(Ottawa, ON – July 1, 2016) Sean Fincham of Squamish, BC, got Canada off to a strong start at the Mountain Bike World Championships on Friday, in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic, with an eighth place result in the Junior men’s cross-country.
Two other Canadian men finished in the top-20, with Quinton Disera of Barrie, Ontario, finishing 12th and Gunnar Holmgren of Orillia, Ontario, 16th. Sidney McGill of Edmonton, Alberta, was the top Canadian in the Junior women’s race, finishing 21st at her first world championships. Ida Jansson of Sweden took the women’s title and Thomas Bonnet of France the men’s.
McGill rode consistently around 20th place in the 15 kilometre race, to finish 9:22 down on the winner. In other Canadian results, Sophieanne Samson (Quebec City, QC) was 24th, Erica Leonard (Barrie, ON) 28th and Emily Handford 39th (West Vancouver, BC).
“It was a tough race, but lots of fun,” said McGill. “I came into it sick, with allergies, but it was still amazing to race get the experience of racing with some of the best Juniors in the world.”
The Junior men’s 19 kilometre race saw five riders break away from the rest of the field on the first lap, including race winner Bonnet and Canada’s Disera. Disera faded slightly mid-race to drop back, while Fincham was moving up after a poor start that saw him get jammed into the fencing, to steadily work his way back into the top-10, finishing 2:28 down on the winner and less then a minute and a half out of the medals. In addition to Holmgren’s 16th, Victor Verreault of St-Felicien, Quebec, finished 33rd.
“I can’t believe, I’m so happy to get top ten,” said Fincham. “My goal was top-15 and I beat it; I can’t believe it. I had a bad start and got pushed into the fencing and fell back, but I just kept hammering and picking people off. The climbs are so steep, but there are so many fans cheering you on and pumping you up that you can get through it. This is a highlight, for sure.”
