July 20, 2014 (Oro-Medonte, ON) – The 2014 Canadian Mountain Bike Cross-Country Championships came to an end on Sunday with the presentation of the team relay and master races capping off a weekend of exceptional racing at Hardwood Ski and Bike in Oro-Medonte, near Barrie, ON.

Team Quebec (Raphael Gagné, Marc-Andre Fortier, Cindy Montambault, Leandre Bouchard) won the Championships team relay, winning the second consecutive title for the province in the event.

Team Ontario (Quinton Disera, Emily Batty, Marc-Antoine Fortin, Adam Morka) took the second place, while Team British Columbia (Max Plaxton, Quinn Moberg, Catharine Pendrel, Rhys Verner) came in third place.

Team Opus-OGC (Mathieu Belanger-Barette, Neil Symington, Andreanne Pichette, Félix Burke) won the Club Challenge Team Relay.

In the master races, Eric Batty (Master Men 30-39), Jon Barnes of (Master Men 40-49), Robert Sule (Master Men 50+) all won titles in their respective men categories, while Rhonda Stickle (Master Women 30-39) and Lisa Holmgren (Master Women 40+) took the titles.

Throughout the weekend, Canada’s top mountain bikers converged to Hardwood Ski and Bike to compete for Canadian titles in all categories, and the racing was simply spectacular. Catharine Pendrel and Geoff Kabush rode to the titles in the elite races, both highlighting an incredible storyline for this event.

In the espoir category, Léandre Bouchard earned his third title in four years while Frederique Trudel extended to four her winning streak at Canadian Championships, still unbeaten at this event since turning junior in 2011.

The competition took place at the same venue to be used for the mountain bike events of the Toronto 2015 Pan-American Games, next year. The official announcement was made on Thursday, and members of the organising committees were present at the venue all weekend to observe and take notes.

For the mountain bikers, the next stop will be the UCI World Cup in Mont-Sainte-Anne, QC, a four-day weekend of international racing which starts on July 31.

These championships, hosted for the second consecutive year at Hardwood Ski and Bike, were organized by Pulse Racing, led by organizer Glenn Meeuwisse and his crew of dedicated volunteers.

Results

Team Relay – Championships
1. Quebec 1 (R. Gagne, M.-A. Fortier, C. Montambault, L. Bouchard) 0:53:49
2. Team Ontario (Q. Disera, E. Batty, M.-A. Nadon, A. Morka) 0:54:25
3. Cycling BC A (M. Plaxton, Q. Moberg, C. Pendrel, R. Verner) 0:54:47

Full results here.

Team Relay – Club Challenges
1. OPUS / OGC – AKA The Martinez (M. Belanger-Barette, N. Symington, A. Pichette, F. Burke) 50:7:58
2. BC Future Champs (A. Watson, E. Toom, J.-A. Berkenpas, S. Skeget) 0:58:34
3. Wolfpack Racing / Inception (W. Clarke, Chris Fruetel, K. Dundas, A. Schmidt) 1:02:51

Full results here.

Master Women 30-39
1. Rhonda Stickle (RealDeal/Gears p/b Waspcam) 1:26:17.34
2. Linda Shin (Blacksmith Cycle) 1:27:39.12
3. Anouchka Lewis (Team Spoke O’Motion) 1:33:15.08

Master Women 40+
1. Lisa Holmgren (Velocity Cycle and Ski) 1:22:18.46
2. Ingrid Musgrave 1:33:03.83
3. Nathalie Mousseau (Coachchris.Ca/Tedvelikonja/Trudell Med.) 1:36:17.44

Master Men 30-39
1. Eric Batty (Trek Store C.C) 1:37:04.55
2. Dan Souter (Apollo Bicycles) 1:38:01.58
3. Mark Brusso (Lapdogs Cycling Club) 1:41:33.00

Master Men 40-49
1. Jon Barnes (Trek Canada Mountain Bike Team) 1:35:21.78
2. Éric Jobin (Coachchris.Ca/Tedvelikonja/Trudell Med.) 1:38:26.62
3. Brian McKeown (Radical Edge) 1:38:38.35

Master Men 50+
1. Robert Sule (Erace Cancer Cycling Team p/b La Bicicletta) 1:46:15.47
2. Christian Lalancette 1:46:39.26
3. Claude Boily  Vélo 2 Max 1:48:40.85

Full results Day 2 here.