Kabush wins third Canadian cyclo-cross title

Geoff Kabush (SCOTT-3Rox Racing) slipped and slid to his third Canadian national cyclo-cross championship Saturday on a wet, sloppy course in Surrey, British Columbia.

A typically wet Pacific Northwest day soaked the 3.25 km course at the South Surrey Athletic Park as steady wind and rain quickly turned the terrain into a slippery challenge by the time the Elite men started at the end of the day.

Two-time Canadian champion Mike Garrigan (Stage Race-Blacksmith Cycles) took the hole shot to start the Elite men's race. He was quickly followed by Kabush, Aaron Schooler (Team H&R Block) and two-time defending champion Chris Sheppard (Rocky Mountain Bicycles), who was looking for his third consecutive title.

Sheppard took the lead partway through the first lap. Adam Morka (Trek Canada) grabbed his wheel, followed by Kabush, Schooler, Derrick St. John (Stevens-The Cyclery), Andrew Watson (SCOTT-3Rox Racing) and Cameron Jette (SCOTT-3Rox Racing), to form an early lead group of seven.

Kabush attacked hard on the second lap and opened up a 20 second gap to a chase group of three, which included Sheppard, Schooler and St. John, with another 10 second gap to Morka, Cameron and Watson. Kabush looked solid over the slick course, flying around corners and “drifting” through off-camber sections. His gap was soon 30 seconds over the chasing trio, then it increased to 40 and kept growing past a minute.

While Kabush poured it on, Sheppard opened up a small gap on St. John about two-thirds of the way through the 60-minute race. Jette followed close behind, with Watson and Craig Richey (Renner Custom CX) rounding out the leaders.

Kabush took the bell for the final lap with more than a minute over Sheppard. St. John chased behind in third, followed by Richey and then Jette. But Schooler, who had started out fast and then faltered, flew up to Jette and Richey as they started the lap, chasing his fifth straight third-place finish at the championship race. His chances improved when Jette crashed about halfway through the final lap, leaving Schooler and Richey to chase down the 20-second gap to St. John.

With the battle for the last podium spot still playing out on the course behind him, Kabush crossed the line to take his third cyclo-cross national championship, adding to his wins in 2004 and 2009. Sheppard came in more than a minute down for second, while St. John kept his third-place spot. Despite Schooler's final lap heroics, Richey won the battle for fourth, with Schooler rounding out the top five.

 

Results

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#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Geoff Kabush (Can) SCOTT-3Rox Racing1:02:55
2Chris Sheppard (Can) Rocky Mountain Bicycles0:01:29
3Derrick St John (Can) Stevens p/b The Cyclery0:01:48
4Craig Richey (Can)0:02:00
5Aaron Schooler (Can) NORCO Bicycles - SRI Importing0:02:11
6Cameron Jette (Can) Scott - 3 Rox Racing0:02:28
7Andrew Watson (Can) Norco Factory Team0:02:32
8Tyler Trace (Can) Trek Red Truck0:03:19
9Kevin Noiles (Can) Sundays Best Racing0:03:20
10Andrew Pinfold (Can) H&R Block0:03:44
11Mark McConnell (Can) Team AB0:03:49
12Kevin Calhoun (Can) Rocky Mountain0:03:54
13Adam Morka (Can) Trek Canada0:04:49
14Thomas Skinner (Can) Norco/Oak Bay Bikes0:05:38
15Cody Canning (Can) Trek RedTruck Racing p/b Mosaic0:06:06
16Mike Garrigan (Can)0:07:19
17Kelly Guest (Can) Straight Up Cycles0:08:04
18Sven Sturm (Ger) Trek RedTruck Racing p/b Mosaic0:08:30
19Raphael Lalumiere (Can) Russ Hays/Accent Inns0:08:33
20Pascal Wehr (Ger) CannondaleRow 19 - Cell 2
21Mike Berkenpas (Can) Secret CyclesRow 20 - Cell 2
22Jesse Reams (Can) TREK Red Truck RacingRow 21 - Cell 2
23Kelly Servinski (Can) SCOTT BikesRow 22 - Cell 2
24Wai-Ben Wong (Can) Glotman Simpson CyclingRow 23 - Cell 2
25Cyrus Kangarloo (Can) Speed TheoryRow 24 - Cell 2
26Brett Wakefield (Can) Local Ride RacingRow 25 - Cell 2
27Sherwood Plant (Can) IndependantRow 26 - Cell 2
28Richard Machhein (Can) Local Ride RacingRow 27 - Cell 2
29Matt Hornland (Can) Mighty RidersRow 28 - Cell 2

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Growing up in Missoula, Montana, Pat competed in his first bike race in 1985 at Flathead Lake. He studied English and journalism at the University of Oregon and has covered North American cycling extensively since 2009, as well as racing and teams in Europe and South America. Pat currently lives in the US outside of Portland, Oregon, with his imaginary dog Rusty.

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