July 17, 2018 (Vallnord, Andorra) – Emily Batty (Trek Factory) led the Canadian women who continued their strong riding at Round 5 of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Vallnord, Andorra, as she claimed a stellar 3rd in the Elite Women’s 6-lap 22.8 km race for  triple World Cup podium performances – Batty was second at Val di Sole, Italy last weekend at round four and 4th in Nove Mesto, CZE at round three.

Fellow Canuck, Haley Smith (Norco Factory Team XC), raced to a career-best 13th while Sandra Walter (Team Canada) finished 17th for her best result at altitude and second-best Euro World Cup result.

Legendary Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa (Nor) Team Merida Gunn-Rita made history winning the Elite Women’s race for her 30th World Cup win joining Julien Absalon of France, now retired, as the only riders to earn 30 World Cup XCO career victories. In the Elite men’s race, Italy’s Gerhard Kerschbaumer (Torpado Garbogas) claimed the first World Cup win of his career becoming only the second rider to best Nino Schurter (Sui) Scott-SRAM over the past two seasons. Canada’s Leandre Bouchard (KMC-Ekoi-SR Suntour) placed 34th equaling his best result of the season.

Elite Women’s Race

Jolanda Neff (Sui) Kross Racing got the holeshot and quickly formed a gap as five riders took up the chase led by Kate Courtney (USA) Specialized with Batty third as Walter also started well sitting 14th.

On the second lap of six Batty suffered a mechanical with a chain drop and fell to seventh as Neff’s pace was too much for all except Dahle Flesjaa who took over second.

But Batty, the reigning Canadian champ regrouped and battled back to 4th as Dahle Flesjaa passed Neff on the fourth lap while Smith joined Walter in the teens. On the penultimate lap Batty dropped Anne Tauber (Ned) CST SANDD American Eagle MTB Racing Team and Maja Wloszczowska (Pol) Kross Racing Team to take over third for good as she tried to close on Neff who was fading.

Dahle Flesjaa crossed the line triumphant for a historic win with Neff holding on to second as Batty claimed her third consecutive podium followed by Smith in 13th and Walter in 17th. Other Canadian results included Cindy Montambault (Team Canada) in 34th, Elyse Nieuwold (Pendrel Racing) in 39th, Catherine Fleury (Team Canada) in 43rd and Rebecca Beaumont (Team Canada) was 44th.

“I had a great first lap and felt really strong,” said Batty. “I made a mistake [shifting] into one of the corners going from a downhill into an uphill, so I lost time there. I had a strong race and felt good despite the altitude; I did some training at altitude in Livigno [Italy]. I was well prepared and going for it, but that one mistake cost me a lot of time. The rest of the race was a matter of trying to make up that time, so third is pretty good for today.”

“It’s amazing and a dream come true,” said Dahle Flesjaa. “We believed it was possible for many years and it’s awesome. I have to dedicate this 30th World Cup victory to my sponsor Merida Norway, who are celebrating their 30th year. I also want to thank my fantastic team who have worked hard for this, and my husband who is the greatest coach and training partner.”

We caught up with Smith to find out more about her career-best result, “Thank you! Yes, today was my best-ever elite finish, coming across the line in 13th. I had a great start. I’m not sure how, but I came around the first corner in the top 15 (I think), which was awesome because it allowed me to “sag” the climb a little bit and stay within my race plan of a conservative start to mitigate the effects of the altitude.

“This course was actually pretty good for passing – very wide and significant amount of climbing. That meant that I could ride my own steady pace and pass riders as I came across them – I didn’t really have to put down attacks to make those passes.

“Is this the toughest course… that’s an interesting question. The altitude definitely makes it difficult, and for that reason it was vastly outside of my comfort zone. The climbing is also very steep and it feels quite slow when you’re out there racing (which is mentally challenging). However, I think it is a relatively easy and simple course technically (when compared to, say, Mont Sainte Anne). So yes – it’s a very challenging course, but each track has unique, challenging elements.

“I think I nailed my pacing very well. I was riding in 12th on the final lap, but I knew that Chloe Woodruff was hunting me down. She caught me just after the final climb, and I made the tactical decision to ease up and then jump on her wheel in the hopes of winning the sprint from behind. She bested me in that sprint, though, and I finished 13th.

“It still feels like MSA is very far away! In between now and then I will race National Championships and then the Canada Cup in Kentville, NS. I do feel fit and ready right now, but I’m obviously hoping to improve on what I’ve got in the next few weeks,” she concluded.

Walter was also pleased with her day in the saddle. “Yes, this is my best season yet! This is my second-best Euro World Cup and third-best ever. Definitely my best at altitude. I was 28th here last year. I’m really happy with my progression this year. It’s exciting to go from being a top-30 World Cup rider to a top-20 rider.

“I had a great start thanks to my 14th place in the short track on Friday – that earned me a second-row start position today. I’ve never started so far up in a World Cup before, and it was really cool.

