Marine Cabirou may have triumphed at this year's UCI World Cup DH finale, but Gracey Hemstreet gave her fellow Canadians something to cheer about.
Hemstreet set a blistering pace early: four minutes and 28.918 seconds in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Que. Only France's Cabirou managed to better that mark (4:27.495), while Austrian phenom Valentina Höll had to settle for bronze (4:29.834).
It's a splendid way to wrap up the campaign for Hemstreet, who also placed fourth at the World Championships in Pal Arinsal, Andorra.
"Dreams coming true, it’s been a long and tough year but finally put it all together," the Sechelt native wrote on her Instagram account. "Raced in my first finals this season and finished P2 on the day. Having my parents there made it extra special. Thank you [Norco Race Division] for the endless support, love you all."
Höll did secure the overall elite women's title (1849 points) with room to spare over Cabirou (1431 points). A hand injury relegated Tahnee Seagrave to sixth in the contest and third in season rankings (1411 points).
In a press release, Cabirou said: "I’m really happy to take the win [on Saturday], it’s such a hard week. Especially today the track was tough, so I tried to push but with the conditions it wasn’t easy. I did so many mistakes on my run so when I finished, I didn’t believe that will be the run of the week.”
Cheers, Mr. Brosnan
Troy Brosnan wasn't sure if he would partake in last weekend's festivities, being a new father and all. Yet with his family's support, the Aussie blasted out to gold (3:54.003) in an ultra-tight men's elite duel with silver medallist Lachlan Stevens-Mcnab of New Zealand (3:54.065) and British bronze-medal contender Laurie Greenland (3:54.535).
Kirk McDowall paced Team Canada in 16th, while the fastest Sea to Sky athlete was 18th-placer Kasper Woolley. Meanwhile, Dane Jewett wound up fifth among male juniors.
In terms of the season standing, French veteran Loic Bruni was crowned king (1651 points). Brosnan's victory on Quebec soil launched him into second (1317) past Amaury Pierron (1302).
“Just having a baby and not knowing if I’m even going to come to this race. Got the all-clear from the wife to go so I had to make it worthwhile, and this has been the best weekend of my life,” Brosnan told the media after his performance. “Feel amazing on the bike, my mind was just so free the whole weekend and honestly, I can’t believe I put that run down in the rain. I knew it was going to be tough, but everything was just flowing. I just knew I had to ride like it was dry and I guess it worked!"
When told he’d clinched second overall, Brosnan added: “No way, second? I didn’t even think that was possible!”
Full results are viewable here.
