In theory, today was qualifying in Mont-Sainte-Anne, but with the small number of riders entered for the World Champs it was more of a formality than anything else. All riders were nearly guaranteed a spot in the final and with no points on the line very few were willing to hang it out or show their cards. Add to that the rainstorms that varied from drizzle to downpour and the track was in no condition to be rolling the dice if not needed.
Riders have another long practice session tomorrow, unlike the World Cup, and the extra day will surely be used to up the pace and intensity quota a bit. And while qualifying are surely indicative of the the speed of a few riders, it is by no means a be and end all like we are used to seeing. Especially given the rain and mud.
Myriam Nicole would lead out the women while Danny Hart took top honors against the men. In juniors, it would of course be Vali Holl for the women, and the surprise face of EWS specialist Antoine Vidal for the men. After them it would be the usual suspects that you would expect to see in the top 10 or top 5, and in reality, any one of the riders could indeed take home the rainbow jersey and gold medal at the end of the weekend. It is World Champs after all and as we have seen in recent years, anything can and will happen. The one day format lets riders hang it all on the line with a win or die attitude and you really never know what may happen.