Home > MTB

Norco Factory Team doubles up at Hardwood Hills

Haley Smith and Quinton Disera bring Norco wins at fifth Canada Cup XCO round

Quinton Disera Norco Factory Racing Bear Mountain Canada Cup 2018
Horseshoe Canada Cup XCO 2018
Haley Smith followed up her win at Horseshoe Canada Cup, pictured above, with another win a week later at Hardwood Hills. Image: Matt Stetson

Norco Factory Team owned the podium when the Canada Cup cross country series landed at Hardwood Hills race venue over the weekend. The team won both the Men’s and Women’s elite races, with Quinton Disera and Haley Smith battling high temperatures as well as their fellow racers to take the top step of the podium.

With temperatures soaring well into the 30’s Celsius on race day, Smith held on to a narrow 10 second lead over an international field, with Cindy Montambault (Trek / Equipe du Quebec) following close behind in second and Trek Factory Racing’s World Cup XC racer Ellen Noble in third. The win was Smith’s second Canada Cup victory in just over a week after soloing away from the field at the Horseshoe Resort round the Sunday prior. Behind Noble, Laurie Arseneault (ACQ) had a strong race to place fourth.  Jenn Jackson (AWI Racing) finished fifth at Hardwood Hill’s, and retains her lead in the series overall as racing moves west to Whistler, B.C. this coming weekend.

Norco Factory Racing was on the top of step again in the Men’s elite race when Quinton Disera broke away from the field to take his first Canada Cup win of the season, followed by fellow U23 racer Sean Fincham (Forward Racing-Norco). With Andrew L’Esperance (Forward Racing-Norco) following in third and national XCO champion Peter Disera (Norco Factory Team) in fourth, it was only Raphaël Gagné (Silverback-OMX Pro Team) in fifth who manage to break the Norco podium sweep at the fifth round of Canada Cup racing.

RELATED: A Disera Story: Episode 001 – Learning It

Series leader Felix Burke (Rocky Mountain) struggled in the heat, but held on to 11th at Hardwood Hills. The result keeps him in the Men’s leaders jersey when the penultimate round of Canada Cup racing lands in Whistler on 23 June. Burke holds a 180 point lead over L’Esperance and Alexandre Vialle (Equipe du Quebec/Toyota St-Eustache), who both sit at 530.

Horseshoe Canada Cup XCO 2018
Félix Burke racing the Horseshoe Canada Cup round. Image: Matt Stetson

In the Junior categories, Charles-Antoine St-Onge (Équipe du Québec : Dalbix Siboire) and Roxane Vermette (Mont-Sainte-Anne) both took their second consecutive Canada Cup wins. Behind St-Onge, William Côté (Équipe du Quebec) led Tyler Clark (Homestead Racing) for second and third, while Marianne Théberge (Equipe du Québec/Mathieu Performance) stayed ahead of Mexico’s Fatima Anahi Hijar Marin (Inspira Castel Cemix Cycling Team) to fill the podium spots behind Vermette.

Théberge still leads the Junior Women’s points race, with Mireille Larose-Gingras (Equipe du Quebec/Sigma) and Vermette both close behind, within 70 points. Clark moves into a slim lead over St-Onge, with Holden Jones (Pendrel Racing) and Carter Woods (DCC/Rocky Mountain/CyclingBC) in third and fourth. Both points races are far from over, though, as only the best four of seven race results count in the Junior and U17 racing categories.

In U17 racing, Julianne Sarrazin (Velo Pays-D’En-Haut/PG) took her first win of the series, while Jeremie La Grenade (Skinouk-VDM) added a third victory to his wins at Baie-Saint-Paul and Horseshoe Resort.

Full results from the Trek Store Canada Cup at Hardwood Hills can be found: Here