The Canadian Downhill Mountain Bike Championships wrapped up this weekend in Sun Peaks, BC, with BC athletes putting forward an incredible performance, sweeping the Elite Women’s podium, and placing first and third in the Elite men’s. Steve Smith of Nanaimo (Devinci Global Racing) and Vaea Verbeek of North Vancouver (Intense/GoPro) won the elite titles, while Daniel Shaw of North Vancouver won the junior men title. The Downhill race took place on Sun Peaks Bike Park’s very fast course, 2.6 kilometers in length.
Smith, was the overwhelming favourite in Sunday’s race, impressing the crowd with a speedy run of 3:26.73, just 1.5 seconds ahead of Kyle Sangers (Kingston, ON), in second place, and 2.5 seconds ahead of Remi Gauvin (Nanoose Bay, BC) in third place. This is Smith’s second Canadian title.
This is Vaea Verbeek’s first Canadian title, with a finishing time of 3:56:00, with Casey Brown (Revelstoke, BC) and Jaime Hill (Pemberton, BC) following in second and third. Verbeek returned to her bike just last week, after two months off due to a lacerated liver.
The championships also featured races in cadet (U17) and master (30+) categories. Magnus Manson (Sechelt, BC) was crowned in the cadet men category with a time of 3:35.13, and Stephanie Denroche (Whistler, BC) took the cadet women title with a time of 4:50.87.
Steve Storey (Whistler, BC) (Master 30-39), Bryan Gioia (Port Moody, BC) (Master 40-49), and Michael Mooney (North Vancouver, BC) (Master 50+) all won their respective races in the men’s master categories, while Keara Clark (Squamish, BC) was the fastest among the master women.
The Canadian Championships is the most important one-day race of the season for the top Canadian downhillers. The National Champion jersey is a symbol of pride and achievement and is what drives many cyclists in their competitive careers.
2014 Canadian Mountain Bike Downhill Championsh
2014 Canadian Mountain Bike Downhill Championsh