Canadians to watch at Fort William World Cup downhill

Legendary downhill venue Fort William brings back World Cup racing this weekend, with its punishingly long course and wild fans.

Loic Bruni and Tahnee Seagrave sit as World Cup leaders after winning round on in Slovenia, but their competitors have has plenty of time to regroup and come back stronger in Scotland. Among the favourites are a growing crowd of Canadian downhill racers vying for podiums and wins.

RELATED: How to Watch: Fort William downhill World Cup

Led by Mark Wallace and Finn Iles, these Canucks have been pushing steadily up the ranks over the last couple seasons. Or, in the case of Ethan Shandro, have burst onto the international scene with big results.

Here’s the top Canadian’s to watch for this weekend at the Fort William downhill World Cup. And of course, you can watch all the action live Sunday on Red Bull TV.

Mark Wallace

In Maribor, Mark Wallace qualified fastest and Finn Iles third. The Vancouver Island rider held on for eighth in finals. Wallace has been consistently fast for several years now, and is a podium threat at every World Cup weekend.

Finn Iles

After two junior World Cup titles and a junior world championshps, Finn Iles starting to look more comfortable in the elite field. The Whistler-local qualified third in Slovenia at Round #1, but a crash in his race run saw him fade to the mid-50’s. If he can hold it together on Sunday, he’ll be a threat for the top step of the podium in Fort William.

Ben Wallace

In his first race since moving up to elite from junior, Ben Wallace qualified in an incredible 19th position. Wallace finished 55th on Sunday, but making the cut for finals and live broadcast was definitely an announcement of arrival for the first year elite rider in his first World Cup.

Canada’s Junior Men

Canada has an incredibly strong group of junior men racing at the World Cup level right now. Ethan Shandro led the young Canucks in Slovenia, storming onto the international scene with a second place at his first World Cup behind Commencal / Vallnord’s Thibaut Daprela.

Lucas Cruz was fourth in that race, adding to his podium and string of consistent finishes from 2018. Elliot Jamieson burst onto the scene mid-way through last season with a strong result at Mont-Sainte-Anne. Jamieson then backed that up with a surprise bronze medal at UCI world championships in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.

Patrick Laffey, who set a blazing fast time at Mont Tremblant Canada Cup last weeekend and Seth Sherlock round out the junior squad.

Georgia Astle

Lone Canadian woman to make the trip to Fort William, Astle is making her first World Cup appearance of 2019. Fort Bill won’t be her first international appearance for Devinci though, as the Whistler-local put down some solid results at Crankworx Rotorua earlier this year.

Canadian Entries in World Cup DH #2 : Fort William, U.K. – June 1-2, 2019

Elite Men

Finn Iles (Specialized Gravity)
Mark Wallace (Canyon Factory Racing)
Forrest Riesco (Commencal Canada)
Ben Wallace
Magnus Manson (Canyon Factory Team)
Henry Fitzgerald (Norco Factory Team)
Kirk McDowall (Unior / Devinci Factory Racing)
Benjamin Despres Morin

Elite Women

Georgia Astle

Junior Men

Ethan Shandro (Trek Factory Racing)
Lucas Cruz (SRAM-TLD)
Patrick Laffey (Devinci Development Racing)
Elliot Jamieson (Norco Factory Racing)
Seth Sherlock