The 2026 Pro Downhill Series kicked off over the weekend in Rock Creek Bike Park in Zirconia, North Carolina.
In elite women, Aletha Ostgaard took the win, beating Anna Newkirk by less than a second. Tilly Melton rounded out the podium in third. While Gracey Hemstreet was at the race, she placed eighth in seeding, but didn’t post a result in finals.
Top Canadian honours went to Megan Pretorius, who finished eighth at 1:44.815, while Tayte Proulx-Royds followed in 11th.
On the men’s side, Luca Shaw laid down the fastest run of the weekend, stopping the clock at 1:25.663. Ryan Pinkerton and Asa Vermette completed an all-U.S. podium.
The top Canadian in elite men was Tegan Cruz in eighth, Bodhi Kuhn in ninth and Jake Polito in eleventh.
Strong Canadian depth beyond elite
While the elite podiums stayed south of the border, Canadian riders made podiums across many of the other categories.
In Cat 1 Men 13-14, Canada’s Reno Lafontaine taking secong with Shun Boisvert in fourth.
The youth categories continued that trend. In Cat 1 Men Youth 15-16, Mack Manietta led a strong Canadian showing in second, followed by Sebastien Harrisson, Theo Bedard, Xavier Harrisson and Ryo Boisvert, who stacked five Canadians inside the top six.
In Cat 1 Men 19-29, Travis Labelle added another podium with a third-place finish.
On the women’s side, Olivia Monkman landed third in Cat 1 Women Junior 15-16.
Even in the youngest categories, Canadian riders were in the mix, with Yu Boisvert finishing third in the U12 boys division.
Early-season test for World Cup-bound riders
The Rock Creek stop also served as an early-season benchmark for several World Cup programs.
Norco Addidas Race Division used the weekend as preparation for the upcoming international calendar.
“A solid weekend at the first round… to prep Gracey and Bodhi for the season,” the team said in a post-race update. “We came into this race with the goal of dialing in our race week program… and we accomplished that.”
Series rolls on
The Pro Downhill Series now heads to Mountain Creek Bike Park in New Jersey in May, followed by stops at Solitude Mountain Resort in Utah and Big Bear Lake, California, which will host the national championships.
The season is expected to wrap up with the Fox US Open later in the year at a TBD location.
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