St. John and Elliott look for strong performances at cyclocross nationals in B.C.

Ottawa’s Derrick St. John and Natasha Elliott are preparing for strong performances at the Canadian cyclocross championships held on Nov. 30 in South Surrey, B.C. The husband and wife team are ready to handle the varied course conditions that go along with typically unpredictable west coast weather.

“As a Canadian, any time you go to a nationals you always have huge expectations,” said St. John, who races with Stevens Racing-The Cyclery. “The thought of a good ride landing you the prestige of wearing the maple-leaf jersey is really exciting.”

Elliott, who races with Rare Vos Racing-Stevens, has struggled with a series of injuries and illness. Despite these setbacks, she’s had a successful cyclocross season with podium performances at the Full Moon Vista Cyclocross at Ellison Park, and top-10 places at Green Mountain Cyclocross Weekend and Cycle-Smart International, which is organized by her new coach Adam Myerson.

“My goal is to do as best as possible on the day,” Elliott said. “This season has been a big change for me and what I have accomplished this far, on and off the race course, I am very happy with.

“Having Adam build my training plan has just built my confidence even more. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens over the next few seasons the more we work together.”

Last year, St. John earned the bronze medal, finishing the championship race behind winner Geoff Kabush (Scott-3Rox Racing) and Chris Sheppard (Rocky Mountain Bicycles). He’s looking forward to competing alongside a top-notch field again next Saturday.

“I just want to have a really good day,” St. John said. “I also want all the guys that can win to show up and be on their A game. One of the most valuable lessons I have learned from racing my bike is that if you want to be a champion, you want all the guys to show up. You never want to win by default. You want to win because you were your best and that was just a bit better than anyone else on that day.”

The championships are held for the second consecutive year at the South Surrey Athletic Park, but on a brand new course. St. John says he doesn’t know what to expect of the new design.

“It looks like there are a lot of punchy sections, which is usually good for me, but it’s hard to tell when you look at the course profile online,” he said. “Last year’s course wasn’t really suited to my style but I managed to ride well.”

Elliott is a versatile rider and welcomes all types of weather and course conditions. “I don’t think I really have a specific type of terrain that favours me,” she said. “People in New England say I’m really good in mud, but I’ve also won races that are dry and fast. Whatever the conditions, I don’t think I’m at an advantage or a disadvantage to any other racer. I’ll just travel with both dry and mud tires and then see what the forecast brings us, not really hoping for one or the other.”