Canadian team for Mont-Sainte-Anne world championships revealed
See who will be representing the maple leaf when UCI mountain bike world championships returns to Canada this August
A huge team of 71 riders will represent Canada when the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships return to Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec this August.
The historic Canadian venue has a long tradition of hosting world-class mountain bike races. Now, with 2019 worlds, it will become the first venue to host the event three times.
“Racing at a home at the World Championships is always a special honour,” said Head Coach Dan Proulx. “We’re excited to race on a track that we know well – one of the most technical and demanding tracks in the world.”
Among the athletes set to fly the maple leaf are world champions, national champions, rising Canadian talents and, for the first time ever, a team of e-mtb racers.
Two time world champion and 2016 Olympic bronze medallist Catharine Pendrel will lead a strong Canadian cross country team. Emily Batty and Haley Smith and Pendrel have all been on the World Cup podium in the last two years. Batty finished her year last year with a bronze at 2019 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships. On the men’s side, elite cross country national champion Peter Disera has been riding close to the podium all season, and will be looking to make the final step up at home in Canada.
In the downhill races, former junior world champion Finn Iles will be looking to capture his first elite rainbow jersey. The Canadian national champion will be joined by Miranda Miller, the 2017 downhill world champion, who is making a brief return to DH from her new focus on the Enduro World Series. Recently crowned Queen of Crankworx and reigning elite women’s national champion Vaea Verbeeck will be racing along side Miller and Iles.
These elite athletes will be joined by a large huge crew of aspiring and accomplished under-23 and junior racers. Many already have international results coming into Mont-Sainte-Anne. Among these talented young riders, the junior men’s downhill squad stands out. Between them, they’ve put the Canadian flag on nearly every World Cup podium so far in 2019. Canadian national champion Seth Sherlock rolls into MSA straight off his first World Cup win, in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Returning to world championships alongside Sherlock is 2018 junior men’s downhill bronze medallist, Elliot Jamieson.
“Obviously we hope to see Canadians on the podium here, but more importantly we’re looking for athletes to improve on their personal best and come away with even greater ambition to compete with the best riders in the world. This competition will provide an incredible incentive for our development riders, providing dividends to our system for many years to come.”
As part of its third world championships, Mont-Sainte-Anne will be hosting the first ever UCI e-mtb world’s event. Canada will be sending a team made up of younger riders and more experienced veterans. Maghalie Rochette will lead a two-rider women’s team. The eight-rider men’s team includes Canada Cup XCO racers, as well as 1996 Olympian Andreas Hestler.
2019 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships run from August 28 – September 1, 2019 at Mont-Sainte-Anne, Que.
Elite Women (XCO):
Emily Batty – Brooklin, ON
Jenn Jackson – Oro Medonte, ON
Cindy Montambault – Val-David, QC
Elyse Nieuwold – Newmarket, ON
Catharine Pendrel – Kamloops, BC
Haley Smith – Uxbridge, ON
Sandra Walter – Coquitlam, BC
Elite Men (XCO):
Félix Belhumeur – Quebec City, QC
Leandre Bouchard – Alma, QC
Peter Disera – Horseshoe Valley, ON
Marc-André Fortier – Victoriaville, QC
Raphaël Gagné – Quebec City, QC
Andrew L’Esperance – Halifax, NS
Cory Wallace – Jasper, AB
Elite Women (DH):
Georgia Astle – Whistler, BC
Miranda Miller – Squamish, BC
Rachel Pageau – Quebec City, QC
Vaea Verbeeck – North Vancouver, BC
Elite Men (DH):
Finn Iles – Whistler, BC
Hugo Langevin – Bromont, QC
Magnus Manson – Sechelt, BC
Kirk McDowall – Vancouver, BC
Samuel Thibault – Chambly, QC
Mark Wallace – Duncan, BC
U23 Women (XCO):
Laurie Arsenault – Terrebonne, QC
Mireille Larose-Gingras – Quebec City, QC
Mackenzie Myatt – Musquodoboit Harbour, NS
Sophianne Samson, Quebec City, QC
Amélie Simard – Beaupré, QC
Marianne Théberge – Lévis, QC
Roxanne Vermette – Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges, QC
U23 Men (XCO):
Raphael Auclair – Haut-Saint-Charles, QC
Quinton Disera – Horseshoe Valley, ON
Émile Farrell-Dessureault – Sherbrooke, QC
Sean Fincham – Squamish, BC
Gunnar Holmgren – Orillia, ON
Holden Jones – Squamish, BC
Tyler Orschel – Markham, ON
Junior Women (DH):
Amy Ertel – Whistler, BC
Bailey Goldstone – Squamish, BC
Madison Skrypnek – Squamish, BC
Junior Men (DH):
Justin Clements – Calgary, AB
Lucas Cruz – Pemberton, BC
Elliot Jamieson – White Rock, BC
Patrick Laffey – Nanaimo, BC
Milton McConville – New Westminster, BC
Seth Sherlock – Squamish, BC
Junior Women (XCO):
Samuelle Baillargeon – Quebec City, QC
Emilly Johnston – Comox, BC
Juliette Larose-Gingras – Quebec City, QC
Kelly Lawson – Barrie, ON
Julianne Sarrazin – Prévost, QC
Kaitlyn Shikaze – Oakville, ON
Magdeleine Vallières-Mill – Sherbrooke, QC
Junior Men (XCO):
Hamish Graham – Saskatoon, SK
Dylan Kerr – Horseshoe Valley, ON
Jérémie La Grenade – Gatineau, QC
Xavier Roy – Amos, QC
Charles-Antoine St-Onge – Fleurimont, QC
Vincent Thiboutot – Quebec City, QC
Carter Woods – Cumberland, BC
Women (E-MTB):
Maghalie Rochette – Ste-Adèle, QC
Courtnay Romkey – Calgary, AB
Men (E-MTB):
Mathieu Bélanger-Barrette – Quebec City, QC
Yann Gauvin – Ste-Catherine-De-La-J-Cartier, QC
Andreas Hestler – North Vancouver, BC
Félix Longpré – St-Ferréol-les-Neiges, QC
Thomas Pesce – Saint-Sauveur-des-Monts, QC
Jan Roubal – Sault Ste. Marie, ON
Alexandre Vialle – Prévost, QC
George Visser – Bromont, QC
