August 5/13 14:43 pm - Plaxton Heads Strong Field at Canada Cup Final in Whistler

Posted by Editoress on 08/5/13
 

Two-time Canadian Champion and Olympian Max Plaxton (Sho-Air Cannondale) is registered to race the Canada Cup Final in Whistler, which will be held Wednesday August 14th. The Canada Cup event, for only the second time since 2006, is part of the internationally-acclaimed Crankworx mountain bike festival.

The race, which will be held on the Lost Lake Trails at the world-class resort, will be the last one of the 2013 Canada Cup season, crowning the newest Canada Cup Champions.

"It's always good to race at home, in your province. I don't get the chance that often to race close to home, especially in such a beautiful place like Whistler. In addition, it's great preparation for the upcoming world championships in South Africa. I'm really excited about this race on the west coast, and it would be nice to have this event become a fixture on the Canada Cup circuit year after year," said Max Plaxton.

The Series leaders entering this final race of the 2013 Canada Cup Series are Antoine Caron (Specialized Racing) and Sandra Walter (Liv/Giant Canada), who both won medals at the recent Canadian Championships in the Elite categories, with Félix Burke and Canadian Champion Rachel Pageau leading in the Junior categories.

Caron, with 485 points, currently has a 75 points lead over Evan McNeely (Norco Factory) in the Elite Men category, while American racer Stephen Ettigner (BMC Mountain Bike) sits in third with 400 points. Evan Guthrie, could ride away with the title with a strong performance in Whistler, is currently sitting in fourth at 350 points.

In the women's Elite standings, Walter is enjoying a perfect season at 600 points. Her closest competitor is Andréanne Pichette (Opus/OGC) with 505 points, while Frédérique Trudel (Specialized Racing Canada) is sitting third at 415 points. It will take a very strong performance for Pichette to dislodge Walter from the top spot, but second place is not guaranteed as Trudel, in her rookie season in the Elite category, is still within reach of second place.

The tightest race might very well be within the Junior men's category, with three riders separated by only 50 points. Félix Burke (CVM 2 Vals) is leading with 255 points, but right behind is the red-hot Peter Disera (Team Ontario / CSAJCC p/b Norco) with 230 points. In third is Félix Belhumeur (Lessard Bicycles). All three have just been named to the Canadian team headed to the World Championships in South Africa.

The women's Junior competition is currently an all-Quebec affair, with the current Junior Canadian Champion Rachel Pageau (Club Cycle D'alma / Ekoi Devinci) leading the pack with 285 points. Marine Lewis is sitting in second place, only 15 points out of the top spot of the series. Sarah-Claudie Dostie-Ménard (CVM ProCycle Hull/Aylmer-Specialized) is sitting in third place, with 200 points

Registration recently opened for the Canadian Open XC / Canada Cup Final. All race information is available at the event page: www.crankworx.com

Although the race is sanctioned by the UCI and Cycling Canada, every participant will be able to take part to the Crankworx mountain bike festival, as a complimentary event licence will be provided by Crankworx in collaboration with Cycling BC. All the cycling community for Whistler and Vancouver area will have the chance to ride this amazing course alongside of Olympians.

Courtesy Cycling Canada