The 2018 Canadian XCO Championships concluded on Sunday with the Team Relay at the Nordic Centre in Canmore, Alberta. The Cycling BC team #1 took the title, a slim four seconds ahead of defending champions Norco Factory Racing.
The Team Relay consists of teams of four riders from different categories each racing a lap of the cross-country circuit before handing off to the next rider on the team. Each team must include at least one woman and no more than one Elite man.
The race quickly came down to three teams – B.C. #1, Norco and Pivot-OTE. Pivot-OTE (Raphael Auclair) took the lead on the first lap, followed by Norco (Quinton Disera) and B.C. #1 (Carter Woods), and continued to hold after two laps. However, B.C. #1’s Holden Jones rocketed through the field on the third lap to put his team in the lead by a few seconds as he handed off to the final rider – national men’s Under-23 champion Sean Fincham, who was up against Elite national champion Peter Disera of Norco.
Fincham started the lap only five seconds ahead of Disera, and the pair battled all lap. Disera would close to within a few metres of Fincham only to have to back off, allowing the gap to open again. At the finish, the gap remained four seconds. Pivot-OTE completed the podium.
About Cycling Canada
Cycling Canada is the governing body for competitive cycling in Canada. Founded in 1882, Cycling Canada aims to create and sustain an effective system that develops talented Canadian cyclists to achieve Olympic, Paralympic, and World Championship medal performances. With the vision of being a leading competitive cycling nation by 2020 celebrating enhanced international success, increased national participation and world class event hosting, Cycling Canada manages the High Performance team, hosts national and international events and administers programs to promote and grow cycling across the country. Cycling Canada programs are made possible through the support of its valued corporate partners – Global Relay, Lexus Canada, Mattamy Homes, Louis Garneau, lululemon, 4iiii, Argon18 and Bear Mountain Resort – along with the Government of Canada, Own The Podium, the Canadian Olympic Committee and the Canadian Paralympic Committee.