hemstreet and Emmy Lan did not make it out of qualifying.
"It’s insane, even if it’s not the conditions I wanted to fight for overall," said Höll in a press release. "It’s the first time I’m happy not starting last. I’m really sorry for Tahnee [Seagrave], she was riding so strong, I hope she’s not injured. On my side I’m really happy and stoked and I can go on holiday next week!
“It’s way more stressful than last year [having close competition for victory], I’m not really enjoying it but it’s a different kind of nerves. When you do your best and it works out at the end, it’s an amazing feeling."
Click here for full results from Loudenvielle.
