Nove Mesto, Czech Republic (May 27, 2019) – Haley Smith (Norco Factory) took the first World Cup podium result of her career with a third place in the Elite women on Sunday at the second round of the Mountain Bike World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic.
Smith’s result moved her up to eighth in the overall standings from 13th. In the men’s race, Canadian champion Peter Disera (Norco Factory) struggled after finishing seventh on Friday in the short track event and could only manage 49th. Leandre Bouchard (Pivot-OTE) was the top Canadian man in 39th, after working his way back from a flat tire and gaining 90 positions.
Photo Rob Jones/Canadian Cyclist (All Rights Reserved)
“I’ve always liked this course,” said Smith, “It really feels like mountain biking, it’s got flow and is about being a bike rider, and that’s what I did; I just found the flow and I went for it. I think I was 15 seconds out [of top-5] heading out on the last lap, and [national coach] Dan [Proulx] yelled seven seconds, and I thought ‘I can do seven seconds’. I knew I just had to give it everything I had, because I would regret it if I didn’t.”
In other results, Canadian Under-23 men’s national champion Sean Fincham (Norco Factory Team) finished sixth on Saturday, moving him up from tenth to seventh in the overall standings. Canadian Junior riders had some bad luck in their races, with Emilly Johnston (Pendrel Racing) crashing while in the lead group of the women’s race and recovering for 13th place, while world number one ranked Carter Woods (Rocky Mountain Factory) hit a post while battling for first place and dropped back to finish tenth.
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Source: Cycling Canada