It was an auspicious return to Mont-Sainte-Anne for Canada’s cross country athletes on Sunday. National champion Emily Batty looked primed for a big performance at home, only to be taken down within sight of the startline by her second crash in one weekend.
Sandra Walter had a better day out, netting a big top-15 performance and top Canadian result.
At the front of the field, Jolanda Neff made a long-awaited return to the top of a World Cup podium while Tituon Carod landed his first elite win.
Elite Women: Olympic champ returns to form
Sunday’s elite women’s race started off on the wrong foot when, just moments after the start gun fired, Emily Batty (Canyon MTB) was caught up in a heavy crash in the middle of the pack. It was difficult to see what happened, exactly. But when the dust settled Batty emerged, slowly, with blood streaked down her arm and clearly frustrated to be taken out by crashes off the start for the second time this weekend. The Canyon rider had big expectations, both from racing at home in Canada and because of her rapid, upward trajectory at the World Cups leading into the Mont-Sainte-Anne weekend.
Batty would battle through the race, fighting her way back to 18th at the finish line. An impressive show of resilience from the national champion.
Neff takes on the rain
The weather turned suddenly in Mont-Sainte-Anne, with rain damping down the dust for good. As it did, the shape of the race changed, too. Jolanda Neff (Trek Factory Racing) attacked off the front, using her formidable technical skills to gain and then extend her advantage. Neff skillfully escaped a few scary moments while riding dry tires on a now very wet Mont-Sainte-Anne track, crossing the line with a 56-second winning margin.
It’s the 2021 Olympic champion’s first World Cup win since 2018, just two weeks shy of four years since her last win in Les Gets.
“I just knew there were so many moments on track where I could gain a millisecond, it’s so technical, that I knew if I could be on my own, I could take advantage of that,” Neff said of her decision to attack so early on in the race.
It’s Neff’s fourth win at Mont-Sainte-Anne, matching the record of Julie Furtado and Canada’s own Catharine Pendrel. The Olympic…
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