One detail that flew under the radar amidst the fanfare of Saturday's OG Canadian Open Downhill (OG CDN OPN DH) is that Arleigh Kemp notched the second-quickest time among all women (3:15.618).
This achievement becomes eye-opening when you realize that Kemp is a U17 rider. Back in May, she helped Pemberton Secondary School (PSS) to its fourth provincial mountain biking banner, and last weekend only elite ladies' champ Mille Johnset (3:12.573) broke the beam faster than her. Impressively, two other U17 girls got within shouting distance of Kemp: Addison Rutherfurd (3:17.544) and Ruby Wells (3:17.986).
"It was super good, definitely the loosest run I've done but it was pretty fun," said Kemp. "The first day of practice was kind of wet and pretty slippery and scary, but [on Saturday] it was great. It's so cool [to be part of the 20th Crankworx Whistler]. I've been racing since Kidsworx."
Wells added: "I think I made a lot of mistakes at the top, but overall, it was a really fun run. I just got bounced around, hit a couple holes. Love having the support [of Devinci], it's a great brand to work with."
Meanwhile, Mason Parr (2:53.482) edged out his fellow Kiwi Camden Rutherfurd (2:54.299) to win the U17 expert boys division as Chase Riggs placed third (2:57.277).
"It was so good," Parr remarked about his efforts. "Just let it rip the whole way down and stayed on. I don't usually beat [Camden] but I've done well. Just stoked to be out here."
"I did a pretty bad shoulder injury about three weeks ago, still coming back," admitted Rutherfurd. "Only got on the bike like, five days ago. I took about two weeks off the bike just to recover...first actual tech riding was for the practice of this race. This track's real skinny, and not much line choice compared to 1199."
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