June 4/04 12:08 pm - Dominick Menard's Report from Tremblant DH

Posted by Editoress on 06/4/04
 

Tremblant Canada Cup Tremblant QC

The splendid Mt. Tremblant ski resort welcomed, last week end, the 2nd round of the Canada Cup circuit. Just like in Bromont there were a lot of racers in attendance, which means the sport is doing well!

It is always nice to go to Tremblant: for the scenery, the village, the party or for biking, Tremblant is really a week end you don't want to miss! It's a classic race on the Canadian circuit!

The course: It rained a lot during the week and despite the sun, the course stayed slippery and muddy in some sections. This course has a lot of pedaling and it's sometimes very hard to go fast in some sections, especially in those flat ground sections that Tremblant is known for. It's very important to be in good shape for this race. The course is practically the same since 1997 bu despite all these years, it's still in good condition. I have to mention that other than the race week end, Tremblant is not open to cyclists during the season, golf being the number one priority. It's sad, because when you look at what Whistler (Whistler and Tremblant both belong to Intrawest) has done for mountain biking, there's no doubt it would also work here. Tremblant is a really nice place and has a lot of potential for mountain biking. They have a 10 year contract with the race organizers and I really hope they will renew there agreement once this one comes to an end.

The race: Mike Jones (www.mikejones.ca) the 2003 National Champion from Norco, was starting (almost) first due to his unusual 33rd place in Bromont and managed an excellent time of 4 minutes 30 seconds. Mike, who is coming back from a wrist injury was very happy with his run. "I'm back on track" he said after the race. Even Mathieu Laurin from Iron Horse (4m 31sec.) couldn't do better and Mike's time (almost) stands up all afternoon long. Brant Lyon, a strong rider from Giant, completed his run in 4m 33sec. despite a crash and a flat tire! With the 6 fastest riders to go, Mike couldn't really party yet and the wait was getting very stressful. Eric Goss of Giant was one of those 6 riders and he crossed the finish line with an incredible time of 4 minutes 23 seconds, which beat us all by far! Eric is an ex cross country racer and he's still in very good shape, which helped him a lot on this type of course. The remaining 5 riders all failed to beat his time and Eric will return to his hometown in New Brunswick with a win under his belt. Kwannah Sioux from DHracer.com who won last week in Bromont, crashed in the slick rock section and ended up 4th but still leads the Canada Cup overall. Luke Kitzanuk completed the top 5 with a time of 4m 32sec. For those who don't know him, this guy only started racing last year, he's fast! Great job Luke!

Dominick Menard www.dominickmenard.com