Ontario mountain bikers took full advantage of their home trail advantage at the first Canada Cup cross country race of the season on June 10, winning every division. A strong core of B.C. and Whistler riders managed to keep it close, however, and two made it to the podium.
Whistler’s Chad Miles, racing with the 50 kilometre Senior Elite Men, finished second to Ontario’s Seamus McGrath just 25.7 seconds back of McGrath’s time of two hours five minutes 10 seconds. Quebec’s Mathieu Toulouse was third, and Andreas Hestler of Victoria, a World Cup and Olympic racer, was fourth out of 78 competitors.
Michael Boehm, another Whistler rider, was one of 16 competitors who didn’t finish the race because of crashes or technical problems.
Ontario’s Chrissy Redden, another World Cup and Olympic racer, won the 38 km Senior Elite Women category with a time of 1:52:29 – three minutes ahead of Marie-Helene Premont of Quebec. They were followed by five B.C. racers, four of them from Victoria. Trish Sinclair, Claire Townsend Linda Robichaud, and Clare Hall-Patch were third, fourth, fifth and seventh, and Vancouver’s Wendy Simms was sixth.
Whistler’s Lisa Dickson finished in eleventh out of the 36 competitors that started the race.
Will Routley, another Whistler racer, finished in fourth in the 38 km Junior Expert Men, less than two minutes back of the winner. Martin Lazarski of Ontario won the category with a time of 1:43:51. Frederic Bussierres and Julien Fillion of Quebec were second and third.
In the 38 km Master Expert 30 to 39 Men’s category, Whistler’s Shawn Greenaway finished in seventh place out of 41 racers, four and a half minutes off the lead.
Tony Routley, Will Routley’s father, finished in second in the 32 km Master Expert 40 to 49 race, just 18 seconds back of Ontario’s Glen Laycock.
The Canada Cup racing season continues this weekend with downhill, dual slalom and cross country races at Mont Tremblant.
