February 18, 2019 (Greece) – Haley Smith of the Norco Factory Mountain Bike Team put on a clinic at the Salamina Stage Race series in Greece, taking two back to back general classification titles. Joining Smith were her Norco teammates; Andrew L’Esperance and Peter Disera as well as several other Canadians. The Salamina Epic series is a unique stage race combing a variety of MTB disciplines including a Time-Trial, Point-to-Point, Cross-Country and Marathon.

The first round took place between the 7th to 11th of February, kicking off four intense days of racing. The pair of Disera and L’Esperance would go on to finish 7th and 11th in the GC while American Keegan Swenson won the final stage.

In the women’s field, Smith dominated all four stages; sharing the final podium with Blaza Pintaric (SLO) and world cup star Yana Belomonia (UKR). Canadian Cindy Montambault finished in 9th.

The Salamina Epic Round 2 started just a day later and followed a similar story line. Smith only missed the top spot once over four days of racing, finishing second to Italian Greta Seiwald in the Marathon. She rebounded quickly, winning stage four along with the General Classification; making it nine wins in eight days race days.

Disera was the top Canadian in the men’s event finishing 6th overall, just 5:13 off Russian Ivanov Timofei. The rest of the Canadian squad – L’Esperance and Alexander Vialle – finished 16th and 26th while American Swenson took the bronze medal.

February 17th held the final race for the Greek Campaign; an Olympic Cross-Country race around a tough 4.6km lap. Smith once again dominated the women’s field, finishing nearly 50 seconds ahead of her nearest competitor. Cindy Montambault also had an impressive ride to finish inside the top 5.

Peter Disera continually improved over his Greek campaign and capped it off with a 4th place finish; just 23 seconds from the podium. L’Esperance nailed a top 10 finish while compatriot Vialle rode into 25th.

With the World Cup season fast approaching, the Canadian MTB contingent is in fine form.