The Lazer Canadian National Cyclocross Championships, Nov.25-27, at Layritz Park in Saanich, BC concluded the 2022 season in spectacular fashion with 300 riders from all over Canada taking part in the action-packed weekend which included the Broad Street Cycles Blackout CX, a fun non-championship nighttime single-speed race on Friday night, the national championships on Saturday, and the Bear Crossing Grand Prix UCI C2 race on Sunday. The youngest of riders also had an opportunity to partake in the festivities and get their tires a little muddy on the Cycling BC Hop On Kids Cross Expo located on site throughout the weekend.
The course stretched over 3.5 km in, around, up and down Layritz Park where fans could watch the country’s top cyclocross riders battle it out for the national title in difficult conditions, including rain and dwindling daylight for the late afternoon races.
With the championships being held on Vancouver Island, the majority of riders came from BC, trying to win in their home race—and they did. Multiple BC riders claimed national titles among the 14 different championship categories, especially in the Masters’ races where BC riders took 6 out of 8 championships in those categories.
The Master Men saw former BC provincial cyclocross champion Craig Richey (Courtenay) winning his 35-44 category, as well as Normon Thibault from Nanaimo (55-64) and Colin Funk from Vancouver (65+) in their respective categories.
In the Master Women’s categories, Christin Schlossberger (Victoria) and Kelly Welbourn (North Vancouver) both won their races in the 35-44 and 45-54 categories. Barb Morris from Courtenay won her age category of 65+.
The U23 Women’s race saw Emilly Johnston from Comox riding at the front for most of the race on her way to a national championship title. Title contenders in the U23 Men’s race, Evan Russell (Mill Bay) finished in 2nd and Owen Clark (Mono) in 3rd were edged out behind Ontario rider Luke Valenti.
Ontario riders also won both the Men’s and Women’s Junior and Elite races but riders from BC earned multiple podium appearances, as Cam Mccallum from Langley came in third place in the Junior Men’s race. The Elite Women’s field saw multiple riders struggle with mechanical issues throughout the race as it got real muddy, dark, and wet in the late afternoon. Sandra Walter of Coquitlam finished in a strong second place in Elite Women’s behind youngster Ava Holmgren from Ontario. Holly Henry from Victoria rounded out the Elite Women’s podium in third place.
Reigning Elite Men’s cyclocross national champion, Micheal van den Ham, from Chilliwack, could not defend his title and finished fourth in a spectacular race behind a trio from Ontario led by Tyler Clark, who was crowned the 2022 Canadian cyclocross champion.
Results:
Elite Women:
- Ava Holmgren (ON)
- Sandra Walter (BC)
- Holly Henry (BC)
Elite Men:
- Tyler Clark (ON)
- Quinton Disera (ON)
- Gunnar Holmgren (ON)
U23 Women:
- Emilly Johnston (BC)
- Jenaya Francis (AB)
- Ella Myers (AB)
U23 Men:
- Luke Valenti (ON)
- Evan Russell (BC)
- Owen Clark (BC)
Junior Women:
- Isabella Holmgren (ON)
- Rafaelle Carrier (BC)
- Ella Smith (ON)
Junior Men:
- Ian Ackert (ON)
- Mika Comaniuk (QC)
- Cam Mccallum (BC)
Master 35-44 Women:
- Christin Schlossberger (BC)
- Lindsay Burgess (BC)
- Marta Green (BC)
Master 35-44 Men:
- Craig Richey (BC)
- Raphael Lalumiere (BC)
- Tim Mcclure (BC)
Master 45-54 Women:
- Kelly Welbourn (BC)
- Alana Heise (BC)
- Christy Love (BC)
Master 45-54 Men:
- Jean-Francois Blais (QC)
- Chris Mcneil (BC)
- Bob Welbourn (BC)
Master 55-64 Women:
- Geraldine Vander Haegen (USA)
- Carolyn Daubeny (BC)
- Glenowyn Carlson (BC)
Master 55-64 Men:
- Normon Thibault (BC)
- Chris White (BC)
- Greg Clark (BC)
Master 65+ Women:
- Barb Morris (BC)
Master 65+ Men:
- Colin Funk (BC)
- Gregory Patychuk (AB)
- Derek Steel (BC)
Full results at: https://canadiancyclist.com/dailynews.php?id=37521