Canada Cup's final cross country round is cancelled

The 2011 Canada Cup cross country round scheduled for July 30 at Panorama Mountain Resort has been cancelled as announced by the Canadian Cycling Association on Friday.

Organizers made the difficult decision to cancel the cross country portion of the Canada Cup series due to low registration numbers even as the rest of the series has been successful in terms of rider registration and quality.

As a results, the Canada Cup Cross Country Series race in Edmonton, Alta, on July 23, will be the series final race of the season. There will be changes to the calculations of the overall standings, as the best three results of the four events will now count towards the final standings.

The 2011 Canada Cup Downhill Series will end on July 31 at Panorama Mountain Resort with the presentation of the third and final downhill race of the series.

Favorites for the finals

In Edmonton this weekend, it's the cross country riders, fresh off successful Canadian championships in Canmore, Alberta, who will be racing to grab the top Canada Cup honours in this final cross country race of the season.

Matthew Hadley and Catherine Vipond will both be looking to defend their current Canada Cup leads. However, there are no guarantees as the competition is stiff in both categories, with Jean-Ann Berkenpas chasing Vipond, just five points behind, in the women's standings and Cameron Jette and Adam Morka are still very present in the race in the men's race to the season title.

In the U23 category, Léandre Bouchard, the 2011 Canadian U23 Champion, will be looking to end his 2011 domestic season on a high note with a win, while Andréanne Pichette will be looking to secure her lead with a strong performance, with good leads over their closest competitors.

Frédérique Trudel, the 2011 Canadian Champion in the women's junior category, and Alexandre Vialle are leading the standings in the junior category.