Dane Jewett leads Canadian juniors with top 5 at Fort William
Big start to the year for Pivot team
The first downhill World Cup of 2024 is in the books and, for the junior men, it was Dane Jewett leading the Canadian effort. The Pivot Factory Racing rider placed fifth behind race winner, the much-hyped U.S. junior Asa Vermette (Frameworks).
Vermette crushed the field in his World Cup debut, winning by a staggering 6.087-second margin.
“I pictured my run. It was exactly how I pictured it. I couldn’t have done it any better. I’m actually shaking right now,” Vermette said after his win. The U.S. junior narrowly made it onto the start list after a pre-season injury. “Two weeks ago I was sitting on the couch and watching as many GoPro videos as I could of the track that I was about to race. I didn’t even know if I was going to make it to this race.”
Jewett was joined in the top ten by his Pivot teammate, Ryan Griffith. Jon Mozell of We Are One Momentum Project followed in 13th. Dylan Marino (Outlaw United) in 20th and Michael Delesalle (Gwin Racing) in 21st rounded out the Canadian effort.
Junior women
On the junior women’s side, Heather Wilson (Muc-Off Young Guns) gave the crowd a home-nation winner. Wilson was joined on the podium by Sascha Earnst (Trek Factory Racing) and Eliana Hulsebosch (Union).
“It doesn’t feel real. I don’t feel like I’ve won. I’m so glad that it’s done, and I’ve crossed the line in one piece,” Wilson said after her win. “I’m so happy. I have no words to describe how I feel right now. [The weather] was actually perfect because the track still had some grip – it wasn’t too slippy. Some of the corners are blown up, so I just took my time and pushed into them. You need to trust these corners and it worked out perfectly.”
Replays of both junior finals are available below and on the UCI World Series YouTube.
Replay: Junior Men’s Finals – Fort William World Cup
Replay: Junior Women’s Finals – Fort William World Cup
Results: Fort William World Cup
Junior Men
| 1. |  |
VERMETTE Asa FRAMEWORKS RACING |
4:10.550 |
|
| 2. |  |
WAYMAN Luke THE GRAVITY CARTEL – ROGUE RACING |
4:16.637 +6.087 |
|
| 3. | PARFITT Daniel BNC RACING |
4:16.768 +6.218 |
||
| 4. |  |
ALRAN Max COMMENCAL/MUC-OFF BY RIDING ADDICTION |
4:18.056 +7.506 |
|
| 5. |  |
JEWETT Dane PIVOT FACTORY RACING |
4:18.624 +8.074 |
|
| 6. |  |
MADLEY George MADISON SARACEN FACTORY TEAM |
4:18.648 +8.098 |
|
| 7. |  |
HUTER Mike GAMUX FACTORY RACING |
4:18.975 +8.425 |
|
| 8. | |
CLARK Oli UNIOR-SINTER FACTORY RACING |
4:19.407 +8.857 |
|
| 9. | |
GRIFFITH Ryan PIVOT FACTORY RACING |
4:20.229 +9.679 |
|
| 10. | |
HIRST WALKER Noa |
4:22.602 +12.052 |
| 13. | |
MOZELL Jon WE ARE ONE MOMENTUM PROJECT |
4:23.898 +13.348 |
| 20. | |
MARINO Dylan OUTLAW UNITED |
4:29.536 +18.986 |
|
| 21. | |
DELESALLE Michael GWIN RACING |
4:30.366 +19.816 |
Junior Women
| 1. | |
WILSON Heather MUC-OFF YOUNG GUNS |
4:56.675 |
|
| 2. | |
EARNEST Sacha TREK FACTORY RACING GRAVITY |
5:00.272 +3.597 |
|
| 3. | |
HULSEBOSCH Eliana UNION – FORGED BY STEEL CITY MEDIA |
5:00.287 +3.612 |
|
| 4. | |
MELTON Matilda TRANSITION FACTORY RACING |
5:07.214 +10.539 |
|
| 5. | |
VAN LEUVEN Erice COMMENCAL LES ORRES |
5:19.103 +22.428 |
|
| 6. |  |
MILLS Sacha SCOTT DOWNHILL FACTORY |
5:19.278 +22.603 |
|
| 7. | |
BONNAURE Laïs |
5:21.062 +24.387 |
|
| 8. | |
CUSHMAN Kale THE GRAVITY COLLECTIVE |
5:29.513 +32.838 |
|
| 9. | AABECH Nellie |
5:30.226 +33.551 |
||
| 10. |  |
DUDEK Amelia |
5:33.399 +36.724 |
