June 30, 2007 (St-Felicien, Que.) – The Quebec XC World Cup MTB double-header wraps up this Sunday, July 1, at the new venue of St-Felicien on Lac St-Jean, Que. The most common comment about the new venue is its isolation – a 4.5-hour drive north from Quebec City.
St-Felicien is a small city, many of whose residents are involved with the world-class event in some way, be it volunteering or through the tourism industry. The Quebec Cup has made annual stops here, so the population is used to mountain bikers, but not to this star-studded start list with riders the likes of World Champion Julien Absalon (Fra) Orbea.
On the other hand riders are raving about the 6.3-kilometre course, which organizers have been building and refining since April. “It’s the best course in the world,” said Ricky Federau (Can) Trek, who placed a solid 26th at last weekend’s World Cup in Mont Sainte-Anne, Que. The most frequently used adjective is “fun,” and with its many smooth, bermed corners, rooty singletrack a-plenty with general abundance of flow it’s easy to see why. Cool features like rock gardens and bridges add to the loop’s distinctiveness.
“I think it will be good for spectators,” said Mical Dyck (Can) Trek-Terrascape. The question is, will there be spectators? With its switchbacks and many areas where it loops back on itself, the course is definitely ideal for watching, but some are questioning how many people can a remote site like this can draw.
Riders will start off with a tough start loop that funnels them up a steep gravel climb in order to spread out the field before they hit a fast switchback descent on the Tobo Ski hill that is visible from the start/finish area. The start loop is short and fast, but “long enough to hurt,” said Dyck. After the start loop, the women will then continue to do five (5) full laps, while the men will do one start loop plus six (6) full laps.
The women begin at 11:00 a.m. EST on Sunday. The crowd favourite to win is definitely Quebec’s own Marie-Hélène Prémont (Can) Rocky Mountain-Haywood, who missed a medal last weekend in Mont-Ste-Anne due in part to a crash. She will be on the medal hunt this weekend.
However, she will be up against some tough competition in the form of two-time 2007 World Cup race winner (including last weekend’s event) Irina Kalentyeva (Rus) Topeak-Ergon, winner of event #1 in Belgium, Ren Chengyuan (Chn), winner of event #3 in Switzerland, Margarita Fullana (Esp) Spiuk Tau Ceramica and former World Champion Sabine Spitz (Ger) Ghost International. Defending World and Olympic Champion Gunn-Rita Dahle (Nor) Multivan-Merida is still out of competition, while she takes time to recover from a viral infection.
Canada’s Kiara Bisaro (Can) Opus is feeling better after her horrific crash at the start of last weekend’s World Cup, but she’s still feeling stiff from the tires and chain rings that barraged her at Mont-Ste-Anne. “I really want it to rain,” she said. “I think I could have a great race if it rains.” Most other racers are hoping the precipitation that is in the forecast (a 60% chance of showers) will hold off, since there is so much rooty, loamy singletrack that, when wet, will get very slick and difficult to ride.
The quote of the day came from Louise Lalonde, the president of the Commissaire Panel who said that “while there’s 60% chance for rain, it never rains when I’m officiating.”
Catharine Pendrel (Can) Norco Factory Team is getting psyched up for another strong race after last weekend’s career-best 11th place. This time she’s thirsty for a top-10. Dyck is aiming for a top-15. Her best result is 15th at the Mont-Sainte-Anne in 2005.
The marked man after the starting pistol fires at 2:00 p.m. EST will be Absalon. The flying Frenchman has only lost one of the four World Cups so far this year – he placed second to Jose Antonio Hermida (Esp) Multivan-Merida at the season opener in Belgium. Hermida led much of last weekend’s race, eventually succumbing to Absalon in the second half. Hermida will definitely be another one to watch, along with the Swiss – Christoph Sauser (Sui) Specialized, Ralph Näf (Sui) Multivan-Merida, Florian Vogel (Sui) Swisspower and Nino Schurter (Sui) Swisspower – all known for their technical strengths, which will play an important role on the tricky St-Felicien course.
The technical nature of the track will also play well into the hands of Canada’s Geoff Kabush (Can) Maxxis, who will still be riding the wave of success from last weekend’s bronze medal performance. Some other Canucks who have the potential to place in the top ranks include Seamus McGrath (Can) Rocky Mountain-Haywood, Max Plaxton (Can) Rocky Mountain-Haywood, Ricky Federau (Can) Trek and Raphael Gagne (Can) Rocky Mountain-Haywood.
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Photo: Mark Lazarski/lazarskiphoto.com
Marie-Hélène Prémont (Can) Rocky Mountain-Haywood
Photo: Mark Lazarski/lazarskiphoto.com
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