Raphaël Gagné victorious at Kenda Cup West, Pendrel third in California heat

Raphaël Gagné (Cannondale 360fly powered by Sugoi) stood on the top step of the podium at the Kenda Cup West in Fontana City, California on April 2. The native of Quebec City won the six lap race over the rocky and dusty course that featured a paved climb.

It was Switzerland’s Nicola Rohrbach (Goldwurst-Power/Felt) who took the early lead on the hot Southern California afternoon in the men’s race. A front group containing Rohrbach, Gagné and Derek Zandstra of Trenton, Ont., formed in the second lap and the trios lead grew heading into the penultimate lap when Rohrbach upped the pace. Gagné put in the decisive attack on the paved climb opening up a ten second gap heading into the singletrack. Despite a strong pursuit by the swiss rider he maintained the gap to the line.

“I’m very happy to start on a good note for my new team,” said Gagne after the podium celebrations. “I always love racing in California. And it’s always fun to race here in Fontana. I was at altitude for ten days, which isn’t a whole lot but certainly helps. And heading into the next two big races in California it’s nice to see that I’m going well in the heat.”

Six Canadians finished in the top 10 of the men’s race with Derek Zandstra (Scott-3 Rox Racing) in third and his teammate Cameron Jette (Scott-3 Rox Racing) in fifth.

“Nobody really wanted to work for the first three to five minutes today which is understandable,” said Gagné. “For that I didn’t mind being at the front for tactical reasons. I had a goal to stay in the top five so with the high winds on the canal side it really helped to keep the front group together. We had good cooperation and everyone pulled. In the end, I’m happy to come away with a nice win.”

The elite women raced earlier in the day and it was Catharine Pendrel (Luna Pro Team) of Fredericton who was the first to attack on the climb in the opening lap. Pendrel was joined by teammate Georgia Gould and Larissa Connors (Team Ridebiker Alliance). The trio led for the remainder of the race. Connors was able to drop the Luna riders and soloed away to the victory. Pendrel finished the race in third.

The race was the third round of the Kenda Cup West. The next race on the U.S. calendar is April 9, in San Dimas, California, for the first round of the US Cup. Each race is important building towards the Olympics for the Canadians vying for a spot on the team that will be sent to the Rio Olympics.

Fontana City cross country brief results
Elite women
1 Larissa Connors (United States) Team Ridebiker Alliance 1:27:51
2 Georgia Gould (United States) Luna Pro Team 1:30:04
3 Catharine Pendrel (Canada) Luna Pro Team 1:31:16
4 Lea Davison (United States) Specialized Factory Racing 1:31:56
5 Kate Courtney (United States) Specialized Factory Racing 1:34:13

Elite men
1 Raphaël Gagné (Canada) Cannondale / 360 Fly; 1:33:28
2 Nicola Rohrbach (Switzerland) Goldwurst Power / Felt 1:33:38
3 Derek Zandstra (Canada) Scott-3 Rox Racing; 1:34:12
4 Todd Wells (United States) SRAM / TLD; 1:37:25
5 Cameron Jette (Canada) Scott-3 Rox Racing 1:29:46