Plaxton wrestles elite national championship from Kabush

After six consecutive years, Geoff Kabush (Maxxis-Rocky Mountain) has finally be dethroned as the Canadian elite men's cross country champion. Max Plaxton (Specialized), who has been pursuing this title for all of those years, took charge of the race early to record his first elite title.

Held in perfect conditions beneath the Three Sisters mountains in Kananaskis Country, the men's five lap, 35.5 kilometre race was expected to be a fight between Plaxton and Kabush. Plaxton has been inching closer to victory over the past few years, but the veteran Kabush has always managed to have something extra for the national championships. This year, Plaxton skipped the last two World Cups to training specifically for the national championships, and it paid off. He dropped Kabush on the second lap and steadily increased his lead over the remainder of the race to win by one minute and 41 seconds. Derek Zandstra (3 Rox Racing) finished third, three minutes and 22 seconds back.

"I've been chasing this a long time," admitted Plaxton. "I know it was a bit risky not doing the World Cups, but I also know my body pretty well, and this was the better choice for me. We were just sort of feeling each other out on the first lap, and then I attacked on the second lap and got maybe 20 seconds. Geoff held me there for a while, but then I pushed it on the fourth lap and was able to open it up. I'm super happy right now, this is probably the biggest result of my career."

Kabush was clearly disappointed with losing the title. "I knew that Max would be strong, but I have had good form the past few weeks, so I thought I had a good chance. He got a small gap on me in the second lap, and I was able to keep it to 18-20 seconds for the next couple of laps. But clearly he had more left in the tank than me and opened it up on the fourth lap."

Leandre Bouchard (Equipe Quebec) took the U23 men's title, after a tough race-long battle with Mitch Bailey (Team Ontario) and Evan McNeely (Team Ontario). Bouchard dropped everyone but Bailey by mid-race, and then attacked to leave Bailey behind on the final lap. McNeely faded to finish fifth, while Jeremy Martin (Equipe Quebec) moved up to take the bronze medal. In earlier morning races, Marc-Antoine Nadon (3 Rox Racing) scorched the Junior men's field to lead from start to finish and Marc-Andre Fortier (Sarto Gagne) won the U17 men's title.

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Elite men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Max Plaxton (Specialized Factory Team)1:38:28
2Geoff Kabush (Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain)0:01:42
3Derek Zandstra (3 Rox Racing)0:03:23
4Neal Kindree (Riderepublic.com/SRAM/Chromag)0:04:40
5Adam Morka (Team Ontario/Trek Canada)0:05:39
6Matthew Hadley (Xprezo-Borsao)0:06:07
7Peter Glassford (Trek Canada)0:06:50
8Stefan Widmer (West Point Cycles)0:07:14
9Andrew Watson (Norco Factory Team)0:07:43
10Kris Sneddon (KONA)0:08:23
11Craig Richey (CyclocrossRacing.com p/b Blue)Row 10 - Cell 2
12Cory Wallace (KONA)0:10:29
13Félix Côté (Espresso Sports)0:12:31
14Graham Torrie (Team Alberta)0:12:56
15Cameron Jette (3 Rox Racing)0:13:31
16Ryan Atkins (Kunstadt Sports Cycling Club)0:14:30
17David Gonda (Cyclemeisters/Bow Cycle)0:15:39
18Jamie Lamb (Garneau Club Chaussure Norton Rose)0:16:07
19Drew Mackenzie (Condo Group/Shimano/Marin)0:17:42
-1LapGordon Jewett (RMCC Express)Row 19 - Cell 2
-1LapRaphaël Gagné (Équipe Québec/Rocky Mountain Factory)Row 20 - Cell 2
-1LapMatthew Krahn (Redbike)Row 21 - Cell 2
-1LapJon Kinsie (Lapierre Canada)Row 22 - Cell 2
-1LapLeni Trudel (Garneau Club Chaussure Norton Rose)Row 23 - Cell 2
-1LapMarty Lazarski (Nativo Concept/Devinci)Row 24 - Cell 2
-1LapEric Batty (Trek Canada)Row 25 - Cell 2
-2LapsJamie Wagler (Two Wheel Express)Row 26 - Cell 2
-2LapsDylan Harris (Olympia Cycle)Row 27 - Cell 2
DNFRoddi Lega (Team Alberta/Pedalhead)Row 28 - Cell 2
DNFMarc-André Daigle (Garneau Club Chaussure Norton Rose)Row 29 - Cell 2
DNFShawn Bunnin (ATB Financial)Row 30 - Cell 2
DNFBrian Cooke (Cafe Racers)Row 31 - Cell 2
DNFJonathon Firth (Honey Stinger/Cafe Racers/Norco Grass Roots)Row 32 - Cell 2
DNFThomas Skinner (Oak Bay Bicycles/Rocky Mountain)Row 33 - Cell 2
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U23 Men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Leandre Bouchard (Équipe du Québec)1:23:43
2Mitch Bailey (Team Ontario/Trek Canada)0:00:38
3Jeremy Martin (Équipe du Québec/Rocky Mountain Factory)0:01:41
4Evan Guthrie (Team Cycling BC/Rocky Mountain Factory)0:02:09
5Evan Mcneely (Team Ontario/EMD Serono/Specialized)0:02:59
6Antoine Caron (Équipe du Québec/CVM Subway)0:03:07
7Zachary Hughes (Norco Factory Team)0:05:34
8Jean-Philippe Thibault-Roberge (CVM Val-David)0:07:21
9Jared Stafford (Team Ontario/Norco Factory Team)0:07:22
10Tyson Wagler (3 Rox Racing)0:08:09
11Xavier Perreault (CVM Val-David)0:08:10
12Steven Noble (Team Ontario/Opus-OGC)0:10:59
13Andrew L'esperance (Norco Factory Team)0:11:22
14Etienne Moreau (EMD Serono/Specialized CC)0:12:14
15Alex Lavertu (CVM Val-David)0:12:25
16Jesse Melamed (Team Whistler)0:12:39
17Simon Wagler (Two Wheel Express)0:14:30
18Preston Wagler (3 Rox Racing)0:15:57
19Sebastien Cadieux-Duval (Équipe du Québec)0:16:41
20Michael Van Den Ham (Team Manitoba/United Cycle)0:17:25
-1LapEmmanuel Boily (CVM Val-David)Row 20 - Cell 2
-1LapStephen Cooley (Team Saskatchewan)Row 21 - Cell 2
-1LapTroy Henry (Cyclemeisters/Bow Cycle)Row 22 - Cell 2
-1LapPeter Knight (Team Alberta)Row 23 - Cell 2
DNFSimon Lalancette (Équipe du Québec/DeVinci)Row 24 - Cell 2
DNFPierre-Louis Chamberland (CVM Val-David)Row 25 - Cell 2
DNFPatrick Chartrand (Équipe du Québec)Row 26 - Cell 2
DNFPaul Benson (Alter Ego Sports)Row 27 - Cell 2

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