Bianca 7th in Canmore Canada Cup #5

On June 20th Bianca had her best Canada Cup race of the season, to finish 7th in the pro/elite category in Canmore AB. This is an excellent result, especially since this is her first year in the category and she was racing in an internationally competitive field. She finished just under seven minutes off of leader Emily Batty, and was the 3rd U23 woman. The team is ecstatic for her, and we are looking forward to all racing together in the National Championships in Saint Felicien QC, on the 11th and 12th of July.

Bianca getting ready to climb like a mountain goat. Photo by Ron Adolf.

And look at her go! Canmore's long climbs and technically demanding singletrack were a great match for Bianca's skills: she is an excellent climber, and fast and experienced on the rooty descents. Photo by Patrick Graham. Thank you Patrick!


Here is Bianca's Race Report:

This race was a blast! It turned out to be one of my best of the season. Going into this race I wasn't really sure what to expect. I didn't set any specific goals, I was just going to do my best. After the last two races (Mt. Tremblant, Quebec and Hardwood Hills, Ontario), which I was kind of disappointed with I really wanted (and needed!) to have a good race. Heading to the race I was really excited, this was my favorite course in the Canada Cup circuit. In the past two years I had done quite well in this race. Even though I was confident I could ride this course well, I wasn't sure how I was going to place against the other more experienced riders in my new category, but it was a good race right off the line. Normally, starts aren't my strength, but I was quite happy with this one. In the first 20 seconds of the race I was holding a solid top six position! Not sure if I was going to be able to maintain it, I settled into a good, comfortable (but tough!) pace. Throughout the entire race I did a bit of switching positions with a few other riders and ended up finishing 7th overall, 3rd U23. I would have loved to place in the top five, but 7th was already an improvement over the past two races were I placed 11th. Cant wait to race on this course again next year, but next up is Nationals in Quebec!