Disera, Batty claim Canadian XC titles

U23 Rider Peter Disera Surprises Elites with Canadian XC Title

Peter Disera (Norco Factory), Canada's top Under-23 rider, decided to race the Elite category on Saturday at the Canadian XCO Championships Canmore, Alberta and upset the field to take the title.

The Canmore Nordic Centre, site of the 1988 Olympic cross-country skiing events, remains as spectacular as ever, with a backdrop of the Kananaskis Country mountains leading into the Banff National Park.

The area has been spared the terrible forest fires ravaging the B.C. interior, and threats of smoke did not materialise. The circuit has been revised substantially from when the Championships were held in 2010 and 2011, reflecting the change to shorter courses at the World Cup and world championship level. The previous course measured 6.8 kilometres, while the current circuit is four kilometres in length, looping back into the main finish bowl area multiple times.

The men's race had no clear favourite. Defending champion Derek Zandstra (Cannondale-3Rox) and his wife had their first child less than a month ago, and his form was clearly suffering. Leandre Bouchard (BH SR Suntour KMC) has been the most consistent on the World Cup circuit, while former champion Raphael Gagne (Cannondale-3Rox) had a good early season before struggling in May and June. Disera, although an Under-23 aged rider, has four top-10 finishes on the World Cup (U23) circuit this season, and decided to 'ride up' a category, in hopes of gaining valuable UCI ranking points with a top-5 result.

Disera attacked on the opening climb, with only Bouchard able to initially match him. Gagne bridged across on the second lap, and the two dropped Bouchard late in the fourth lap. From that point on, Disera and Gagne rode together, neither able to open a gap on the other. It looked like it was going to come down to a sprint finish, until Gagne made a mistake on one of the final descents, going down hard and leaving the door open for Disera to cruise in to the national title.

"My decision to race up stemmed from UCI points," explained Disera. "A top-5 [in Elite] would earn more points than winning Under-23. We decided as a team that I could mix it up with the Elites. I was a bit of a wild card because none of the Elites had really raced me, so I just took the bull by the horns and gave 'er from the go."

"I felt really good and Dre [Bouchard] went with me. Coming into the second lap, Raph came out of nowhere, so there were three of us. Going into the last three laps I started throwing down attacks and Dre just fell off the back. I felt good and wanted to dictate the pace so I stayed at the front. I knew Raph was going to attack and I was able to follow and then get to the front before the descent. Unfortunately, he had a little mishap, but I was ready for a sprint."

Emily Batty Repeats as Canadian XC Champion

On Saturday, Emily Batty (Trek Factory) won her third Elite Women's XC title, and her second consecutive one, in Canmore, Alberta. Her usual rival, Catharine Pendrel (Clif Pro Team), had to settle for second.

The women's race was expected to be a showdown between Canada's two top riders. Pendrel has two world titles and an Olympic bronze medal, but Batty has had stronger results on the World Cup circuit this season. The duo dropped the rest of the field in the first half lap, with Haley Smith (Norco Factory) racing alone in third behind them for the entire race.

Pendrel set the pace, with Batty content to follow her rival. In past match ups, Pendrel has dropped Batty with a surge later in the race, but not this year. Instead, it was Batty who attacked with half a lap to go, pulling away decisively to win by 50 seconds. Pendrel admitted afterwards that she could not follow when her rival attacked on a climb.

"It was not an easy race by any means," agreed Batty. "I rode my hardtail, and I was questioning a little bit whether that was the right choice because it is such a technical and bumpy course, but it was rocking up the climbs. Catharine didn't make it easy; the two of us set a really high pace right from the start. I found through the course of the race that I was feeling really good. I knew I was going to put an effort in on one of the climbs at some point, and I chose a spot where I felt strong and punched it."

