Dieppe Canada Cup XCO gets off to a fast start
Short Track XCC opens New Brunswick race weekend
Canada Cup racing is off to a flying start in Dieppe, New Brunswick this weekend. The third Canada Cup weekend of 2021 started with the short track XCC event.
The warm-up to Sunday’s Olympic distance cross country race (XCO), XCC racing’s 20-minute duration and short laps makes for highly spectator-friendly racing.
Julianne Sarrazin and Raphael Auclair (Pivot Cycles OTE) landed the elite wins. Simon Ruelland won the junior men’s XCC, while Ava Holmgren (Hardwood Nextwave) disrupted a Quebec sweep of the XCC race wins.
Junior XCC Canada Cup – Dieppe
Ava Holmgren led the under-17/under-19 combined junior race, with Hardwood Nextwave teammate Isabella Holmgren 22 seconds behind. Catryana Marcotte (Dalbix Siboire) took the final junior women’s spot on the podium.
In the junior men’s race, Simon Ruelland edged out CC-MSA’s Felix Bouchard by just 0.3 second. Maxime St.-Onge (Dalbix Siboire) earned third in a close sprint finish, another 0.2 seconds back.
Elite XCC Canada Cup
With some the top Canadian’s in Europe preparing for world championships in Val di Sole, Italy, Dieppe Canada Cup is fielding a smaller, but competitive field. Raphael Auclair (Pivot Cycles-OTE) led a group of eight riders to win the elite men’s XCC, with Norco Factory Team’s Andrew L’Esperance following in second. Logan Sadesky (RMCC) finished third, with the top 9 crossing the line just three seconds apart.
In the elite women’s race, Julianne Sarrazin came out on top in a close race with Emma Olson (Mathieu Performance). Kaitlyn Shikaze (Norco Shredders) takes third, and small gap back from the two leaders.
Full results from all XCC Canada Cup categories in Dieppe, N.B. are available now.
Racing continues all weekend at the Dieppe Cycling Centre, with Canada Cup XCO #3 taking place Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021.
