May 18, 2012 (Mont Tremblant, QC) – The 2012 Canada Cup MTB Series kicks off this weekend in the Laurentian ski village of Mont Tremblant with an XC competition on Saturday and a DH on Sunday. The weather forecast is favourable for the two days, with projected highs in the 20s.

The XC and DH courses remain largely the same with their classic rock and root gardens and some boggy sections. Both courses have seen some grooming to smooth out rough patches and make things faster on race day. The 7-km XC loop will see the addition of a new trail replacing a portion of the long bike path section after riders come out of the woods. The section is still under construction, however, and will be loose and not fully broken in on race day.

The elite and junior expect riders will burst out of the gate at noon EST on Saturday. Elite women’s series champ Catherine Vipond (ON) Norco Factory Team will not be on hand to defend her 2011 victory at Mont Tremblant. The World Cup in La Bresse, France conflicts with the Canada Cup opener, which means several other elite and U23 riders will also not be present.

Despite the pared down fields, there will still be strong competition on hand, including last year’s third-place series finisher, Sandra Walter (BC) Xprezo-Borsao, Quebec Champion Cindy Montambault (QC) CVM 2 Vals, and Ontario’s Mikaela Kofman (ON) SCOTT-3 Rox Racing. The Elite women will race three laps of the fast course.

Matt Hadley (NB) Xprezo-Borsao will have his work cut out for him in the four-lap Elite men’s contest. As last year’s Tremblant winner and overall series victor, he will be riding with a target on his back. Hunting him down will be guys like Cameron Jette (ON) Scott-3 Rox Racing, Peter Glassford (ON) Trek Canada (second here last year), Kris Sneddon (BC) Kona, Raphael Gagne (QC) Rocky Mountain, and young guns like Leandre Bouchard (QC) Cyclone d’Alma, Mitch Bailey (ON) Trek Canada, and Andrew L’Esperance (ON) Norco Factory Team.

Sorry this section of the preview was missing previously. In the junior expert women’s race, defending champion Frederique Trudel (QC) Specialized Quebec will aim to repeat her winning ways, but the field is deep and anything can happen. The same goes for the junior expert men’ s field, which will see last year’ s series winner Marc-Antoine Nadon (ON) Scott-3 Rox Racing face a battalion of competitors hungry for a first win.

Downhill
Sunday’s downhill competition will draw the biggest crowds to watch the exciting high-speed gravity action. All eyes will be on 2010 UCI World Junior DH Champion and defending 2011 Canada Cup Series winner Lauren Rosser (BC) Mojo Wheels North/Team Squamish, who is entering her first year in the elite women’ s category. Also on deck are last year’s second and third place finishers in the series, Miranda Miller (BC) Cycling BC/SRAM/Santa Cruz and Danice Uyesugi (BC) CCN/Intense, and 2010 series champ Anne Laplante (QC) Xprezo-Borsao.

The elite men’ s race is hopping with mad talent, like last year’s series winner Rob Fraser (ON) Lapierre-POC. Also on the list are Matthew Beer (NL) Intense/Fox Shox/Easton, and 2011 Canadian Junior Champion Kyle Sangers (ON) Pivot Cycles/Kenda.

.