July 21, 2007 (Mt. Washington, B.C.) – Riders took to the track at Mt. Washington in less than ideal conditions. Temperatures were near freezing up top, visibility was 20 feet or less and the wind was howling. Inclement weather didn’t seem to affect Luke Kitzanuk (Giant) and Micayla Gatto (Rocky Mountain/Haywood) however as they both pulled off their own triples this week. Both won the Canada DH Cup final round on Wednesday, July 18, and thus won the Canada DH Cup series overall – and now both are Canada’s national DH champions.

Kitzanuk proved that he is close to untouchable in Canada when the track turns slick. After praying for rain all week, he got his wish last Wednesday when the skies opened up for the Canada cup and basically never stopped. As the rain slowed to a drizzle for the Nationals on Friday (July 20), it started to turn thick and coated the hundreds of rocks and roots on course.

Originally from Montreal and used to wet conditions, Kitzanuk didn’t use mud tires when others were electing to put full-on spikes on their wheels. “I guess the tires weren’t a problem problem,” he joked from the hot seat. “I have never won a national Championship before, this feels great.,” he continued.

Tyler Morland (Cove) sat in the hotseat with a time of 4:12 with a dozen riders to go when local rider Geoff Pendrel (Pinkbike) knocked him out of first with a 4:06. Pendrel didn’t even get a chance to sit down when Kitzanuk, the next rider down, blew both times away with a 3:55 which held for the win.

Women’s Race

Gatto’s domination of the Canadian downhill scene continued as the BC rider mowed down the field with a time of 4:49, almost two seconds ahead of Canadian World Cup DH’er, Claire Buchar (BC, Specialized) and Scott Bikes rider Katrina Strand (BC).

Gatto discussed her run from the winners tent. “I had a couple of bobbles in the woods, but it was good overall. I have been crashing all week, so it was great to have a clean run.”

With the wins, both riders are now headed to the 2007 DH World Championships in Fort William, Scotland on September 3-9, to represent Canada. But both be making the trip to the championships on their steam, as Canada does not yet provide funding to the World Downhill Championships, even for national DH champs.