Team Squamish's whirlwind tour of North America and beyond continued this past weekend, highlighted by Lauren Rosser capturing first place in the Junior Women category at Canada Cup Race No. 3 on Sunday (June 5) in Hardwood Hills, Ont.
Rosser was out to turn things around after her DNF at Canada Cup Race No. 2 on May 29 and started with a plan that she executed to perfection. Using her descending skills, she took the lead on the Boneshaker downhill midway through the first lap. She then rode her own pace on the next climbs, sometimes pacing off of the other riders.
When the course hit the final and longest section of downhill of the lap, Rosser made her move and quickly put 30 seconds between herself and the chasers. They would close the gap slightly on the second lap, but again Rosser pulled away on the downhills, to ride the final lap with a good gap on the rest of the field to take her first ever Canada Cup XC win.
Rosser put together a time of 1:02:54.6 for the 18-kilometre course, capturing valuable points for the overall standings in the process. She also took home first place at the circuit's first race in Mont-Tremblant, Que., on May 22.
Her teammate Quinn Moberg also competed in Ontario, finishing fourth in the Junior Expert Men category. Moberg got stuck behind a crash in the first 100 metres of the race and had his work cut out for him as he fought his way back up through the field. On a course with few passing opportunities, he finished the first lap in 11th place, but steadily moved up for a solid fourth-place finish after four laps of racing. Moberg finished 1:44.7 behind the winner, Ontario's Marc-Antoine Nadon. Moberg improved on his placing in Mont-Tremblant, where he ranked fifth.
Brackendale's Brandi Heisterman also competed at the Canada Cup, placing sixth in the Elite Women's category, finishing 6:52.7 out of first place.
It was also a unique weekend for Squamish's Miranda Miller, who traveled across the pond to Fort William, Scotland, to take part in the second downhill World Cup.
After qualifying on Saturday (June 4), Miller sat in 18th out of the 40 women competing. In the race itself, Miller posted 13th fastest through the first split, but just after the road gap, had a bobble that resulted in her taking a handlebar bruise. She needed time to recover before heading down, but finished the course in 20th.
Next up for the Team 麻豆社国产members will be the B.C. Cup Downhill Race No. 2 on June 19 in Mission.
