Emily Batty, Chris Sheppard, Yohan Patry and Evan McNelly Motor to Victory at the Canadian National Cyclocross Championships—Updated Report

The Men's Podium, Chris Sheppard, Batty and Schooler © Brandon Thomson

The Canadian Cyclocross National Championships were held today at Pine Point Park in Toronto, ON under sunny skies. Early races for Master men and women got underway with frost still on the ground, with the course getting slick as it melted in the sun.

The course took riders along the Humber river and around the sports fields, with the main feature being a steep hill that was climbed three times per lap with fast and somewhat technical descents. The consensus among riders was that the course made it very difficult to close down any gaps with its many stop and go corners and relative lack of open sections aside from two which followed the park’s paved path. The many ascents of the hill wore on everyone’s legs and it was ultimately the riders that were able to attack while others were still recovering who were able to open gaps.

By the time the U23 Men took to the course at 1 pm it was starting to dry out and ride much faster. Evan McNeely (EMD Sorono / Specialized) took the early lead and rode on to win with Jared Stafford (Ride with Rendall) 16 seconds behind. Jared applied pressure the entire race, while a chasing group of four gradually fell off the pace of the lead two. Jeremy Martin (Rocky Mountain Factory Team) rounded out the podium.

The Junior Men’s race saw last year’s defending champion Ben Perry (Team CHCH) fall behind in an early crash. With the silver and bronze medallists now riding in the U23 category, Yohan Patry who last year took 4th place was the rider of the day. Taking an early lead he maintained a gap of 20-30 seconds over a chasing group. Meanwhile, Perry rode back through most of the field, connecting with the chase group on the final lap and finishing 3rd just seconds behind Tommy Beaulieu (Team Alberta).

The Elite Women’s race saw a number of early aggressors including Pepper Harlton (Juventus) and Mical Dyck (Pro City racing) who would go on to finish 2nd and 3rd, but it was Emily Batty (Subaru-Trek) who took the lead on the third of four laps and did not look back. Harlton gave chase alone, but was unable to match Batty who takes her first cyclocross national title, adding depth to what is already a very strong list of palmares on the mountain bike circuit for her first year out of the U23 category.

2011 Canada Nationals © Brandon Thomson

In the final race of the day the Elite Men took the start at 3:30 pm. In the first lap a lead group of 10 was quickly established, which Mark Batty (Spidertech powered by C10) wasted no time in attacking. A chase group led by Aaron Schooler (Team H&R Block – SRI Importing) and Mike Garrigan (Lapierre Canada) was followed by a second group containing other favourites including Craig Richey (Renner Custom CX Team) and defending champion Chris Sheppard (Rocky Mountain). A lap three crash saw Richey fall back, while the groups consolidated and a new split developed. Sheppard attacked the front group on lap four, throwing down the fastest lap of the day by any rider. Only four were able to respond, with Schooler, Batty, Andrew Watson (Norco Factory Team) and Derrick St. John (Stevens p/b The Cyclery) chasing while the rest of the front group was left behind by this acceleration. Batty and Schooler eventually got a small gap and sprinted for the silver medal with Batty taking it 21 seconds behind Sheppard.

Photos to come.

2011 Canadian Cyclocross National Championships - U23 Men

2011 Canadian Cyclocross National Championships - Women

2011 Canadian Cyclocross National Championships - Juniors

2011 Canadian Cyclocross National Championships - Elite Men