“I didn’t have any traffic to deal with. But it was also challenging, because I was not necessarily in control of the pace, so I was a bit worried I’d get carried away and overextend myself early. When I start in my “normal” place, it’s kind of easier, because the traffic forces me to start a bit less fast and then once things spread out, I can step on the gas and ride my own speed, picking riders off along the way. That’s also mentally easier than starting at the front, when you’re already where you want to be and everyone around you is fast and you’re already in caught in epic battles from the gun and there’s much more back and forth.

“I think the altitude and steep climbs does make this one of the toughest courses on the circuit. I definitely noticed the altitude. It affected my pacing and my sensations. At the beginning, it didn’t feel like I was pushing very hard, but my lungs were struggling to take in enough oxygen. I thought maybe I was being too conservative, but later in the race I really started to suffer and so I think I paced pretty well, even though I lost a couple of spots.

“I’m feeling strong and confident going into the rest of the season. Heading directly to Canmore, Alta. for Canadian MTB Championships next weekend, then a couple of weekends off before MSA. Thanks to everyone for the support this season. The Cycling Canada program is dialed and everyone is doing everything they can to set the team up for success. So awesome to see strong rides again today from Emily and Haley, as well as the U23s,” she concluded.

Elite Men’s Race

In the Elite men’s 8-lap, 30.4 km race Schurter quickly established a lead as only Kerschbaumer could challenge him with a chase group of three including Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Corendon-Circus, Henrique Avancini (Bra) Cannondale Factory Racing XC and Jordan Sarrou (Fra) KMC-Ekoi-SRSuntour forming behind.

It soon became a 2-horse race as the leaders pulled away but Kerschbaumer, who was stonger on the climbs, was giving Schurter a run for his money as the Swiss star could close any gaps on the descents where he was stronger.

On the sixth lap Kerschbaumer opened an 11-seconds gap as Schurter seemed to crack suffering with the altitude and it was game over as the Italian extended his lead until the finish to over a minute for a remarkable victory.

“This victory means a lot,” said Kerschbaumer. “I spent two months at home training at altitude and it worked. A week ago I finished second behind Nino [Schurter] but today I was able to fight harder… it was amazing.”

Bouchard moved up well from the 40s to finish 34th while reigning Canadian MTB champ, Peter Disera (Norco Factory), finishing 43rd, Raphael Gagne (Silverback OMX) was 61st, Andrew L’Esperance (Team Canada) placed 69th and Alexandre Vialle was 90th.

“I’m pretty happy about my race, it’s a step in the good direction,” said Bouchard. “I was feeling great at altitude and on the course. Start was fast as usual. I decided not to go all out to avoid overpacing too much. With altitude, you can really pay so things went pretty smooth and there was not to much jampack.

“I paced my effort over those long steady climbs each lap. A big group was in front of me so when I finally caught them, some were cooked. This is one of the toughest courses yet perhaps not the hardest – but the altitude make it really tough.It gives me cofidence for the Nationals where I hope to catch my first Elite Men’s XCO title.”

Disera had a tough start but was able to regroup and is keen on defending his title at the upcoming MTB Nationals. “I had a bad start. Gambled on the wrong side of the pack and got pinched. It was unfortunate and I also didn’t have the power to regain spots which therefore saw me in the really hectic part of the group where people are descending three wide and it’s all wild,” said Disera.

“Luckily my body started to turn it around in the 3rd lap and I was able to go hunting. I was having good sensations (for 2,000m above sea level) and I pressed on.

“This has to be one of the toughest physically. The altitude can affect you in so many ways in addition to the course having very steep, long climbs and super rough descents where it is hard to recover.

“As mentioned things were turning around and I was hunting. I started to fade a little but I really wanted to better my other results in addition to UCI points being very important for Olympic Nation Ranking. So I pressed on as hard as I could and managed to squeak out 43rd in a sprint.

“Honestly, I haven’t really been feeling myself. However, I think this race, that hunt from the back, has really stoked the fire. I’m excited to rip the legs off everyone at Nationals,” he concluded.

U23 Men’s and Women’s Races

Canada also had top-20 results in the Under-23 category, with Team Canada riders Mackenzie Myatt and Sean Fincham both finishing 19th in the women’s and men’s races respectively.

Team Canada’s Sean Fincham was 19th in the U23 Men’s 7-lap 26km race while Mackenzie Myatt finished 19th as well in the U23 Women’s 5-lap 19km competition.

Dan Proulx, National Mountain Bike Coach at Cycling Canada, called the weekend a success. “We’re really pleased with how Vallnord turned out. It’s a tough race and it’s at altitude. Sean and Mackenzie lead the way for the Under-23’s, both finishing 19^th. Our Elite women were exceptional, with Emily riding strong to get third, Haley with a best-ever World Cup result and Sandra with a second best-ever finish. We’re pleased and will plan to do even more preparation for this event in the future.”

Results here.