All the 2018 Pan-Am championships action at the Silver Goose in one place
After an amazing weekend of racing in Midland, Ont. there is a lot to look back on including the crowning of the first ever masters Pan-Am champions and tight competitive racing in the junior, U23 and elite categories on Sunday
Saturday – UCI C2 and inaugural Masters Pan Am Championships
Live coverage
Patricia Konantz of Chelsea, Que., won the first masters jersey at the Pan-Am championships. “I competed in 65 to 74. I don’t like to broadcast that too much. I don’t feel 65. I just had a birthday last Monday,” Konantz said. She plans to sport the jersey in Eastern Ontario Cyclocross Series.
The elite women’s race winner, Ellen Noble, liked the crowd that was at the C2 race. “But they are so biased,” she joked. “I can tell I’m not racing in the U.S. In the U.S., there’s more “Go Elly!” In Midland, Ont., she get more muted “whoos” even for winning the race.
Gallery from Day 1 of the Silver Goose
After every possible form of precipitation peppered the Masters championship races, the sun came out for the Junior and Elite events, solidifying much of the wet ground into a peanut butter-thick substance that clung to drivetrains.
Race report
The 2018 Silver Goose Pan American cyclocross championships weekend kicked off on Saturday at Little Lake Park in Midland, Ontario. Not only were the championships being held in Canada for the first time, but it was also the first time that Masters racers would race for Pan-American titles.
Interview with UCI C2 men’s race winner Gage Hecht
Interview with women’s UCI C2 race winner Ellen Noble
Ellen Noble and Gage Hecht celebrate their victories
Sunday – Junior, U23 and Elite Pan Am Championships
Live coverage
“I wanted that one really bad,” van den Ham said. “It feels good to be that close. But I’m disappointed at the moment, especially when it comes down to half a wheel or a quarter of a wheel, whatever it was. Man, that was a full out brawl out there, right from the gun.”
Rochette noticed that the crowd in Midland, Ont., had a lot of CX Fever. She feels enthusiasm for the discipline has increased throughout the past few years. When asked if she could assign a temperature to CX Fever, she said, “I don’t think it could go higher. The thermometer would explode. It’s pretty powerful.”
Gallery: Junior men and U23s, Elite men and women
Silver Goose CX concluded on Sunday with two of the most dramatic and hard fought races of the whole weekend, as Canadians Michael van den Ham and Maghalie Rochette vied for the Pan-American cyclocross championship titles.
Race report
Canadian Maghalie Rochette was the only Canuck to win a Pan American cyclocross title on Sunday’s final day of the Silver Goose Pan-American Cyclocross Championships at Little Lake Park in Midland, Ontario. On a course that had dried out in the sun and wind, Ruby West and Michael van den Ham earned silver medals.
