Bear Mountain Canada Cup Weekend – Junior and Short Track racing

Over the Easter long weekend Canada’s best cross country athletes gathered together at the Bear Mountain Resort for the first round of Canada Cup racing for 2018. Catharine Pendrel (Cliff Pro Team) and Andrew L’Esperance (Forward Racing) came away from the weekend with well deserved wins, Pendrel after a long solo ride while L’Esperance fought fought till the closing meters for his win.

While the elite race usually attracts the most attention, it wasn’t the only event taking place in Victoria. Large fields made for excellent juniors races, with the arrival of a strong group of American’s in the elite and junior fields making for a crowd at the front end of all the weekends race. The event was also the first time a U17 event has had Canada Cup designation, and the young guns that showed up to contest the event made the most of the opportunity to show their speed.

RELATED: Pendrel, L’Esperance claim first Canada Cup wins of 2018 at Bear Mountain

Racing carried over into Sunday with a Short Track XC (XCC) race, giving racers a chance to experience the newest addition to the UCI World Cup calendar. Mixing age groups for Sunday’s events gave the younger age groups the chance to rub elbows with the senior athletes, which they showed they were none too shy to do.

Bear Mountain Canada Cup Junior Women’s XCO – Saturday  March 31

In the Junior Women’s race, Équipe du Quebec took the reigns from go, with three athletes emerging from the start loop at the front of the race. Nearing end of the first lap, Mireille Larose-Gingras was pushing to open a small gap over teammate Marianne Theberge and Madeline Robbins of Team USA. The duo from la belle province were able to distance the American by the races end, with Larose-Gingras holding off Theberge to take the first win of the cross country season and the Canada Cup leaders jersey.

Bear Mountain Canada Cup Junior Men’s XCO – Saturday  March 31

A strong international presence animated the Junior Men’s race, with a large number of American’s making the trip to Vancouver Island for the UCI sanctioned event. It was Denmark’s Markus Heuer, though, pushing the pace early on and pulling Squamish, B.C.’s Holden Jones (Cycling BC / Pendrel Racing Development) and a trio of Team USA youth along with him. Heuer continued to set a blistering tempo on the front, shedding the American Juniors one by one, while Jones, who placed 3rd at last years world championships in Cairns, Aus., waited patiently on his wheel. Behind, a hard charging Carter Woods (Dodge City Cycles / Rocky Mountain Bikes) was bridging up to Heuer, Jones, and Kevin Vermaerke (Team USA) of Rancho Santa Marga, Cali., eventually catching on to form a group of four.  Taking advantage of Heuer’s early work, Jones sprinted for the win with Woods behind him in second, forcing the Dane to settle for third. Vermaerke had trailed off in the last lap to finish 40 seconds back in fourth.

Bear Mountain Cycling BC Women’s Short Track XCC – Saturday  March 31

On Sunday, the U17’s and juniors had their chance to mix in with the U23’s and elites for the debut the new Short Track XCC format. The younger generation showed they’re not waiting around, and not intimidated by their more experienced elders, pushing the elite’s in the men’s and women’s races. In the Women’s race, U17 Vancouver Islander Emilly Johnston (Trek BC Devo) fought her way onto the podium behind elite racers Cindy Montambault (Équipe du Quebec / Trek) and Dana Gilligan (Team Ontario). Montambault took an early lead and continued opening her advantage to the finish, while a battle for second was being fought behind her. Gilligan was able to separate herself from a small chasing group to cross the line alone in second, with the Johnston behind her in third. It was Johnston’s second podium of the weekend, having won Saturday’s U17 women’s Canada Cup race ahead of Juliette Larose-Gingras (Équipe du Quebec / Sigma Assurances) and Nicole Bradbury (NCCH).

Bear Mountain Cycling BC Men’s Short Track XCC – Saturday  March 31

In the Men’s elite race Léandre Bouchard (KMC-Ekoï-SR Suntour) followed Evan Guthrie’s blistering holeshot start to pull into the lead by the end of the first lap. After two laps, he had soloed away to an advantage just shy of 10 seconds. Four laps still remained, though, and junior racers Holden Jones and Carter Woods were working well together to slowly reel in Bouchard. Behind them, Sean Fincham (Forward Racing) was also closing in on the front of the race. Everyone came back together over the course of the final lap, with Carter and Fincham opening a small gap to Jones, but not quite able to catch Bouchard until it was too late. In the end, Bouchard had timed his effort perfectly, crossing the line a single second ahead of Woods, who edged out Fincham by less than a bike length, with Jones rolling across in fourth seconds later.

With a first in the XCC adding to a second in Saturday’s elite XCO race, Bouchard now heads to Australia’s Gold Coast for the Commonwealth Games. He’ll be joined there by Emilly Batty (Trek Factory Racing) and Haley Smith (Norco Factory Racing), who finished fourth and second, respectively, in Saturday’s racing. Wood’s second was a repeat of his junior placing the day prior, making for a successful start to the young Vancouver Islander’s season.