2011 QC Cup #2, Mont Sainte Anne

The second round of the Quebec Cup was held in legendary Mont Saint Anne. Despite it being a provincial race, it felt like a national round with the presence of a few BC and USA riders. Rainy weather welcomed the riders to the unforgiving race course that MSA is.


They changed the track! Instead of starting mid-way down the mountain, the start was at the top and the course was practically the same as the World champs track from last year. So needless to say it was a very long and physical track, averaging around 5 minutes of very fast (average 35km/h) the whole way down, reaching speeds of over 55 km/h under the gondolas. That section in particular, under the gondolas, claimed most of the crashes of the weekend. A few spectacular ones resulted in broken collar bones, broken fingers, broken hands and unfortunately one rider ended up with a broken pelvis during his race run.


225 riders signed up for the race, 194 made it to the finals, 30 DNS or DNF due to injury or mechanical failure/flats. That's a lot of racers that didn't cross the finish line!


Benoit Labelle, Lama Cycles Team manager


The misty weather on Saturday made practicing and scoping out lines a little harder than usual but we didn't get rained on so that kept us happy! The “new section”, which is just a detour in order to avoid a technical section, got us muddy and loose. Tracking new soil in wet conditions usually yields muddy results.


All in all it was a fun weekend that challenged our winter training. Race times were averaging 5 minutes and the winning time was 4:34 by Chris Delbosco (congrats). The Lama Cycles Team had a load of fun in the pits, on the track and in the team condo. With one man short for the weekend due to bike theft (Franck) we still made our way into the top 10 with a seventh place by Yann Gauvin.

PRO MEN:

1- Chris Del Bosco Cove bikes/Oakley 4:34.560
2- Neko Mullaly Treck World Racing 4:34.729
3- Hans Lambert Pivot Cycles 4:40.663
4- Julien Laramée Néron /Specialized 4:42.858
5-Adam Morse RM East/Sugarbush/Smith 4:44.307
6- Remi Gauvin PerfromX/Devinci/TroyLee/Spank/Oakley 4:45.084
7- Yann Gauvin Lama Cycles 4:46.214
8- Philippe Cyrenne Blanchard Rocky Mountain Bicycles/ProCycle 4:47.214
9- Andy Thibodeau Gravité Sports / Vélo Chambly 4:49.941
10- Jonathan Lefrançois Cycle Néron /Specialized 4:49.991



This success is only possible with the best products, riders and support out there. We would like to welcome our new sponsors to the Lama Cycles team for 2011 and thank the continuing ones for their commitment to the program.

In addition to Lama Cycles distribution co. and Morewood Bikes, the Lama Cycles team is sponsored by Industry Nine, Kali Protectives, Straitline Components, Formula Brakes, Nema International, Maxxis Tires, Five Ten, ODI, SDG, Manitou, Spy Optic, SkiBromont.com, Finish Line, Sport Beans, OGIO, THULE, Camp of Champion and NSK.