An unpredictable day of racing crowned new Canadian downhill champions on Sunday. Constantly changing weather kept racers on their toes, forcing them to adapt quickly to find speed on the flat-put Sun Peaks course.
At the end of the day, Emmy Lan and Jakob Jewett finessed the fickle conditions, finding speed – and new maple leaf sleeves – at Sun Peaks.
Summer surprises at Sun Peaks
Sunday started with practice in deep dust and August heat, as many were expecting in Kamloops in August. By the the last rider crossed the line, they’d been though hail, heavy rain, lightening (and lightening delays) and sun. Most of those more than once.
With the wild weather arriving as practice wrapped up, riders were forced to adapt on the fly during their race runs.
“I think the most important thing when there’s that many delays, when the track is completely different, is to just remember you’re having fun. You have to say I’m going to have fun and go fast, and you’ll do awesome,” Emmy Lan said of what was her winning strategy, adding “And it is so fun.”
Emmy Lan lands elite title
Lan flew to a commanding win in the elite women’s race. The enduro racer is mixing more downhill into her calendar this year, and it paid off on Sunday with her first elite national championship sleeve.
“It’s tough going back and forth, just because the training and the whole environment are so different,” Lan said. “But I definitely think they help each other. Especially this track, it’s so long and so physical that k definitely felt me enduro ways kicking in.”
Gracey Hemstreet returned from injury to put Norco on the podium in second. Andréane Lanthier-Nadeau takes third, with Sophi Lawrence and Miranda Miller rounding out the extended podium.
Jewett holds off enduro challengers
On the men’s race, Jakob Jewett fended off an onslaught of enduro racers taking advantage of the break in the a World Cup calendar to dive into Downhilll. The Pivot Factory Racing rider takes his first elite national title just a couple weeks after repeating his Canadian Open DH win on Whistler’s 1199 track during Crankworx.
Joining Jewett on the podium is Kasparov Woolley (YT Mob) in second and We Are One’s Kamloops local, Jonathan Helly. The later already has a couple Canada Cup DH wins this year at Dunbar Summer Series and set the fastest time in qualifying, but ended with a big crash on the fade-away drop at the top of the course forceful to snap the arch on his…
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