The Junior and Cadet categories were the first to race today at the Cross-country national championships in St-Felicien, Quebec.  Once again, the excellent organization here has put together a great course, and the perfect weather has made for some strong racing.

In the Junior categories we had repeat winners for both the men and women with Marc-Antoine Nadon (Team Ontario/SCOTT - 3 Rox Racing) and Frédérique Trudel (Specialized Québec).  Both quickly took the lead on the first lap of their respective races and rode away to win by large margins.  Canada Cup champion Alexandre Vialle (Scott Pure Power) took second in the men, followed by Peter Disera (Team Ontario / Cycle Solutions/Angry Johnnys), a first year Junior.  For the women, Rachel Pageau (Cyclone d'Alma) took second, with  Frédérique Larose-Gingras (CVM Subway-Génétik) winning bronze.

The Cadet races proved that there are some very strong riders coming through the ranks, with both winners catching much of their respective Junior fields.  Laurie Arseneault (CVM 2 VALS) was an impressive winner for the women, followed by Soren Meeuwisse (Team Ontario/Hardwood/Trek) - daughter of long-time Ontario High Performance Director Glenn.  Marine Lewis (Scott Pure Power) was third.

Marc-André Fortier (Scott Pure Power) rolled through most of the Junior field, but was chased strongly on the first lap by Raphael Auclair (On the Edge Canada) and Francis Pelletier (Vélo 2 Max - St-Félicien) before finally getting away.

We have a lot more photos to come, but the Elite races are about to start