Jesse Melamed and Brittany Phelan win Canadian enduro nationals

Canadian enduro national championships were the final event of Crankworx’s 2023 calendar and, with two Whistler locals taking top honours, wrapped up the week’s festivities on a high note.

On the men’s side, 2022 EWS (now EDR) champion Jesse Melamed reclaims the maple leaf sleeve after a day-long battle with Squamish, B.C.’s Rhys Verner and past teammate Remi Gauvin. On the women’s side, Olympic silver medallist Brittany Phelan showed her speed isn’t limited to snowy surfaces and rolled away with the national title.

Jesse Melamed: From ‘Top of the World’ to the top of the podium

Racing on home turf can be an advantage but it also comes with added pressure. For Jesse Melamed, facing off against a long list of other pros – many also based in the Sea-to-Sky region – there was a little relief mixed in with the joy of winning in front of a home crowd.

“I’m feeling stoked and relieved. It was a big day! For the sleeve, we had really tough competition, Rhys has just been on fire this year. I really wanted the sleeve because I think it’s really cool to represent your country on the world stage,” said Melamed after the race.

The Canyon Cllctv racer’s biggest challenge came from Rhys Verner (Forbidden Synthesis). With one World Cup win to his name already this year, Verner was hunting for his own win in Whistler.

“It was great. I definitely kept him honest on three stages. Stage 3 was so long and the time gaps kind of opened up. I was pretty stoked to be close to Jesse through stages 1 and 2, and then to get a win on stage 4 was pretty cool as well,’ Verner said of the back-and-forth battle. “I was just stoked to keep him honest and make him work him work for it a little bit.”

For Verner, Whistler’s return to long, epic stages like the Top of the World trail were the separating factor more than the cumulative effect of a day of steep climbing.

“The descents were so gnarly and long, I was more exhausted from the downhill than the uphill most of the time,” said Verner. “The Top of The World run was a lot. It was like 16 minutes, that’s a long time to be really focused and really on it and everything.”

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For Melamed, Verner’s speed was part of the pressure. But also part of the thrill of how strong the Canadian scene is right now.

“He’s beating me in the World Cup overall, so I had a lot of pressure. But, you really just have to go out and have fun and push your bike as much as you can and you’re gonna end up where you end up. Honestly, I made the conscious decision that I would be stoked for Rhys if he won, so I think I was just happy for either one of us to do it. So, once you do that, you just decide to go forth and battle.”

Brittany Phelan: From snow to enduro

Brittany Phelan launched into Sunday’s racing at full tilt, earning an early advantage on Crazy Train and Hey Bud, two tough Blackcomb trails basically in the skier’s backyard.

“It was an awesome day out there, the first two stages were on trails that I ride quite a lot. So, just to kind of get those in the bag and have a good lead was pretty cool,” said a beaming Phelan after the race. “Just to be able to enjoy each stage individually, and ride really well and hit the lines I wanted to hit. I just had such a good day riding my bike.”

For Phelan, silver medallist in Ski Cross in the 2018 Olympics, the transition from racing on snow to taking on Canada’s best on dirt was all about confidence, and a bit of support.

“I just trusted my riding, I trusted my fitness and just left no stone unturned on the track every single stage. I felt like I did that and I had a bunch of friends cheering me on, so that was really cool too.”

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In a close second was veteran Canadian racer Miranda Miller. Making the last minute call to race, Canada’s downhill world champ was as excited about the course as she was the result.

“Yeah I’m pretty stoked. Sometimes, racing enduro seems hard when you think about the entire day, but I think the course here was really fun and challenging in the way that I like sending. I think it’s really cool when they put the focus on like good trails, technical trails, things like that. I really enjoyed the day, some ups and downs, but that’s kind of just enduro.”

Under-21 champions

In the under-21 racing, Vancouver Island’s Emmy Lan continued her dominant run this season with a national title in the women’s race. The Forbidden Synthesis racer currently leads the U21 World Cup standings. In Whistler, she edged out Elly Hoskin by eight seconds to take home the maple leaf sleeve. Geza Rodgers finished third.

On the men’s side, another skier stood on the top podium step. Freeride World Tour athlete Wei Tien Ho made a successful return to two wheels to top the under-21 men’s podium. Leif Rodgers joined his sister on the podium, finishing second ahead of Nicolas Brochet.

Canadian Open Enduro Results:

Elite Men / Women

Jesse Melamed (Can) 37:50.4 / Brittany Phelan (Can) – 45:54.6
Rhys Verner (Can)– 38:11.6 / Miranda Miller (Can) – 46:31.4
Remi Gauvin (Can) – 38:41.5 / Florencia Espineira Harraros (Chi) – 48:32.4

Under-21 Women / Men

Emmy Lan (Can) 46:30.5 / Wei Tien Ho (Can) 39:27.2
Elly Hoskin (Can) 46:38.5 / Lief Rodgers (Can) 39:57.0
Geza Rodgers (Can) 49:16.1 / Nicolas Brochet (Can) 40:47.4