Gunnar Holmgren puts Canada on the XCC podium at continental champs
Big names and fierce racing in Brazil
Photo by:
Ciclismo Brasileiro
Gunnar Holmgren earned a hard-fought bronze medal on Friday in the men’s short track cross country continental championships. The Ontario rider’s race was very nearly cut short Henrique Avancini lost traction in some mud and sent the Canadian into the course tape mid-race. Holmgren recovered and worked through the field to take the final podium position in a sprint.
Canadians raced on the front in both men’s and women’s XCC events on Friday, taking the race to a very strong international field in Brazil.
Elite Women XCC
Friday’s racing started with Jenn Jackson doing her best to take the race to a strong front group of U.S. and Brazilian racers. Kate Courtney, Kelsey Urban and Sofia Waite put the stars and stripes on the front early, controling the pace of the field until Jackson moved through. Laurie Arseneault, Sandra Walter and Jocelyn Stel all followed in the lead group behind Jackson.
Courtney quickly re-took the front of the race and, for the next several laps, the U.S. riders and Brazil’s Raiza Goulao Henrique and Karen Fernandes Olimpio set the pace.
Jenn Jackson then put in a big late-race attack which was quickly followed by Courtney. The group started to spread out and Areseneault, then Stel and Walter dropped off the lead rider’s pace.
Courtney was the next to attack. Jackson looked to force Urban to respond, which she eventually did, but could not close the gap to her fellow U.S. racer.
Kate Courtney led onto the bell lap and would not be caught. Urban contested the sprint against Henrique and Olimpio.
Kate Courntey wins the women’s Pan American XCC championship. Raiza Goulao Henrique earns silver for the host country while Kelsey Urban adds a second medal for the U.S.A. in third.
Jenn Jackson leads the Canadians in fifth followed closely by Jocelyn Stel in seventh, Sandra Walter in 11th and Laurie Arseneault in 18th.
Elite Men
The men’s XCC event began with Canada’s Carter Woods on the front row flanked by an international field of talent, including Chile’s u23 World Cup overall winner Martin Vidaurre, Mexico’s first World Cup winner, Jose Gerardo Ulloa Arevalo and Brazil’s World Cup winner, Henrique Avancini.
Ulloa led off the line before a sketchy moment in a mud puddle that would remain problematic all race let Woods by. The course had several sketchy transitions from dirt to pavement and paving stones that only got worse when rain started to fall mid-race.
Woods immediately lifted the pace, with Avancini, Ulloa and Vidaurre following. Gunnar Holmgren and Léandre Bouchard followed close behind.
Holmgren soon moved up to join Woods on the front, with the Canadians looking intent on taking the race to the international stars early on. Avancini, Ulloa and Vidaurre and Brazil’s Jose de Almeida all followed in a large front group.
Holmgren, Avancini and Vidaurre traded leads for a couple laps before Bouchard put in a big attack to take over on the front. Whether it was a coordinated effort or ambitious racing, the Canadians looked intent on controlling the race instead of sitting by and letting the more established stars dictate the pace.
Avancini was sent from the far left, across the course ..
Into Holmgren
Avancini gave a wave and, thankfully, Holmgren was able to re-catch the race
As the short, 20-minute race entered its second half, rain started to fall. Holmgren had a sketchy moment in the mud before righting himself just on time for Avancini to careen across the course and into the Canadian. The Brazilian gave a quick wave of apology and Holmgren avoided crashing, but was bumped well down into the lead group.
Ulloa was next to attack. Just as the Mexican went off the front, Bouchard also had a near-fall on the same muddy stretch of course that caused Avancini difficulty. Again, no one crashed, but this time Ulloa was gifted a substantial lead over the chasers.
Bouchard remained on the front with no one willing to take up the chase. Ulloa worked up to a 10 second advantage but, with just 16 minutes of racing passed, still had a long solo effort before the finish line.
By the time Jose Ulloa got the bell for the final lap he was up to a 13-second advantage. The Mexican rode home alone with time to celebrate his win in the men’s XCC continental championships.
Martin Vidaurre led out the sprint for second and no one was able to pass the Chilean. Gunnar Holmgren found a line to pass a rapidly fading Avancini to take the final podium spot in third.
Bouchard was the next across the line in seventh, followed by Peter Disera in 10th and Carter Woods in 11th.
Pan American continental championships continue in Congonhas, Brazil all weekend. Junior, under-23 and elite men’s and women’s Olympic cross country racing (XCO) is the final, and marquee discipline of the event.
