The weather played an important part in the weekend’s activities. Rain rarely makes for happy racers. All the rain helped clean the rocks but kept the rest nice and slippery! Actually the rain was on and off all weekend long which made tire choice complicated for racers (wetscream or no wet scream, that was the question). On top of the rain, the mixed (rocky/muddy/hard packed) terrain complicated the tire choice even more. The top of the track was full of rocks and mud but the bottom half section was filled with hard pack berms. Throughout the two days of racing, the track got pretty beat up and filled with massive holes that added up to the level of difficulty. As you probably know, the Bromont track is always a fun track to ride and to watch people ride. The technical section will make you doubt your courage and skills but once you man up and plow through it a couple of times your brain gets used to the speed/danger/risk ratio and all is good. It’s a much shorter track than last weekend’s 5 minutes 35 km/h long haul but poses its own challenges. On the bright side, it is easy accessible by a direct chairlift that runs over parts of the track, making for plenty of runs in a short period of time.
This year they spiced it up a little. The weekend was shorter but jam packed with new races. The Canada cup DH kinda got the short end of the stick with Friday being the only practice day and Saturday being the race day. I’m not sure a track with that level of difficulty should see its practice time reduced but the goal was to offer 2 extra races in the same 3 days period, which was really nice… The super D race was a blast! It was the first time this kind of race was organized in Bromont and hopefully not the last time. The third event of the weekend was a giant slalom which took place on Sunday as well..
242 riders signed up for the race, 204 made it to the finals, 38 DNS or DNF due to injury or mechanical failure/flats. That's a lot of racers that didn't cross the finish line!
Quite a few racers showed up for the Canada cup, several representing the west coast. Team BC where there and professional, as always. There was a total of 105 elite and junior men. Among those Elite Men several World cup riders and high national calibre riders showed up since it was only a slight detour just one week away to the WC in Mont Sainte Anne. A lot went down and many spills and thrills are to be told, but at the end of the weekend it’s all about results…and here they are:
Top 15 - Senior Men
1-Mitchell Delfs (Aus) Factory Kona/Globe/Smith 2:37.436
2-Hans Lambert (Can) Pivot Cycles 2:38.361
3-Romain Paulhan (Fra) GIANT PLANETE 2 ROUES 2:39.286
4-Thibaut Ruffin (Fra) Riding Addiction / Commencal 2:39.723
5-Dean Tennant (Can) Dunbar/Devinci/Elka 2:40.182
6-Remi Gauvin (Can) Cycling BC 2:40.665
7-Sidney Slotegraaf (Can) lapierre 2:42.236
8-Yann Gauvin (Can) Lama Cycles 2:42.822
9-Matthew Beer (Can) Opus/OGC 2:43.047
10-Gavin Vaughan (USA) RM East 2:44.103
11-Adam Morse (USA) RM East 2:45.076
12-Chris Del Bosco (Can) Cove bikes/Oakley 2:45.112
13-Jonathan Lefrançois (Can) Cycle Néron /Specialized 2:45.546
14-Matt Zdriluk (Can) Primary SRAM Trek 2:45.598
15-Ryan Vanderham (Can) Rocky Mountain Bicycles Factory Team 2:45.684
Top 3 - Senior Women
1-Myriam Nicole (Fra) Riding Addiction / Commencal 3:00.987
2-Miranda Miller (Can) Cycling BC 3:07.650
3-Micayla Gatto (Can) Team BC 3:09.021
cancup_bromontDHIn 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.
