Canada Cup DH champs crowned in thrilling return to Sun Peaks

Canada Cup racing’s return to Sun Peaks Resort could not have been much more dramatic if it had been scripted. Both elite men’s and women’s titles were decided on Sunday, coming down to the final runs of a long Canada Cup race season. A crash in seeding for Gabe Neron made the men’s race all the more thrilling, as he dropped in at the opposite end of the start list from overall rival, Patrick Laffey.

Elite men: Win and season go down to the wire at Sun Peaks

Gabe Neron rolled into Sun Peaks with the Canada Cup leader’s jersey on his shoulders, but not firmly in his grasp. Patrick Laffey sat second in the rankings and, with just 52 points separating him from Neron, was within striking distance should anything go wrong. With winning times barely cracking five minutes on the long, Sun Peaks course, there was plenty of time on track for a race run to go sideways.

Neron had a taste of this when he shattered a wheel during his seeding run on Saturday. While seeding isn’t worth any points in Canada Cup racing (unlike World Cup), it did mean that Neron would be the first elite man to drop in for Sunday’s finals, putting him at the opposite end of the start list from Laffey.

With the crash, Neuron was in an unfamiliar position. Not just on the start grid, but on the course.

“I only did one top to bottom before this, which was this morning. Which is a bit unusual,” the 2022 national champ admitted after the race, adding “That made me a little bit nervous.”

Despite not having much time on track this weekend, Neron did have several years of working at Sun Peaks to lean on for his race run on Sunday. Being first to drop in automatically put the Dunbar/Corsa race in the hot seat but, with a blistering-fast 4:46.71 time that was a handful of seconds faster than anyone else had managed so far over the weekend, it was a strong time. Now all Neron could do was wait as rider after rider dropped in to challenge his time.

“It was very very nerve-racking. I think both being at the top being the last guy down is nerve-wracking, but also sitting at the bottom on the hot seat when you know there are fast people coming down. It was full of emotions!”

By the end of the elite men’s race, four more racers would break five minutes, including Patrick Laffey. The last to drop in, Laffey was dangerously close to Neron’s time at each of the three split times on course. With the third, he drew under one second. With a wild leap toward the finish, Laffey crossed the line with a 4:47.58, just 0.87 seconds off the win.

That gives Gabe Neron a second consecutive Canada Cup win this summer, after his win in Kicking Horse last weekend, as well as the 2023 elite men’s Canada Cup downhill title. Laffey holds on to second on Sunday and for the season. Jack Pelland finishes third, with a 4:56.94 pushing returning champ Matt Beer into fourth, and also holds his position in the series. Beer and Hayden Wynter, the only other two elites to break five minutes, earn spots on the extended podium.

Elite women: Ijurko claims win and overall title

Ainhoa Ijurko carried a slightly stronger lead coming into Sun Peaks, but Eva Leikermoser still had a chance to take the title. Fastest in seeding, though was Forbidden Synthesis pro enduro racer Emmy Lan. With a long break in the Enduro World Cup calendar, the Comox racer had plenty of time back on the big bike in Canada and at world championships.

On Sunday, Lan again led through the first three splits on course. In a three-way battle of Vancouver Islanders (two current, one future), the young Comox enduro racer looked poised to claim a second Canada Cup win this year.

At the finish line, though, it was Ijurko in the lead. After nearly 5:55.55, the Squamish racer led by a narrow 2.02 seconds to win the Sun Peaks Canada Cup.

“It went really smooth, I don’t think you could get a perfect run on this track,” Ijurko said after her win on the long Sun Peaks course. “It got very rough and there were a lot of holes, but I’m happy with how it went.”

Lan would hold on for second after a crash on the lower part of the course. Leikermoser places third, also exactly 2.02 seconds ahead of fourth-place finisher Julia Long. Nicole Kennedy takes fifth.

With a third Canada Cup win this season, adding to wins at Silverstar and Panorama, Ijurko is the 2023 elite women’s downhill Canada Cup champion. For the Squamish racer, the Canada Cup overall victory highlights both a return to Sun Peaks and a return to form after a rocky off-season.

“It’s been such an emotional roller coaster,” Ijurko said of her road to the season title. “Just because I’m coming back from injury and surgery. It’s been so good to get back on the bike and get confident again. I’m very happy it’s going how it’s going.”

Leikermoser’s third place at Sun Peaks is enough to keep her in second place in the overall standings. Lan finishes third in the 2023 downhill series.

Speedy Juniors and Under-17’s battle for season titles

Sun Peaks again showed off not only Canada’s top elite riders but how much speed the next generation already has. With winning times that rivaled, or in some cases beat most of the pro racers, the future of downhill is looking strong as ever.

Rosaire Waton was the only junior men’s rider to break the five-minute mark at Sun Peaks on Sunday. That earned the Victoria racer the junior men’s Canada Cup and put him among the top elites. Noah Rubuliak brought XC stamina and enduro speed to take second place at 5.30 seconds back. Logan Chapman leapfrogs up the Canada Cup standings in the competitive junior men’s category with a third-place finish at Sun Peaks, ending the season third overall. Griffin Tulk and Sam Toohey rode to fourth and fifth.

Brock Hawes, absent in Sun Peaks, wins the highly competitive junior men’s category with a trio of Canada Cup victories. With a sixth place at Sun Peaks and a consistent season, Cory Fitchett of Kelowna takes second in the series.

In the junior women’s racing, Sofie Lawrence and Natasha Miller were tied in the standings before Sunday’s racing. Lawrence would take a very solid victory, winning the Sun Peaks Canada Cup by 8.12 seconds and, with that, the junior women’s season title. Ruby Dinn finishes second, 1.18 seconds ahead of Kate McKenzie. Rebecca Beaton and Violet Cleland followed in fourth and fifth.

Lawrence takes the junior women’s Canada Cup title. Jorja Macintosh of Calgary, Alta moves into second overall, just 10 points ahead of Miller.

In the under-17 men’s racing, Nanaimo’s Ryder Wilson posted a scorching time of 5:00.99. That was a top-10 overall on the day and very nearly only the seventh rider to break five minutes on the long Sun Peaks course. That earned Wilson the under-17 Canada Cup win, with national champion Anthony Shelly following 2.52 seconds back and Mateo Quist in third. Jaxon Blake and Julian Mountinho round out the top five.

Tayte Proulx-Royds repeated her impressive feat from Kicking Horse, setting the fastest women’s time through traffic early in the day in the under-17 women’s race. Cameron Bragg followed in second, Mhairi Smart third, Maggie Sutherland fourth and Megan Bedard fifth.

Full category and age group results from 2023 Sun Peaks Canada Cup / Dunbar Summer Series #4

While racing was fast and furious at Canada Cup finals, Sun Peaks is currently scheduled to ramp up the excitement in 2024 by hosting Canadian downhill national championships. This year sold out, so keep an eye out for when registration opens next year.