November 14, 2012 (Ottawa, ON) – Mountain Bike stars and Olympians Catharine Pendrel, Goeff Kabush and Emily Batty are only three of Canada’s top road and mountain bikers expected on the start line of the 2012 Daryl-Evans Canadian Cyclo-Cross Championships and the Daryl-Evans BC Grand Prix of Cyclo-Cross presented by Red Racer, to be held this weekend at the South Surrey Athletic Park in South Surrey, British Columbia.
Cyclo-cross, rising in popularity across Canada, is a unique cycling sport that features both road and mountain bike abilities. Cyclo-cross is held on a closed circuit loop, typically in a park that features climbs, obstacles that requires dismounts, mud traps, and many other exciting features.
This year, many of the cycling stars from both the road and mountain bike disciplines will be in attendance for the set of races held Saturday, November 17th and Sunday, November 18th. The riders will race on a 3.25km course featuring stairs, dirt jumps and barriers.
Back-to-back Canadian Champion Chris Sheppard, 40 Canada’s highest ranked rider in the UCI World Rankings, is registered to compete, and will be going for the hat trick. This month, Sheppard took the sixth spot at the Cross After Dark #3 race, and seventh at the Harbin Park International, both races held in the United States.
Sheppard will have stiff competition from Mountain Bike Olympian Geoff Kabush, 36, who posted three Top 5 results this season in US Grand Prix races, including a third-place finish at the New Belgium Cup.
Pepper Harlton, 28, is Canada’s top-ranked women in the UCI World Rankings. Harlton came second at the 2011 Canadian Championships, and will be looking for the top spot this year. Just last week, Harlton took the 13th spot in the US Grand Prix Derby City Cup, and finished fourth just a few weeks ago at the new Belgium Cup, also part of the US Grand Prix tour.
Emily Batty, 24, the reigning Canadian Cyclo-cross Champion, is also expected to partake in the race. She’ll be joined by Catharine Pendrel, 32, a four-time Canadian Mountain Bike Champion and two-time and reigning UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Champion.
Canadian Championships titles will be awarded to the following categories: Junior Men, U23 Men, Elite Men and Women, Master Women and Master Men (30-39, 40-49, 50+).
This year, the UCI World Championships will be held in the United States of America, in Louisville, Kentucky. Participation at the Canadian Championships is mandatory for entry into World Championships.
The 2012 Daryl-Evans Canadian Cyclo-cross Championships and the 2012 Daryl-Evans BC Grand Prix of Cyclo-cross presented by Red Racer are organized by Cycling BC and are both sanctioned by Cycling Canada and the International Cycling Union (UCI).
SCHEDULE
Friday, November 16
3pm-4:30pm: Course Open for Training
7:15pm: Team Manager Meeting
Saturday, November 17
8:15am-9:00am: Course Open for Training
9:15am: Canadian Championships, Masters M 50+, Masters W 30+
10:15am: Canadian Championships, Masters M 40-49
11:15am: Canadian Championships, Masters M 30-39+
12:15pm: Youth Cross Challenge
1:45pm: Canadian Championships, Elite W (17+)
3:00pm: Canadian Championships, Elite M, U23 M
Sunday, November 18
8:30am-9:45am: Course Open for Training
10:00am: Challenge Men, Challenge Women, Master Women, Singlespeed, Under 17 Challenge
11:00am: UCI Race, Elite Women
12:15pm: UCI Race, Elite Men
2:15pm: Cat 3/4 Men, Master 3/4 Men
3:15pm: Master 1/2 Men, Junior Men
ONLINE REGISTRATION (until Nov 15, 23:59 Pacific)
Canadian Championship: http://reg.ccnbikes.com/index.php/event/2012-canadian-national-cx-championships
BC Grand Prix of CX:
http://reg.ccnbikes.com/index.php/event/bc-grand-prix-of-cyclocross