This past weekend the MTB XC team hit the trails of Horseshoe Valley, ON in preparation for the 3rd stop of the MTB XC Canada Cup series. Rhys Verner, who had a 12th place finish in the Elite field as a first year U23 had this to say about the track:
I’m pretty happy with the race, considering the amount of travel and time zones I’ve had in the last 3 weeks. I had a really great start to the race and had a strong last two laps with a sprint for 10th place into the line. Overall I’m very happy with the race and looking forward to next weekends race at Hardwood Hill.
Cycling BC brought out 8 athletes and captured 2 golds, by Emily Handford in the Junior women’s field and Emilly Johnston in the U15 women’s field. Holden Jones, also took a bronze in the U17 men. Overall we were very happy with the teams performance throughout training and the race.
Emilly Johnston had this to say about her race:
We had dry and dusty conditions for training leading up to race day. However, the night prior to the race we saw some rain. This made the first section of the track a bit slower, making us have to work a bit harder than expected. The second section was faster than ever though – which was a ton of fun. I learned a lot about pre race routines and warming up before races. I ended up with a really great start, clipping in right away which was a great way to start the race.
Next stop for the team is this coming weekend, June 12th, at Hardwood Hill for the 4th stop of the XC Canada Cup series.
Activation Warm Ups
Nick Kleban's favourite - the 4 cone drill
U15 rider Emilly Johnston taking the gold by 6 minutes.
U17 Rider, Holden Jones getting ready for call up
The Jr men's start line
Emily Handford taking the lead in the Canada Cup Series
The three GOLDEN Emil(l)y's
Holden Jones taking the bronze medal