July 24, 2009 (Mont-Sainte-Anne, QC) – What UCI World Cup season would be complete without the triple event at MSA? Luckily riders and fans won’t have to find out, as the 2009 Velirium cycling festival showcases the World Cup DH, 4X and XC this weekend with world-class racing, exceptional courses, a huge expo, and entertainment for everyone. And considering this is the site of the 2010 UCI World MTB and Trials Championships, rider turnout will be exceptionally high.

DH/4X coming
The behemoth that once was the MSA downhill is rearing it’s head once again. Changes to the upper and lower sections of the track have brought back a bit of the beat down riders once expected at Ste Anne. The new lower woods section is slick with mud and roots and filled with natural doubles and huge holes and rocks.

A large factor of what made riders pray for the finish line was the sheer length of the track. Shortened up in recent years, the addition of numerous berms up top and a slower, tighter woods at the bottom has upped the length considerably. In timed runs, Sam Hill (Aus) Monster Energy-Specialized posted the fastest time with a 4:44, with Steve Peat (Gbr) Santa Cruz Syndicate about 5 seconds behind him.

Rain is still on tap for Saturday’s final, but every time the weather is updated it looks like there is less rain on the way. Spectators may get a dry race day yet.

The 4-Cross track at MSA is huge and built to last. This year’s event is a prelude to what is to come, as only one section of the course will be bulldozed for the winter. Huge jumps, line choices and multiple rhythm sections will help keep things racey and hopefully allow passing to take place. Jared Graves (AUS) and Anneke Beerten (NED) have taken pole positions for Saturday’s final – familiar places for the stars of 4X. – FB

Cross Country
Every year, race organizers try to revamp the mountain’s XC course to shake things up and keep the competition interesting for everyone, and the 2009 edition is no exception. This year, the 6km loop will start near the centre of the familiar lap of years previous, and riders will head to the easternmost section of trails before going to the west side and up the wide gravel climb, which used to be first. Not only has the order been switched, but course designers have added a couple of new bits of singletrack climbing and a particularly challenging steep, rocky descent. Rider feedback on the course has been good, but with rain in the forecast, the route will become even more difficult and a few of the tricky sections will likely be unrideable, even for the world’s best. With its many short power climbs and technical passages, there is no doubt the course is both physically and technically demanding, but maybe the advantage will favour the rider with the best skills over the rider with the biggest engine.

The World Cup series this year has featured junior category races at every event, and MSA is no exception. The junior men and women start at 9:00 am Sunday morning, and they will contest on the same course as the elites. As the race is in Canada, most of the junior riders are Canadians and Americans, including junior men’s Canadian National Champion Evan Guthrie (BC) Rocky Mountain Factory/Team Canada and U.S. National Champion Russell Finsterwald (USA) US National Team. Nine Canadians in total will take on the field of 21, which also has representation from New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, and Chile. A small junior women’s field of six Canadian riders will also compete, including National Champion Laura Bietola (ON) 3 Rox Racing/Team Canada. Samantha Grover (AB) Hardcore Bikes/Team Canada and Cayley Brooks (ON) Trek Store Toronto/Team Canada, who placed second and third at Nationals, will face off as well.

The elite women’s race kicks off at 11:15 a.m. on Sunday morning, with a stacked field of 61, including World Cup leader Marga Fullana (Spa) Massi, Olympic Champion Sabine Spitz (Ger) Central-Ghost, Elisabeth Osl (Aut) Central-Ghost, Lene Byberg (Nor) Specialized, Irina Kalentieva (Rus) Topeak-Ergon, Maja Wloszczowska (Pol) CCC, and of course, Canada’s double-barreled shotgun of Marie-Hélène Prémont (QC) Maxxis-Rocky Mountain and newly crowned National Champion Catharine Pendrel (BC) Luna Women’s MTB Team.

Fans can expect Emily Batty (ON) Trek Store Toronto to contend in the U23 women’s field, considering her early-season World Cup victories in that category. However, there is a strong contingent of U23’s racing, including French Champ Caroline Mani (Fra) Bikepark.ch. The women will likely race four laps plus a start lap, which will hopefully spread out the field sufficiently before the pack hits the singletrack, which comes early on in the new loop.

A very impressive field of 112 elite men will sprint off of the line at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, headed by the king of XC, multiple World and Olympic Champion and series leader, Julien Absalon (Fra) Orbea. Defending World Champ Christoph Sauser (Sui) Specialized is also expected to bump elbows at the front of the pack, along with Jose Antonio Hermida (Spa) Multivan-Merida, who often does very well at MSA.

There is such a deep men’s field attending. Other players worth mentioning include the series’s econd overall, Wolfram Kurschat (Ger) Topeak-Ergon, Nino Schurter (Sui) Swisspower, Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) Orbea, and Ralph Naef (Sui) Multivan-Merida.

Canadians who aim to mix it up with the top Euros, include National Champ Geoff Kabush (BC) Maxxis-Rocky Mountain, Max Plaxton (BC) Sho-Air/Specialized, Derek Zandstra (ON) 3 Rox Racing, Seamus McGrath (BC) Jamis, and Andrew Watson (ON) Norco Factory. The current U23 men’s World Cup leader, Burry Stander (RSA) Specialized, is the heavy favourite in his category, as he’s currently ranked third overall, while Canada’s U23 National Champ, Raphaël Gagné (QC) Maxxis-Rocky Mountain will vie for a personal best result in front of his home crowd. Team managers and coaches are speculating that the men will do a five-lap race, plus a starting loop. – SW