Canada Cup racing’s return to Sun Peaks Resort could not have been much more dramatic if it had been scripted. Both elite men’s and women’s titles were decided on Sunday, coming down to the final runs of a long Canada Cup race season. A crash in seeding for Gabe Neron made the men’s race all the more thrilling, as he dropped in at the opposite end of the start list from overall rival, Patrick Laffey.
Elite men: Win and season go down to the wire at Sun Peaks
Gabe Neron rolled into Sun Peaks with the Canada Cup leader’s jersey on his shoulders, but not firmly in his grasp. Patrick Laffey sat second in the rankings and, with just 52 points separating him from Neron, was within striking distance should anything go wrong. With winning times barely cracking five minutes on the long, Sun Peaks course, there was plenty of time on track for a race run to go sideways.
Neron had a taste of this when he shattered a wheel during his seeding run on Saturday. While seeding isn’t worth any points in Canada Cup racing (unlike World Cup), it did mean that Neron would be the first elite man to drop in for Sunday’s finals, putting him at the opposite end of the start list from Laffey.
With the crash, Neuron was in an unfamiliar position. Not just on the start grid, but on the course.
“I only did one top to bottom before this, which was this morning. Which is a bit unusual,” the 2022 national champ admitted after the race, adding “That made me a little bit nervous.”
Despite not having much time on track this weekend, Neron did have several years of working at Sun Peaks to lean on for his race run on Sunday. Being first to drop in automatically put the Dunbar/Corsa race in the hot seat but, with a blistering-fast 4:46.71 time that was a handful of seconds faster than anyone else had managed so far over the weekend, it was a strong time. Now all Neron could do was wait as rider after rider dropped in to challenge his time.
“It was very very nerve-racking. I think both being at the top being the last guy down is nerve-wracking, but also sitting at the bottom on the hot seat when you know there are fast people coming down. It was full of emotions!”
By the end of the elite men’s race, four more racers would break five minutes, including Patrick Laffey. The last to drop in, Laffey was dangerously close to Neron’s time at each of the three split times on…
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