With the fastest time of all the women competing at 2022 Canadian Downhill Championships, Gracey Hemstreet can now add 'national champion' to her growing list of accomplishments on a bike.
At Kicking Horse Mountain Resort in Golden, B.C., Hemstreet led the competition with a final time of 4:40.63 as she raced in the junior women category. Her first split was second fastest only to Eva Leikermoser of Comox, with Hemstreet’s 1:22.35 to Leikermoser’s 1:22.30. But in her second split, Hemstreet was second to none of the women competing — her time of 4:05.77 secured first place with a solid five-second lead.
Also in the UCI junior women’s (17-18) division, Emmy Lan of Comox and Joy Attala of Fernie joined Hemstreet on the podium with final times of 4:45.85 and 4:50.53, respectively. Atop the podium, the top five racers celebrated by shaking two-litre bottles of Canada Dry and spraying each other.
“Quick trip back home was successful! Stoked on winning nationals and getting the fastest woman’s time of the day. Racing at home with the pals is always a good time,” Hemstreet wrote on Instagram.
“Bring on Snowshoe.”
This racing season, Hemstreet is currently leading in the World Cup series, although Britain's Phoebe Gale is close on her heels with only five points behind.
Lucy Schick takes silver
Bailey Goldstone, of Squamish, won the elite women’s category with a time of 4:52.19. Behind her by just over two seconds, Gibsons’s Lucy Schick took second place with 4:54.31. In third place, with a finishing time of 4:56.89, was Rachel Pageau of Chicoutimi, Quebec.
In 2019, Schick was the U21 Enduro World Series champion.
Next up on the downhill racing circuit is the sixth World Cup of the season in Snowshoe, West Virginia, starting July 29. The following weekend, the World Cup competition will be hosted in Mont-Saint-Anne, Québec.
