07.11.10 - Downhill riders at their best for 2010 Mountain Bike Canadian Championships

Panorama hosts Canadian Championships for the first time

(Panorama, BC – July 11, 2010) Andrew Mitchell (Victoria, BC) and Micayla Gatto (West Vancouver, BC) took home the Canadian Elite titles at the 2010 Mountain Bike Canadian Championships, which kicked off Sunday with the downhill events in Panorama Mountain Village, BC.

Over 175 riders from all over Canada gathered in Panorama Mountain Village, British Columbia, for the 2010 Mountain Bike Canadian Championships downhill race, including 53 riders in the coveted Men’s elite category and 14 riders in the Women’s elite category.

Andrew Mitchell came out on top of the group to take the ultimate honors in the tough Men’s Elite category, stopping the clock at 3 minutes 27.97 seconds. Mitchell, who qualified with the second fastest time in Saturday’s seeding run, is thrilled of this title, which is part of his comeback master plan.

“I am looking to getting out and doing more race because I got a lot of catching up to do. This Championships was part of my come back plan. The track today required a lot of fitness, it was a weird course. There was a lot of pedalling, with lots of crazy fast sections. It was a hard track to come back to after my injury,” said Mitchell, a three-time Canadian Champion in the Elite category.

Mitchell hasn’t been riding much since he broke his right ankle and shattered bones in his right leg in July of 2009. Sunday’s Championship race is Mitchell’s second race of the season.

“I am looking forward to do as much races as I can. I got a lot a catching up to do before the World Championships. It would be great to get out there and represent Canada at that event along with some of the top boys. I am really looking forward to next year.

Jamie Biluk (Winnipeg, MB) came in second place, trailing the winning time by just under two seconds. Dean Tennant, benefiting from the fastest seeding time, came third for a second straight year with a time of 3 minutes 30.38 seconds.

In the women’s elite category, it is without surprise that Micayla Gatto won the event. Gatto, Canada’s second highest ranked downhill specialist, currently sits in 14th place of the UCI World Rankings.

Gatto finished the course in 3 minutes 55.13 seconds, with a solid eight seconds lead over second-place Miranda Miller (Squamish, BC). Casey Brown (Revelstoke, BC) took the third spot of the 14-rider field.

“It feels amazing to be Canadian Champion, obviously I am very happy about that,” said Gatto after the race. “I felt a lot of pressure coming into this race, because I knew everyone had a really good shot, with a lot of good girls out here,” said Gatto of the race

“I couldn’t be happier as far as my run is concerned. I hit all my lines, I felt very smooth, and I just pedalled as much as I could and came out with the win. I tried to prepare the same as usual, but this race being closer to home makes it hard not to more relax. Racing locally and internationally is totally a different mind game,” added Gatto, who finished seventh at the 2009 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Downhill.

The Mountain Bike Canadian Championships were held in Panorama for the first time in history. Panorama has a long history of hosting Provincial events and BC Cup events, but this event marked the biggest Mountain Bike race held in the Panorama Bike Park.

“(Panorama) have been very good organizers. They ran a professional event. We can clearly see their experience in event organisations,” commented Nicholas Vipond, Coordinator for Mountain Bike at the Canadian Cycling Association.

In the Junior category, Remi Gauvin (Nanoose, BC) flew down the course at remarkable speeds, posting a time of 3 minutes 28.51 seconds, an impressive three seconds in front of Nicholas Geddes (Whistler, BC) who came second. Kelsey Begg (Langley, BC), the only women entered in the junior category, posted a time of 5 minutes 15.15 seconds.

Jordan Gosteli (Squamish, BC) won the title in the U17 category, beating Newfoundlander Sheldon Smith and Canadian-born, California-resident Vezina McKay to the finish line.

Cory Leclerc (Coquitlam, BC) and Graham Beatty (Squamish, BC) took home the Master’s title in the two men’s categories, while Karaleen Westmoreland (Port Moody, BC) won the Women’s Masters race.

Over 30 volunteers from the Panorama Mountain Village were involved in ensuring this event went on smoothly.

The 2010 Canadian Championships have significant importance this season as they are considered a qualifying event for the selection pool to the team that will represent Canada at the 2010 UCI World Mountain Bike Championships held September 1-5 in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Québec. The Top Three in each eligible category will receive automatic selection to the pool.

The Downhill event in Mountain Bike is similar to Downhill skiing. Each rider have one attempt to post the fastest time of the challenging course, which takes riders into a journey filled with banks, jumps, kickers, speedy open areas, and slower technical trails. The rider with the fastest time wins the race and crowned Champion.

The seeding runs were held on Saturday to determine the start order for Sunday’s Championships races.

The 2010 Mountain Bike Canadian Championships continues next weekend in Canmore, Alberta, with the presentation of the cross-country events, the Olympic Mountain Bike discipline.

2010 MOUNTAIN BIKE CANADIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS – DOWNHILL – PANORARA MOUNTAIN VILLAGE, BC

ELITE (Women)
1. Micayla Gatto (West Vancouver, BC/Oakley, Cycling BC) – 3:55.13
2. Miranda Miller (Squamish, BC/SantaCruz, SRAM, PinkBike, Cycling BC) – 4:03.28
3. Casey Brown (Revelstoke, BC) – 4:08.26

ELITE (Men)
1. Andrew Mitchell (Victoria, BC/Dunbar Cycles, Intense, Sombrio) – 3:27.97
2. Jamie Biluk (Winnipeg, MB/PinkBike, Suspensionwerx, Bontrair) – 3:29.84
3. Dean Tennant (Sidney, BC/Dunbar Cycles, Sombrio) – 3:30.38

U17 EXPERT (Men)
1. Jordan Gosteli (Squamish, BC/C4, MMR, Cycling BC) – 3:44.39
2. Sheldon Smith (Mount Pearl, NL) – 3:49.43
3. McKay Vezina (Newbury Park, CA/Newbury Park Bike Shop) – 3:51.60

JUNIOR EXPERT (Women)
1. Kelsea Begg (Langley, BC/Cycling BC) – 5:15.15

JUNIOR EXPERT (Men)
1. Remi Gauvin (Nanoose, BC/PerformX, Evil) – 3:28.51
2. Nicholas Geddes (Whistler, BC/Norco Factory Team, Cycling BC) 3:31.83
3. Kyle Sangers (Kingston, ON/J&J Cycle) – 3:33.33

MASTER EXPERT 30-39 (Men)
1. Cory Leclerc (Squamish, BC/C4) – 3:41.80
2. Darryl Bartlett (Coquitlam, BC/ Pinkbike.com) – 3:45.06
3. Aaron Clark (Invermere, BC/Colombia Cycles/CVCS) – 3:52.90

MASTER EXPERT 40-49 (Men)
1. Graham Beatty (Squamish, BC) – 4:06.16
2. Richard Ratte (Calgary, AB) – 4:08.10
3. Bryan Gioia (Maple Ridge, BC) – 4:18.27

MASTER EXPERT 30+ (Women)
1. Karaleen Westmoreland (Port Moody, BC) - 4:59.36
2. Carolyn Soules (Calgary, AB) - 8:57.21