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Kabush, Premont endure to win Canada Cup

Heat, mechanicals take toll on cross-country field
1330canadacup
"If you weren’t on your pedals the whole time, you were getting passed." Marie-Helene Premont, women's winner.

If you were fast enough in Saturday’s Canada Cup cross-country race you just might feel a breeze, but otherwise riders slogged it out through 37-degree heat on a course as technically challenging and physically demanding as they come.

As women’s winner Marie-Helene Premont put it, "if you weren’t on your pedals the whole time, you were getting passed."

The day before the race organizers made a few changes, including shortening the elite category courses by a full lap. As a result the men raced five laps of the 8.5 km course while the women raced four laps. Athletes in the age categories raced anywhere from one to three laps.

For the elite men, Geoff Kabush ran away with the race on the third lap after challenger Ricky Fedeau died in the heat. Kabush said he had recovered from a concussion sustained a week earlier in the nationals, which he won, but still had some pain in his ribs from the crash.

"The first lap I concentrated on riding smoothly, not irritating my ribs, and I wasn’t quite at my limits. I basically continued that to the third lap, made a move, then tried to settle in to the finish," he said.

"I really enjoyed the course. I’m not the smallest guy, so I like power climbs and the rough stuff. I was also at a big advantage with the dual suspension bike, about four inches in the back, so it was easier on me and I was able to go a lot faster while the other riders on hard tails were getting tired out.

"The ribs really hurt me at times, but the course was great. It was a real mountain bike course, lots of singletrack, some good, fast climbs. I just really enjoyed the day."

Kabush finished the ride, 42.5 km in total, in just two hours, nine minutes and 19 seconds.

Squamish rider Neal Kindree also had a solid day, starting conservatively and working his way up to the front. On the third lap he was still fifth, but by the last lap he was chasing Kabush to the finish line. He finished just 49 seconds back.

Ontario’s Andrew Watson was third, another half second back of Kindree.

Local riders in the race were Andreas Hestler, who was 27th, and Matt Bodkin, 32 nd out of 42 finishers. Twenty-three riders were unable to finish.

For the women, Premont led from the start and didn’t look back. Her only complaint was that the women’s field started so close to the men.

"I thought if I went hard from the start I would have the front all to myself, but after about five minutes I started to catch some of the men," she said. "It was more dusty, for sure, and it was wheel to wheel on the singletrack so you didn’t feel you were racing your own race.

"It was so hard because of the heat. Even before the start my body was really warm. And then the course was a tough one, it was technical and bumpy, there was no place to rest. But I definitely liked it, it was very different with all of the singletrack, and all of the climbs were sprints."

Premont, the Olympic silver medalist in cross country, came to Whistler from the nationals as well, where she defended her title. She did manage to do some of Whistler’s local trails while she was in town, and loved Kill Me Thrill Me. She has opted to miss the final Canada Cup race this weekend at Mt. Washington, and instead will return home to rest and train for the upcoming World Championships, followed by the World Cup finals.

Premont finished her four laps in 1:55:55, three and a half minutes ahead of Mary McConneloug of the U.S. Kiara Bisaro was third, almost another three minutes back.

Alison Sydor had a flat tire early, and struggled to get back into the race. She finished seventh.

Squamish rider Meghan Kindree was 15 th out of 34 finishers (10 DNFs), keeping her chances of making the national team alive.

Whistler’s Joanna Harrington also raced, finishing 21 st .

"The first lap was hell," she said. "It was a total bottleneck, and it was so dusty. But it was good, a real Whistler course. Not too many long hills, lots of singletrack. But the heat was such a shock."

Sea to Sky riders were well-represented in the age categories, with several podium placings to their credit.

In the Junior Women category, Ontario’s Emily Batty and Kaitlin Michener were first and second, followed by Marie-Claude Surprenant of Quebec. Team Squamish riders Jaclyn Mcclements and Danielle Dornik were fourth and fifth.

Quebec’s Francis Morin was the top Junior Expert Men’s racer, followed by Zac Winn of Ontario and Cody Canning of Alberta.

Whistler’s Mike Boehm took the Master 30 to 39 Expert title, blowing past Mark Svenson after the first lap and building a four minute lead by the finish. Trevor Hopkins also raced, but just missed the podium by finishing in fourth place.

Bob Allison placed second in the Master 40 to 49 Expert Men’s category, less than two minutes behind Vancouver distance athlete David Kvick. Mike Charuk was fifth.

Allison’s son, national champion Tyler Allison, placed second in the Under 15 category after aggravating a back injury. Jesse Melamed was fifth.

Tony Routley won the Master 50-Plus Expert group in 1:27:31, while Rob McSkimming was third.

In the Youth Under 13 race Alexander Geddes was second.

Kerry-Anne Hamilton, 11, raced unchallenged in the girls’ Under 13 group, but with a time that would have put her second in the Under 15 group.

In the Under 17 Women’s race Alison Mcclements of Team Squamish was seventh.

Whistler’s Vincent Marcotte won the Senior Sport Men’s race, followed by Pemberton’s Joshua Stott. Chris Clark of the Whistler Bike Co. had a solid lead after the second lap when he was overcome by the heat.

In the Master 30 to 39 Sport Men Greg McDonnell was driven out of competition by flats 10 minutes into the first lap, while Duncan Munro broke his saddle on the second lap. He opted to make another lap, but was out of the running.

Pemberton’s Mark Schroeder took the win, while Russ Wood, also of Pemberton, placed third. Dave Booth was seventh.

For the women, Jennifer Tabbernor was first.

In the Master 40 to 49 Sport Men, Whistler’s Vesa Suomalainen, Brent Murdoch and Ken Kozei placed first through third. Craig Hamilton was fifth.

In the Master 50-Plus Sport Men, Rick Reid and Craig MacKenzi of Whistler were first and second.

Complete results are available online at www.canadian-cycling.com