Full Results

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Elite Men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Peter Disera1:32:18
2Raphael Gagne0:00:49
3Leandre Bouchard0:02:32
4Evan McNeely0:03:23
5Geoff Kabush0:04:04
6Evan Guthrie0:04:50
7Andrew L'Esperance0:05:52
8Davis Ross0:08:46
9Peter Glassford0:09:00
10Derek Zandstra0:09:35
11Alexandre Vialle0:11:26
12Matthew Martindill0:11:27
13Andrew Watson0:11:55
14Jason Wiebe0:13:29
15Ian Murray0:13:52
16Mitchell Thomas0:14:19
17Michael Van Den HamRow 16 - Cell 2
18Alex SchmidtRow 17 - Cell 2
19Shawn BunninRow 18 - Cell 2
20David YexleyRow 19 - Cell 2
21Aaron SchoolerRow 20 - Cell 2
22Peter KnightRow 21 - Cell 2
23Jon SlaughterRow 22 - Cell 2
24Mark McconnellRow 23 - Cell 2
25Cory ZetterstromRow 24 - Cell 2
26Alex LefebvreRow 25 - Cell 2
27Darren SchmidtRow 26 - Cell 2
28Alex VannesteRow 27 - Cell 2
29Russell ThiessenRow 28 - Cell 2
30Duane MyersRow 29 - Cell 2
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Elite Women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Emily Batty1:32:54
2Catharine Pendrel0:00:49
3Haley Smith0:02:32
4Maghalie Rochette0:09:03
5Sandra Walter0:09:25
6Rebecca Beaumont0:09:47
7Jayne Rossworn0:12:05
8Catherine Fleury0:13:11
9Elyse NieuwoldRow 8 - Cell 2
10Denise HillRow 9 - Cell 2
11Frederique TrudelRow 10 - Cell 2
12Shantel KoenigRow 11 - Cell 2
13Andrea BunninRow 12 - Cell 2
14Natascha PicigaRow 13 - Cell 2
15Jayne EnnsRow 14 - Cell 2
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U23 Men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Sean Fincham1:23:03
2Raphael Auclair0:00:39
3Quinton Disera0:00:50
4Felix Longpre0:00:52
5Marc Andre Fortier0:02:33
6Felix Burke0:03:26
7Felix Belhumeur0:04:29
8Isaac Niles0:05:26
9Liam Mulcahy0:05:46
10Carter Nieuwesteeg0:07:47
11Emile Farrell-Dessureault0:07:57
12Matthew Turcotte0:08:10
13Anthony Audet0:10:42
14Guillaume Larose Gingras0:12:26
15Rhys Verner0:12:57
16Anthony BergeronRow 15 - Cell 2
17Tyler OrschelRow 16 - Cell 2
18Kaleb MullerRow 17 - Cell 2
19Owen FloodRow 18 - Cell 2
20Cody ShimizuRow 19 - Cell 2
21Samuel BeaudoinRow 20 - Cell 2
22Malcolm BartonRow 21 - Cell 2
23Sean GermaineRow 22 - Cell 2
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U23 Women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Jenn Jackson1:27:20
2Mackenzie Myatt0:01:46
3Sophianne Samson0:06:09
4Soren Meeuwisse0:08:25
5Laurie Arseneault0:09:37
6Emily Handford0:10:52
7Amelie Simard0:11:06
8Erica LeonardRow 7 - Cell 2
9Siobhan KellyRow 8 - Cell 2
10Juliette TetreaultRow 9 - Cell 2
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Junior Men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Brody Sanderson1:08:51
2Gunnar Holmgren0:01:26
3Holden Jones0:02:50
4Tyler Clark0:03:23
5William Cote0:03:34
6Philippe Saint-Laurent0:04:48
7Philippe Truchon0:06:04
8Scott Leonard0:07:54
9William Baron0:08:19
10Christopher Glanznig0:09:07
11Charles Couture0:11:20
12William Maltais Pilote0:12:01
13Frederic Bergeron0:12:06
14Thomas HultonRow 13 - Cell 2
15Nick KlebanRow 14 - Cell 2
16Logan SadeskyRow 15 - Cell 2
17Talon ValeRow 16 - Cell 2
18Dylan JoyceRow 17 - Cell 2
19Shane PattersonRow 18 - Cell 2
20Francis FortinRow 19 - Cell 2
21Carson ThompsonRow 20 - Cell 2
22Hunter VernerRow 21 - Cell 2
23Kailen ShackletonRow 22 - Cell 2
24David HammRow 23 - Cell 2
25Duncan FergusonRow 24 - Cell 2
26John VanluxemborgRow 25 - Cell 2
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Junior Women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Roxane Vermette1:10:10
2Marianne Theberge0:02:19
3Dana Gilligan0:03:08
4Eva Poidevin0:04:57
5Julia Long0:06:53
6Sarah Fabbro0:08:43
7Abbey McGill0:10:33
8Leya Masson0:13:39
9Laura MacleanRow 8 - Cell 2
10Emie DiazRow 9 - Cell 2
11Amy CooperRow 10 - Cell 2

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