January 23/11 14:54 pm - World Cup `Cross Hoogerheide report
Posted by Editoress on 01/23/11
The final round of the Cyclo-cross World Cup was held on Sunday in Hoogerheide, Netherlands, with the top cyclo-cross specialists from around the world fine-tuning their performances before the 2011 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, to be held next weekend in St. Wendel, Germany.
Canada had a squad of six cyclists entered in this World Cup event, all of whom will be competing at the World Championships next weekend.
Natasha Elliott of St. Andrews, ON was the only Canadian in the women's Elite category. She went on to place 26th, with a time deficit of 4:26 on the winner, World Cup leader American Katie Compton, who posted a time of 40:59.
"I am very happy overall with the result," commented Elliott. "I definitely felt I was racing hard. It feels good heading to Worlds next week to know that the legs are good. I just need a little fine tuning now."
In the men's Elite race, Derrick St-John of St. Andrews, ON, finished the race in 55th position, while Craig Richey of Smithers, BC, came in 56th.
In Men's Junior racing, Canada's Karl Hoppner of Carp, ON posted the top Canadian result in 34th place, as he crossed the finish line 3:27 after the winner, Belgium's Laurens Sweeck.
Hoppner was satisfied with his result: "It's a good result to have the week before World championships. I'll be going to Germany with confidence. Today, the conditions were soft, and not too slippery. It's definitely hard on the legs."
Yohan Patry of St-Jérome, QC finished the gruelling race 45th, while Benjamin Perry of St. Catharines, ON, crossed the line in 51st position.
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