August 4, 2002 – (Fernie, BC) – The Canada Cup Downhill Finals were setagainst the soaring backdrop of the BC Rockies, but racers didn’t have timeto check out the view as they tore down the meadows of Fernie Alpine Resort.
The 2.1 kilometre sinuous course started near the Timber Bowl chairlift andmade its dusty way down to the base 500 vertical metres away.
Geoff Pendrel (Cove Bike Shop) screamed down at over 36 kph, clocking a timeof 4:16.00 to take the win. He was just 20 points shy of the Canada CupSeries title, which went to Mathieu Laurin (Balfa/RockShox).
Claire Buchar (Balfa/Rock Shox) had a sweet run, squashing the competitionby over 11 seconds to take gold in the women’s race. Consistency paid off,however, for Michelle Dumaresq (John Henry Bikes), who took the red andyellow Canada Cup jersey for 2002.
Junior expert man, Thomas Vanderham (Rocky Mountain Bicycles) scored firstplace by less than three tenths of a second on his golden run. But QuebecerKwanah Sioui’s strong finishes earlier in the season made him this year’s series champ, despite missing the finals.
Darcy Turenne (Oak Bay Bikes) sped to the top of the podium into theleader’s jersey for the final Canada Cup race of the season, making her thejunior women’s champion.
Senior Pro/Elite Men
1. Geoff Pendrel – Cove Bike Shop – 4:16.00
2. Mathieu Laurin – Balfa/Rock Shox
3. Rob Hewitt – Giant/Smith
4. Trevor Porter – Cove Bike Shop
5. Leon May – Giant/Smith
Senior Pro/Elite Women
1. Claire Buchar – Balfa/Rock Shox – 5:22.37
2. Michelle Dumaresq – John Henry Bikes
3. S. Lindman-Porter – Cove Bike Shop
4. Sheila Morris – Independent
5. Cassidy Johnson – Independent
Junior Expert Men
1. Thomas Vanderham – Rocky Mountain Bikes
2. Jeff Beatty – Storm BC
3. Tyler Pighin – Kona/Techno Sport
4. Stuart Hilder – Cove Bike Shop
5. Connor Cripps – Xi-Racing
Junior Women
1. Darcy Turenne – Oak Bay Bikes
Overall Canada Cup Champions
Senior Pro/Elite Men – Mathieu Laurin
Senior Pro/ELite Women – Michelle Dumaresq
Junior Men – Kwanah Sioui
Junior Women – Darcy Turenne