Emilly Johnston wins wild Crans-Montana short track World Cup
Vancouver Island racer shines in under-23 XCC in Switzerland
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WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series
When the going gets tough, the tough get going, or so the saying goes. Faced with the most technically demanding course of the year and treacherously wet conditions, Emilly Johnston dug in to take her career-first first World Cup win in Friday’s under-23 XCC in Crans-Montana.
The Crans-Montana course is making it’s debut this year on the World Cup circuit. It is also making headlines for how difficult it is. While Friday’s Short Track didn’t include all the course features, it sure wasn’t easy. Especially with rain soaking the course.
Johnston, though, has earned a reputation for her technical abilities this year. At both of the first two World Cup rounds, the Canadian was caught on the live feed making passes mid-rock garden or, in Araxa, mid-air. Those skills already earned the Vancouver Island racer a string of podiums, in XCC and XCO.
In Crans-Montana, Johnston takes the win. It’s her first World Cup win in either race format.
Johnston attacked on the second last lap in Crans-Montana, escaping a leading trio of Madigan Munro (Trek Factory Racing) and Carla Hahn (Lexware). Hahn would surge to take second place ahead of Munro.
Ella MacPhee (Pivot Cycles-OTE) finished 11th and Marin Lowe (Pittstop Racing) 15th in the 40 rider field, making for an impressive showing all-round for the Canadians.
Under-23 men’s XCC
In the under-23 men’s short track, the Riley show continued. The U.S. duo of Riley Amos (Trek Factory Racing) and Bjorn Riley (Trek Future Racing) are dominating this year’s U23 World Cup, XCO and XCC, often finishing 1-2.
This week, it was Amos, the current U23 XCC World Cup leader, taking the win ahead of Bjorn Riley. Luca Martin (Orbea Factory Team) of France rounding out the podium in third.
Cole Punchard (Pivot Cycles-OTE) leads the Canadian men in 17th. Owen Clark followed in 21st and Zorak Paillé (Pivot Cycles-OTE) 24th.
