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Canadian Downhill national championships land at Panorama Mountain Resort

Canada's best to contest for maple leaf jerseys at classic B.C. venue

Canadian Mark Wallace pinning it in front of the home crowd at 2017 Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup . Photo: Matt Stetson

Panorama Mountain Resort is all set to host 2018 Canadian Downhill national championships this weekend. The classic B.C. venue is familiar

“We are very excited to cap off a solid block of western DH racing at Panorama Mountain Resort for the 2018 edition of the DH Canadian Championships,” said Josh Peacock, Competitions Coordinator at Cycling Canada. “Known as one of Canada’s most iconic DH race venues, riders should expect a top-notch race course, which promises to create some tight competition for the maple leaf jersey.”

Cycling Canada is expecting a strong field to turn up for the 2018 championship event, including World Cup regulars Mark Wallace (Canyon Factory Racing), Magnus Manson, Henry Fitzgerald (Norco Factory Racing), world champion Miranda Miller (Specialized Factory Racing) and rising Quebec downhill talent Rachel Pageau (Devinic Unior Racing).

Canadian Vaea Verbeeck on her way to winning 2018 Redwoods Downhill at Crankworx Rotorua. Credit: Fraser Britton / Crankworx 2018

Defending Men’s champion Kirk McDowall (Dunbar Cycles) will be looking to defend his title in Panorama, wile 2016 Women’s champion Vaea Verbeeck will try to get back to the podium’s top step. Verbeeck’s strong start to 2018 was sidelined temporarily after a crash at Crankworx Rotorua, but the B.C.-based rider is back on the bike and set to compete.

Also on the line will be current Canada Cup DH series leaders Hugo Langevin (Devinci Development) and Piper Allman, though the young Sooke, B.C. rider is too young to contest the Elite championship title.

Seeding runs take place Saturday, 28 July, while the championship races for all categories begin Sunday, 29 July. Along with the Elite (19+) titles, there will be Under-17, Junior (17-18), and Masters age group categories vying for maple leaf jerseys at Panorama Mountain Resort in B.C. this weekend.