VAN DEN HAM TOP CANADIAN AT CROSS WORLDS

Facing some of the muddiest conditions ever seen, riders slipped and slid their way around a technical and physically demanding course. The course made it virtually impossible to avoid crashing, and riders struggled to limit their mistakes.

Photo Rob Jones/Canadian Cyclist (All Rights Reserved)
Media: Please contact Karine Bedard for image use.

In the Under-23 men’s race, Canada’s lone entry, Nicholas Diniz of Oakville, Ontario, finished 45th with a time of one hour, one minute and 29 seconds, ten minutes and 18 seconds behind winner Eli Iserbyt of Belgium.  In the marque Elite men’s race Canada had two entries, with van den Ham 34th and Mark (Hot Sauce) McConnell of Calgary, Alberta, in 51st.

Photo Rob Jones/Canadian Cyclist (All Rights Reserved)

Canadian Elite national champion van den Ham commented, “Of the five Worlds I’ve raced, this is by far the hardest course I’ve seen. More than racing the people out there, we were racing the course. Laps stretched to over ten minutes and massive segments of the course turned to running. I don’t think there was a single person out there who had a clean race. Rather, success was more about moving forward from mistakes and trying to minimize them as the race wore on.  All in all, I’m happy with my race, the goal was a top-30 and I managed to be there for a while before falling back a few spots to 34th.  A huge thank you the the cyclo-cross program and all the volunteers that made it happen. With the conditions being what they were, their roles were even more crucial to our success.”

About Cycling Canada
Cycling Canada is the governing body for competitive cycling in Canada. Founded in 1882, Cycling Canada aims to create and sustain an effective system that develops talented Canadian cyclists to achieve Olympic, Paralympic, and World Championship medal performances. With the vision of being a leading competitive cycling nation by 2020 celebrating enhanced international success, increased national participation and world class event hosting, Cycling Canada manages the High Performance team, hosts national and international events and administers programs to promote and grow cycling across the country. Cycling Canada programs are made possible through the support of its valued corporate partners – Global Relay, Lexus Canada, Mattamy Homes, Louis Garneau and Bear Mountain Resort – along with the Government of Canada, Own The Podium, the Canadian Olympic Committee and the Canadian Paralympic Committee.

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