Canadian DH Nationals - Results

 stoked for beer! newfie pride!

 Thanks to Lama Cycles for at least having some race coverage...


BIG NO THANKS to Quebexico & the CCA; Only place on earth where a National rider will get DSQ'd for being glovesless but not world cup riders on the exact same course.. What a joke

 Canadian race commissaires are out of there fucking minds this year

 Why???? Quebec hosted this year's Nationals, therefore, UCI rules apply along with provincial (FQSC) and Federation (CCA) rules and regulation amendments. The commissionaires merely enforced the rules. Last year's National at Panorama also included Cycling BC's rules and regulations.

 Commissionaires did not merely enforce the rules. They did not check for any elbow, back or knee protection at all. They merely saw one rider (sucks it was me) without gloves and decided to enforce the rules then. If they checked all riders for proper federation amendments I bet there would have been a lot more DSQ's.

I rode all practice and even my seating run without gloves.

I wonder if anybody at the CCA even rides a bike

 Did they at least inform you in the start gate, or did they let you roll out of the gate sans gloves? Seems like that would make a decent protest. They didn't enforce the rules, they simply punished you for not following them with no sort of warning?

 The full finger glove rule along with knee, elbow and dorsal protection has been in place in Quebec for the past 2 years. Knowing the rules is the rider's responsibility. If you disagree with certain rules or regulations, the day of the race is not the place dispute the rule or make a stand. Of the 200 or so DH participants, there was only 1 DSQ for equipment violation. Slamming the CCA and the FQSC for merely enforcing the rules that governed all racers is unfair.

 Quebec cycling Federation pays very high insurances fees for DH races, so they deceided to prevent injuries by regulation like wearing gloves, elbow pads etc... . I dont say that Qc Federation do a good job but its a part of the story that I know. Also poor coverage by GESTEV, the promoter of the event, again XC takes all the place in Quebec .

 I understand the rules. But the CCA and the FQSC did not enforce the rules. They enforced the rules with one rider. There were lots of other riders riding without proper protection.

 Okay, you say you knew the rules, therefore, we can only assume that you chose to ignore the rules. The Commissionaire DSQ you for breaking the rules and somehow it is their fault? I get that you are frustrated by the Commissionaire’s lack of consistency in the application of the rules, but it was you who put yourself in the position to be DSQ before you left the gate.

If you get a ticket for speeding, making the argument that everyone else was speeding is not a defense but an admission of guilt.

 NFL is not flat !!!

 no its not, but its all relative. I'm from there, know all about it

 Look at the bright side; If you wear gloves you can do more runs cause your hands don't get so fatigued.

 He's an up and coming ripper for sure. 5th fastest when you combine the elites. No more National exceptions for young Wallace as he now has the requisite UCI points to race World Cups.

 And he will! The kid's all determination, he'll be winning world cups soon enough if I know anything! He's only 17!

 You can't race them all, you need time to rest, heal, and re-energize. The World Cup schedule can be very demanding and that is Smith's focus. They are back in Europe in 2 weeks time for Val d'Isère for July 29, then back to BC for Cankworx.

 Isn't this the race where you get to earn the right to wear the Canadian Flag on your sleeve? at UCI DH races?

 National Champs are "required" by UCI rules to have the left arm sleeve representing the flag of the rider's country. Some federation still require their National Champs to wear a full National jersey.

 Canada doesn't do a sleeve as far as I know. He'd have to wear the entire ugly hockey sweater looking jersey. Not gonna happen.

 Anyone have a picture of that jersey? Google wouldn't throw me a bone on that one.

 If you got to wear the national jersey, I can see why you wouldn't want to win then, your sponsors miss out
National Jersey->http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F2OLy0ec70Y/T_p_LA6T15I/AAAAAAAABMw/STKZk4bn3Kk/s320/318832_10151322067354465_1835579903_n.jpg

 Probably burned by the sun

 2 reasons for me :

1-Too long winter ;
2-Not enough money put in DH by Canadian Cyclist Federation

 same with austria...

 Alps are better.

 milkdrop, you cant compare a mountain formation with a country 5000 km wide !!!

 The real problem is the fact that Downhill is not an Olympic Sport. That is what determines where the funding goes for federal and provincial governments. A lot of the time, when the Canadian Cycling federation receives funding from government, it is designated for a specific athlete or program with A LOT of that money being earmarked for Olympic Events. If Downhill Racing ever makes it as a DH event, you would see racing in this country take off.

 I don't think the funding thing is an excuse,
I know New Zealand has exactly the same funding standards regarding Olympic sports meaning Downhillers don't get squat, Plus they only have the population of BC (4 million) are at the arse end of the world & don't have massive Bike Parks & trails networks either. Yet they still constantly make up 1/4 (25%) of the top 20 at world cup for the past few years...

We definitely need to lift our game in global DH, or we'll get the reputation as having all the gear (Bike Parks, manufacturers etc) & no idea, (Average racers & results)

 You are right I can not lay all the blame on the funding issue but it is a very reason as well. It is tough to compete on a world stage without it though. It is not an excuse, but is one of the major obstacles facing canadian athletes. When you have to hold down a "real" job or going to school while trying to be an elite athlete is hard.

They other aspect is the race scene in Canada, I am not a racer so I will not pretend to be an expert on it but it seams like the DH race scene in Canada is lacking in a lot of places. And not just the places you would think like the prairies. The Alberta DH Cup is 2 races, one of which is in BC. The third and final race would be the provincials. BC seams to be going strong in areas like the Sea to Sky corridor and the Island, but as an outsider(like i said not claiming to be an expert) the rest of BC seams to be left behind. An Okanogan Race series and a Kootenay Regions race series would go a long way to developing more talent, especially since everyone can not travel to all the BC cup races. BC is a big province after all.

I can not speak for Ontario though it seams there are a lot of racers and I know Quebec seams to have an active DH race scene as well. But at the end of the day it seams DGH racing in this country does not get the same level of respect, funding and attention as XC racing because it is not an olympic discipline.

 Racing in Canada used to thrive with fantastic local series, and a great 6+ event national series. The national series has faded away partly due to funding, but largely due to participation numbers. Canada is a very large country, and it's obscenely expensive for the promising, mostly young riders, to travel from event to event. This is especially true considering the biggest race scenes were in Quebec and BC. There's a few thousand KMs in between these locations.

Another aspect is simply the fact that due to the large number of epic places to ride, many people simply chose to do just that - ride, not race. In many places you HAVE to race to get out to decent tracks and hang out with your friends. You don't have to do that in places like BC, AB etc.

Whistler alone is absolutely filled with little shredders who would decimate at the world cups, if they were properly groomed. They either lose interest after awhile if they are racing, or simply aren't interested in racing to begin with. It takes a special type of person to be able to compete at that level, and many just aren't interested or aren't committed enough to reach that goal.

 Yeh, so it's all about the money again... it's kinda sad, but yeh, let's face it, that's why i haven't been in a WC yet... We need some decent money to spend and after that when we are too old to race, then we can go to school and learn what ever we want! exactly...