Canadian mountain bike titles up for grabs
Plaxton looks for third title, Batty favoured in women's race
The Canadian XC mountain bike nationals will take place on Saturday, at Hardwood Hills, north of Barrie, Ont. Drawing in the best riders from across Canada, the racing will be excellent, and the atmosphere electric.
In the men’s race, expect a title fight between Max Plaxton, the defending and two time Canadian champion, and Geoff Kabush, who has won six national titles.
“I really like the course at Hardwood,” said Plaxton. “There’s more climbing than you’d think. The pressure of being defending champion doesn’t affect me too much. There’s a bit of pressure, but having won two years, it’s not too bad.”
Kabush recently finished off the podium at the Canada Cup last week in Sudbury, Ont., after a mechanical problem.
“I’ve been really fatigued after some hard training and a busy month in June, so it was a good test for the legs,” said Kabush of the Sudbury race. “Early on, I had to ride in and change a wheel in the pits, but the fitness was decent and hopefully everything clicks into place for nationals.”
It has been a long time since Kabush has raced at Hardwood, but he expects it to be a thriller.
“I haven’t seen this year’s course yet, but in general the racing and time gaps stay pretty tight at Hardwood,” said Kabush. “The singletrack is fast and it is a relentless fight for position, so it will be great to have a couple teammates to work with.”
Emily Batty is the favourite in the women’s race. Catharine Pendrel has been sidelined with a broken collarbone. However, victory is not a sure thing for Batty.
Sandra Walter has been perfect during the Canada Cup series this year, and Scott-3Rox teammates Amanda Sin and Mikaela Koffman could work together to try to isolate Batty. Young Quebec racer Adreanne Pichette is also expected to perform well.
Racing starts first thing Saturday morning, with junior and cadet levels racing at 9 a.m. Elite and under-23 women race at 10:30 a.m., while the men will hit the trails at 12:30 p.m. Make sure you tune in to our live coverage of both the elite women’s and men’s races.
