The fastest bikes of Canadian cyclocross national championships

Canadian cyclocross national championships returned to Victoria’s Layritz Park for a second-straight year over the weekend. With the countries top riders all coming together there were plenty of interesting, and fast, bikes on display in the pits. Here are six of the fastest.

Ava Holmgren: Orbea Terra

Ava Holmgren rode to a second-straight elite women’s national title on Saturday aboard this Orbea Terra. It will be one of the last few races aboard the Terra before Holmgren and her sister switch to the Lidl-Trek team mid-cross season in January. Until then, Holmgren will continue to chase wins on this Shimano Di2 GRX-equipped carbon fibre race rig. Full mud tires were the name of the game for Layritz’ slippery mud side-hills on Saturday and Holmgren had Challenge Limus tuburlars glued to her Shimano Dura-Ace wheels for the occasion.

Ian Ackert: Orbea Terra

Ok, we promise this whole list isn’t Orbea. But, with Stimulus-Orbea all riding Terra’s, the Spanish brand was at the front of a lot of races at Layritz Park over the wekeend. Ackert rode his to the top podium step in the under-23 men’s race on Saturday. Other than a larger size and opting for a black-on-matte black finish, Ackert’s is, understandably, quite similar to Holmgren’s Terra. Ackert did opt for Challenge’s Flandrien tubulars, though. He’s also running a slightly larger chainring with his GRX Di2 drivetrain and Shimano hubs on the Dura-Ace hoops, not Industry Nine. Slight difference aside, the result was the same: a national title.

Rafaelle Carrier: Specialized S-Worx Crux

The gleaming copper flecked accents on Carrier’s white paint were quickly complemented by clumps of mud, but this S-Worx Crux still stood out on course over the weekend. Mostly because it was flying around Layritz off the front of the junior women’s field on Saturday and Sunday. Also because its pilot was wearing the jersey of Pan Am champion. But the paint caught the sun quite nicely, too. With the stunning season Carrier is having so far in North America, it will be exciting to see what she does overseas during Christmas Cross season!

Cody Scott – Trek Boone

Another local Vancouver Islander that had a big weekend was Cody Scott. The Competitive Edge racer was second, just behind Pan Am champ Ian Ackert in Saturday’s under-23 men’s championship race. In Sunday’s Bear Crossing UCI C2 race, he finished fourth among the elite men. Scott’s Trek Boone was one of the few bikes running a…