Canadian downhill national championships are fully underway at Fernie Alpine Resort, with Saturday’s seeding results giving racers their first chance to put a time on the clock before battling for the maple leaf sleeve on Sunday.
Fernie’s had some interesting weather leading into the event, with hot days giving way to mid-day precipitation – even hail – to add some moisture to the dirt, but not evenly across the course. That’s made the upper steeps slippery while the lower woods are quickly drying up and turning to powder.
Lucas Cruz (Norco Factory Team) and Emmy Lan (Forbidden Synthesis) handled the changing conditions best in seeding, setting the fastest UCI pro/elite men’s and women’s times. Both will be the last in their category to drop in on Sunday.
Mark Wallace is close behind in third. Photo: Sara Kempner
Pro/elite men and women
Cruz was just 0.52 seconds ahead of Jackson Frew, both finishing on the same second at 2:33.19 and .70. Mark Wallace, Cruz’s Norco teammate, is 1.92 seconds back in third going into Sunday’s championship racing. Wallace and Cruz are both on Norco’s new downhill rig and keen to prove its pace before taking the bike overseas.
On the women’s side, Emmy Lan showed she’s still got speed on the downhill bike even if she spends most of her racing days with Forbidden’s enduro squad. The Vancouver Island racer put in the fastest women’s run by 2.86 seconds. Past Canada Cup winner Ainhoa Ijurko. Qubec’s Rachel Pageau rolled in third.
Junior and U17
The junior men’s category could be the most competitive race this weekend. Dane Jewett (Pivot) finished just 0.36 seconds ahead of current junior World Cup leader, Bodhi Kuhn (Trek Factory Racing). Wyatt Harrington (Pinkbike Racing) was 1.04 seconds back in third. But with Tegan Cruz (RockShox Trek) and Jon Mozell (Forbidden Synthesis) all finishing within two seconds of Jewett’s seeding time, Sunday’s championship race should be a heater.
Joy Attalla (Corsa/Dunbar) is riding on home turf here in Fernie. She set the fastest junior women’s time on Saturday by 0.56 seconds. Kayley Sherlock followed closely behind with the…
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