November 26/23 15:33 pm - Holmgren & Russell Take Elite Cyclo-cross Titles
Posted by Editoress on 11/26/23
A total of 16 national titles were awarded on Saturday, at the National Cyclo-cross Championships in Saanich, B.C., with the Elite titles going to Ava Holmgren (Stimulus Orbea) and Evan Russell (Global 6).
Held in near perfect sunny conditions, the Masters and U17 categories raced in the morning in temperatures just over freezing, which led to lots of sliding around on off camber corners and the many short descents and climbs. The afternoon session, for the Junior, Under-19 and Elite categories saw the ground drying up, making many sections rideable that had not been earlier in the day.
Full results Here
The Junior and Under-23 women started in the same wave, with the Under-23s beginning 30 seconds ahead of the Juniors. Isabella Holmgren (Stimulus Orbea), the reigning Junior cyclo-cross and mountain bike world champion, as well as the Elite cyclo-cross Continental champion, was the clear favourite for Under-23, and by the second lap she had broken away to solo in for the title; a year after winning as a Junior on the same course. Rafaelle Carrier (Equipe du Quebec), the Pan American Continental Champion won the Junior title in her first season as a Junior, finishing top-5 among the Under-23s.
Isabella Holmgren
Rafaelle Carrier
"It definitely means a lot to win [the national title]," says Holmgren. "There were a lot of super strong girls racing today, so I'm happy I was able to have a strong performance. It was actually quite slippery out there, a lot more than I expected, and I had to switch on the first lap to full mud tires. It was tricky, with lots of slippery section, so lots of mistakes, but it was a good course and a fun race."
The Junior and Under-23 men's races ran an almost identical scenario, with Pan Am Continental champion Ian Ackert (Stimulus Orbea) taking the Under-23 title after pulling away from Cody Scott (Comp Edge Racing) in the second half of the race. Meanwhile, Jayden McMullen (KW Cycling Academy) stormed his way up through the U23 field to take the Junior title, catching most of the U23 riders.
Ian Ackert
Jayden McMullen
"I've had a pretty good [cyclo-cross] season, but I had no expectations here," says Ackert. "I've been racing with the Elites for the first time this season, so I've taken every race as a learning opportunity. This year, it seems that the muddy parts were everything that wasn't muddy last year! It took a couple of laps to get used to the course. I didn't pre-ride the course this morning, so I took a couple of laps to learn the course, learn the lines. But I was able to dial in the [tire] pressure and go from there."
In the Elite women's race, Ava Holmgren (Stimulus Orbea) easily held on to her title - last year she won while riding up from the Junior ranks, and this year she raced as a first year U23 rider.
Ava Holmgren
"There's some dry spots, but there were still sections that were completely slick," commented Ava Holmgren. "So, I got my wish for some mud! I had a blast out there; it was so much fun sliding around in the mud. It was a reallt good time."
The Elite men's race was a much closer affair, the most exciting of the day. Six riders quickly distanced the rest of the field - Russell, Luke Valenti (Team Ecoflo Chronos), Quinton Disera (Pivot OTE), Tyler Clark (Hockley Valley Armada), Carter Woods (Giant) and Tyler Orschel.
Evan Russell and Luke Valenti
Evan Russell
Valenti and Russell were consistently setting the pace at the front, with Disera battling Clark for third. By the halfway mark it was down to just Russell and Valenti, and then Valenti made a hard attack, opening a ten second gap. However, just before two laps to go, Valenti dropped his chain at the barriers and struggled to get it back on, enabling both Russell and Disera to get by. Valenti, once he got going, quickly caught and passed Disera, closing to within three seconds by the finish. Disera looked solid for third, until he broke his chain shortly before the final pit. Clark managed to get by him to take third as Disera ran for his spare bike.
"I had a pretty good start, sitting fourth or fifth wheel," explained Russell, who finished second last year. "Pretty much immediately it was down to four of us. Everyone was switching off positions, taking lead outs. Then mid-race, Luke put in an attack and I moved up to second wheel, chasing him down. Everyone was still close together because it was a fast course. Then Luke came over the barriers and a mechanical, so I caught him and tried to drop the hammer as much as I could. He got back on his bike and the three of them [Valenti, Disera and Clark] were chasing pretty hard and making some time back. Luke was coming hot, but I was just trying to be as consistent as possible and just stay on the bike. I'm just super stoked I managed to keep away to the finish line."
First Photos
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