Jenn Jackson and Carter Woods lead Canadian elites at Fayetteville US Cup
CHC Armada duo Owen Clark and Cole Punchard go 1-2 in U23 men's XCO
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Owen Clark / Instagram
Canadian had a fast and early start to a big weekend of US Cup racing on Wednesday in Fayetteville, Ark. Across categories, six Canucks earned hardware in the first UCI C1 cross country race of a three-race stand in Arkansas.
In the elite races, Jenn Jackson and Carter Woods were the top Canadian finishers, earning matching bronze medals. Owen Clark and Cole Punchard landed a huge 1-2 finish in the under-23 men’s XCO while Ella MacPhee and Marin Lowe added more podiums in the under-23 and junior women’s races.
Elite Men and Women
Big names showed up in Fayetteville for the men’s and women’s US Cup racing, making for fast racing from the gun. Kate Courtney (Scott-SRAM) and Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing), both with a world championship in at least one discipline to their name, took top honours in the women’s and men’s XCO races.
Elite Women
Courtney rocketed away from the field in a huge solo effort, finishing 1:57 ahead of second-place finisher Savilia Blunk (Rockrider Racing Team). Jenn Jackson (Liv Factory Racing) followed in third, beating out Gwen Gibson (Trek Factory Racing) and Kelsey Urban (Team 31 Ibis) for the final medal placing.
Haley Smith (Maxxis Factory Team) was the next Canadian across the line in seventh. Juliette Tetreault, Laurie Arseneault (Pittstop Racing), Roxane Vermette, and Emma Olson finished 12th-15th, the final placings to earn UCI points.
Elite Men
Blevins battled to the line for his win in Arkansas, finishing on the same second as Trek Factory Racing’s Riley Amos. Carter Woods (Giant Factory Racing) spent much of the race with that group before finishing 12 seconds back in third.
Canadians put in a fast showing in Fayetteville, taking nine of the top 15 spots on Wednesday. Gunnar Holmgren (Pivot Cycles-OTE), Sean Fincham (Berria Vittoria), and Tyler Orschel (ZeroUno) placed fourth to sixth. Quinton Disera (Pivot Cycles-OTE), Léandre Bouchard (Forresco Holdings ProCo RL) and Peter Disera (Pivot Cycles-OTE) followed close behind in ninth through 11th. Victor Verreault (Forresco Holdings ProCo RL) finished 15th.
Under-23 speed
CHC Armada landed a Canadian 1-2 finish in the under-23 men’s XCO, with Owen Clark taking the win ahead of teammate Cole Punchard. Jack Spranger (Bear National) put the U.S.A. on the board in third.
Zorak Paille (Pittstop Racing) was the next Canadian across the line, finishing 20th in the huge 64-rider u-23 men’s field. Zachary Brunelle in 21st, Dylan Kerr in 23rd, Simon Ruelland in 24th and Noah Ramsay in 25th rounded out the Canadians in the top-25.
On the women’s side, Ella MacPhee (Charge BCXC) earned a silver for Canada in the under-23 XCO. The B.C. racer finished behind the U.S.A.’s Sofia Waite, with Lauren Aggeler rounding out the podium.
Jocelyn Stel in sixth, Ophelie Grandmont in seventh, and Marie-Fay St.Onge in ninth joined MacPhee in the top-10 of the under-23 women’s XCO.
Junior racing
Marin Lowe (Stimulus-Orbea) added another podium finish for the Canadian crowd, finishing third in the junior women’s XCO. That race was won by the U.S.A.’s Andelyn Aagard with Vida Lopes de san Roman in second.
Anabelle Drouin squeezed into the top 10 in seventh for Canada. Mia de Martin followed in 14th, Mathilde Roldan 16th and Samuelle Courcelles in 21st round out the Canadian effort.
Jacob Roy was the top Canadian finisher in the junior men’s race, placing 10th. Mika Comaniuk followed close behind in 12th. Ian Ackert, Maxime St.Onge and Oskar Stack-Michasiw finished 15th through 17th, with Nathan Huber in 19th of of 92 junior men starting on Wednesday.
US Cup Racing continues on Friday in Fayetteville, with the elite men’s and women’s XCC. UCI racing wraps up on Saturday with the second XCO event, while amateur categories keep trucking with more racing on Sunday.
