On a huge day of racing at Fernie Alpine Resort, new – and one returning – Canadian downhill national champions were crowned. It was tight racing throughout, with some close races and surprise wins across categories.
Lucas Cruz earned an extra-special win, taking his first elite national title on his 22nd birthday. Bailey Goldstone put in an big run to defend her elite women’s national title.
One of the big stories of the day, though, is junior men’s winner Brock Hawes. The Vancouver Islander not only beat a stacked field in his category, but the day’s fastest time of any rider in any category. Impressive work from the young rider.
Elite Men: Birthday boy takes the win in a Norco sweep
The pro men’s racing was tight, even if it was dominated by one team. Norco Factory Racing showed up with a fresh new prototype bike, intent on proving its worth.
For Lucas Cruz, Sunday’s finals were a big day before racing started, coinciding with his 22nd birthday. T
“It was a big day. I woke up way too early but I had most of the day to chill. Then, at dinner time, had to ramp it up and put it all out there,” Cruz said of his birthday celebrations.
The day wrapped up in story-book fashion for Cruz. He set the fastest pro men’s time by 0.12 seconds, with Norco teammate Mark Wallace joining him in second. Norco “engineer-racer” Kirk McDowall just edged out Intense Factory Racing’s Seth Sherlock for third, by a razor-thin 0.02 seconds. Jackson Frew rounded out the podium, 2.09 seconds behind Cruz.
All three Norco racers were on the new prototype replacement for the team-only modified Range. Mid-season bike switches can be stressful on riders, who’ve spent the whole winter training on another bike, but a podium sweep in the new rig’s first appearance doesn’t hurt.
“I was a little worried about it when [Norco] first made that plan, but the engineers did such a good job of getting our baseline settings for when we showed up that that first day, it was already feeling comy. You could go fast.”
Nationals is a bit race to debut a new bike at, but the team’s next stop is even bigger: 2023 world championships.
“Yeah, that definitely builds confidence. We’re headed to worlds in just under two weeks now. We’re ready to go for it!”
Elite women: A returning champ
On the women’s side, defending Bailey Goldstone went head-to-head with the dominant Enduro World Cup racer Emmy Lan. While Lan now spends most of her…
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