U23 Men's Photo Epic: Slick Beginnings - Mont-Sainte-Anne XC World Champs 2019
Conditions for the U23 Men's XC race were slick. Greased lightning slick. Rains came in the morning giving the course a thorough soaking, only to end about an hour and a half before the gears started turning. This gave the trails that perfect level of zero grip where it would likely have been easier for those poor guys to ride in a downpour. There were plenty of slide-outs and full-blown crashes in the treacherous conditions which cost many a rider precious time.
Vlad Dascalu, who has been on an absolute tear this season got out in front around lap two and rode away with the victory. The race didn't end there, however. Behind him the battles raged on and places were traded throughout.
The day would end in heartbreak for Simon Andreassen.
Filipo Colombo dialing in.
A deep breath for Blevins before the storm.
Unfortunately Jofre Cullel Estape finished with a DNF next to his name after what's been quite a decent season for him.
Maximillian Brandl in the zone for this uphill battle.
Vlad Dascalu was the man to watch, and he wouldn't disappoint.
Line em up.
Release the hounds!
Gioele de Cosmo found himself in contention until Dascalu turned up the heat.
Vital Albin took third today on the slippery Mont Sainte Anne course.
Vlad Descalu got away and never looked back.
Christopher Blevins held on to second place until he ran out of gas around mid-race.
If you got through the rocks, the open grass might have given you grief.
The rocks of La Patriote proved treacherous for some.
Chile's Martin Vidaurre Kossman had on hell of a race finishing in fourth.
Simon Andreassen had bad luck on the rocks of MSA today and had to settle for seventh.
Maximilian Brandl took a brief turn out in front but would settle for fifth when the mud stopped flying.
Vlad Dascalu cemented his lead by the third lap. He was almost a full minute up from the rest of the field.
Vlad Descalu rode away with the victory.
Well deserved stripes.
Dascalu had enough time for a victory lap and celebration in the finish coral before anyone else was in sight.
What doesn't kill you...
Colombo exhausted. The real race included him and the five or so behind him.
An extinguished Brandl.
That special combination of sand and loam, tires weren't clearing.
The bikes were caked with MSA dirt.
Hard fought battles and counter-attacks closed out the top 10.
Sometimes you have the bar, sometimes the bar has you.
What a day for Martin Vidaurre Kossman.
It had rained all day prior to race start if you couldn't tell. The already tough MSA course wasn't giving it away today. Quinton Disera found out the hard way.
Vlad Dascalu, Filipo Colombo, and Vital Albin on the Men's U23 podium.
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...that said, is there a masters and super masters category for XC? The first person who says 'yeah, e-bikes' will be cursed with a perpetually bruised perineum.
And no, these are not on e-bikes. They are all on real bikes.
There's a brief race report at cyclingmagazine.ca/mtb/msa-uci-masters-worlds-results