2013 Canadian Nationals (Hardwood Hills) Recap

At the Canadian MTB Championships Bikenxs coached riders had phenomenal results with a few podium appearances. The weekend began with the Cadet and Junior aged riders. Haley Golding having the race of her season rallied from a rough start in the junior womens race to ride thru the field on the technical rock sections to steal second place, less than a minute away from a national championship jersey. Her great result allows her to represent Canada at the Mt. St. Anne World Cup as well as the World Championships in South Africa.  In the cadet men’s race a real battle for second thru 10^th transpired in a tight race. With Liam Mulcahy current Canada Cup leader out of the race due to an unfortunate fall that required sensitive surgery, Tyler Orschel was able to work his way into a podium position placing 2^nd , out sprinting two inexperienced quebec technical riders. Malcolm Barton was in the top ten in the first lap but succumbed to a second bike mechanical that was later determined to be a cracked frame in his carbon rear triangle.  In the Cadet women’s race Tiffany Lai placed 15^th  just missing finishing in the top ten in her first season in the cadet category. Trent Meyers finished 37^th in the under 23 elite mens race, one of the most competitive categories in the national championships.

On Sunday the sport and expert riders were given their chance to challenge the rock features and new Joy Ride 150 bermed element. Keegan Mulcahy raced a strong field and finished 14^th out of 40 riders in his first year in minimee and complementing keegan, Jessica Lai placed 7^th out of 10 riders also in her first year of the category. In the sport races,  Maddy Baltovich placed 2^nd in a great race even after a final descent crash. Rick Andersen placed 23^rd out of 30 in the tough and competitive 45-49 sport category, while Jay Ennis riding a borrowed Apollo 1X11 race machine stormed to a 3^rd place podium in the 35-39 category. Coach Eric Orschel battled in the Master Expert 45-49 race for a podium position until the final lap but in the end lost a battle for 4^th by 20 seconds and had to settle for 6^th place.

Congratulations to all Bikenxs coached podium rider’s, early season hard work has paid off with great results at the national championships. With a summer break, riders can look forward to last years provincials course at Duntroon in Collingwood for O-Cup 6 in mid August.