July 31, 2009 (Bromont, QC) - The World Cup has moved to a new battleground for another triple event this weekend. Bromont lies about four hours southwest of Mont-Sainte-Anne in Quebec's Eastern Townships and also has a long history in the sport of mountain biking, having hosted the UCI World Championships back in 1992 and several World Cups since. On Friday, DH and 4X riders will hit their respective courses for the qualification rounds, with the exciting finals taking place on Saturday afternoon and evening. The XCO event, in which Canada's Catharine Pendrel (BC) Luna Women's MTB Team took victory last year and Marie-Hélène Prémont (QC) Maxxis-Rocky Mountain was runner-up, takes place on Sunday.
DH/4X
After sunny skies yesterday, and despite a clear forecast, riders awoke to pouring rain and cooler temperatures in time for morning practice and qualifying today. The track varies between liquidy, flowing mud and thick peanut butter slime. The downhill track here at Bromont is short (1.6km) and extremely technical, especially in the wet and mud. Winning times are expected to be around 2:40 in the dry, but showers continue to remain in the forecast. Canadian entrants include rising stars Steve Smith (BC) MS Evil Racing and Claire Buchar (BC) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense.
The men hit the track at 2:30 p.m. today for qualifying, with World Cup leader Sam Hill (Aus) Monster Energy/Specialized setting the pace off the start for the field of 160 riders. Big guns Steve Peat (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate, Greg Minnaar (RSA) Santa Cruz Syndicate, and World Champ Gee Atherton (GBr) Animal Commencal will follow. Among the Canucks joining Smith, are local boy and National Champ Hans Lambert (QC) Norco, Junior National Champ Kyle Marshall (BC) Pinkbike.com / Devinci, Dean Tennant (BC), Simon Garstin (BC) Lama Cycles.
The women start their qualifying runs at 2:00 p.m. today, led out by top three seeds Sabrina Jonnier (Fra) Maxxis-Rocky Mountain, Emmeline Ragot (Fra) Suspension Center, and Tracy Moseley (GBr) Trek World Racing. Buchar is 10th seed and top Canadian. Micayla Gatto (BC) Commencal/Oakley hits the hill 14th. Danice Uyesugi (BC), Rebecca McQueen (BC), Anne Laplante (QC) Xprezo, and Claudia Paquin (QC) complete the Canadian contingent.
The women's final runs begin at 1:15 p.m. tomorrow, followed by the men's finals, starting at 2:00 p.m.
The 4-Cross track is much longer than many, and includes some unique features, such as the 360 over under berm. Canadian 4X Champion Lambert could do well on this, his home course - the track is only a few hundred yards (via chairlift) from his front door. The action begins this evening at 6:30 p.m. for the qualifying rounds. Tomorrow night is the main event, with 4X finals starting at 7:00 p.m. Riders to watch include Jared Graves (Aus) Yet, Joost Wichman (Ned), and Romain Saladini (Fra) for the men, and Anneke Beerten (Ned) Suspension Center, Fionn Griffiths (GBr) Norco, and Anita Molcik (Aut) Yeti for the women. Laplante is the only Canadian woman competing.
Cross Country
The junior men and women compete at 9:00 a.m., while the elite women take off at 11:15 a.m., and the elite men shoot out of the starting gate at 2:30 p.m. to tackle world-class fields and the elements on a challenging 6km circuit. The course is quite different from last year's World Cup here and organizers have invested a lot of time and money in the attempt to make the loop more durable in wet conditions. Earlier this month, the course was tested in a Canada Cup event, and it didn’t pass. Another summer of high rainfall meant conditions were wet, and heavy rider traffic made the course impossible to ride with huge, deep mud bogs replacing trail. After the 2008 World Cup in similar conditions, it was imperative that something be done. Since the July 5th Canada Cup, organizers have put nearly $15,000 into improving the course, which included taking a bulldozer through some sections to clear the mud, and adding gravel and drainage. But will it be enough? Showers have been hitting Bromont all week, and the course which was in very nice shape for the first day of official training on Wednesday is again suffering. Deep mud holes are forming and the trails are becoming sloppy. Hopefully the rain will stop for the weekend and trail crews can stay on top of maintenance.
Seven riders are registered for the junior women's race on Sunday morning, including National Champion and last week's winner Laura Bietola (ON) Team Canada/3 Rox Racing and the other five junior women on the Team Canada project, headed by National Team Coach Dan Proulx. The only new addition to the start list is Jill Behlan (USA) Team USA/Tokyo Joe’s, who placed second at the U.S. Nationals.
Junior men's National Champ Evan Guthrie (BC) Team Canada/Rocky Mountain will once again lead the Canadian charge after winning in Mont-Sainte-Anne last weekend over Kiwi Dirk Peters (NZl) New Zealand. There are 22 racers on the start list with entries from six nations, including nine Canucks.
All eyes will be on Canadian elite women's National Champion Catharine Pendrel (BC) Luna Women's MTB Team, who took a decisive victory last weekend in Mont-Sainte-Anne and aims to defend her 2008 victory on the Bromont course. With its exceptionally long initial climb (8-10 minutes) and technical singletrack, Pendrel is expected to excel, but not without some serious challenges. World Champion Marga Fullana (Spa) Massi is a renowned ascender, while Olympic Bronze Medallist Irina Kalentieva (Rus) Topeak-Ergon has acute technical skills, especially when it comes to muddy conditions. Quebec's Marie-Hélène Prémont (QC) Maxxis-Rocky Mountain is always a contender, especially on home turf with the backing of her die-hard fans. Other favourites include Katerina Nash (Cze) Luna Women's MTB Team, Elisabeth Osl (Aut) Central-Ghost, Lene Byberg (Nor) Specialized, and Willow Koerber (USA) Subaru-Gary Fisher. In the U23 competition, Emily Batty (ON) Trek Store Toronto hopes to take top honours, as last weekend's winner, Aleksandra Dawidowicz (Pol) CCC Polkowice, will not be competing in Bromont. The top-seeded U23 is French National Champion Caroline Mani (Fra) Bikepark.ch.
Olympic Champion Julien Absalon (Fra) Orbea is the hands-down favourite in the elite men's race, as he has won four of five World Cups so far this year and grabbed victory in Bromont last season. If he has any chinks in his armour, they have yet to be found. Lukas Flueckiger (Sui) Trek World Racing was second here in 2008 and will use that confidence to fuel his fire on Sunday for what he hopes will be a repeat podium performance. Jose Antonio Hermida Ramos (Spa) Multivan-Merida will attempt to unseat the flying Frenchman who eluded him by only 32s last Sunday, while World Champ Christoph Sauser (Sui) Specialized will no doubt be seeking redemption after his subpar ride at MSA. Geoff Kabush (BC) Maxxis-Rocky Mountain will lead out the Canadian men after his impressive bronze-medal ride in round five. Seamus McGrath (BC) Jamis, Derek Zandstra (ON) 3 Rox Racing, Max Plaxton (BC) Sho-Air/Specialized, and Andrew Watson (ON) Norco are also showing good form and will be up for a good battle. U23 National Champ Raphaël Gagné (QC) Maxxis-Rocky Mountain will look to better his 33rd place from a week ago, but U23 series leader Burry Stander (RSA) Specialized is in a league of his own and is currently second overall in the elite men's World Cup standings.
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Photo: Fraser Britton
Steve Smith (Can) MS Evil Racing
Photo: Fraser Britton
Photo: Fraser Britton
Claire Buchar (Can) Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense
Photo: Fraser Britton
Photo: Fraser Britton
Hans Lambert (Can) Norco
Photo: Fraser Britton
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