The Quebec Nor-Am has traditionally been a good Nor-Am, as the field is generally deep and the level of riding in Quebec is higher than most provinces. This race would be no different.
I flew into Montreal late Thursday night, and unfortunately, the race was changed from it's original schedule on Saturday to Friday, meaning I wouldn't get to my house in Tremblant until midnight on Thursday. I awoke tired on Friday morning at 6:00am, but looking forward to racing at a new hill against a number of my teammates.
Weather was warm and snow conditions were good at Avila for the Friday Nor-Am. I started the day in the 9th spot from a field of 42. As with the other Nor-Am`s, the qualification process was the same…two runs, combined time. The course set was super straight, and the hill flat, meaning that few people would make mistakes and the times would all be very close. This proved to be true throughout the day.
I threw down two decent qualifying runs without any mistakes, and qualified in the 3rd spot. In the first round of the top-16, I faced a guy from Nova Scotia whom I beat easily over two runs. In the next round, I faced Ontario rider Fraser Johnston (see last week`s Nor-Am), whom I beat over two runs to move to the top-4. In the top four were two of my teammates, Adam McLeish and Justin Dumont, so it was inevitable I would face both of them at some point.
In the first heat, I faced Adam, and we both rode really well, where I edged him out by .010 at the finish line. In the second run, we again both ran well, but Adam got me at the finish line by .20, moving me down to the small finals for 3 and 4 position. Here, I faced Justin.
The only real way to win I thought was in the start, because everyone was riding well and the course was very straight. I figured if I could get a jump on Justin off the start, it was all over. In the first run against Justin, I botched my timing in the start, and found myself ½ a gate behind right from the get-go. It was impossible to close the gap for the rest of the course, and Justin won by .3. The next run, we both rode well, and I edged Justin out a the finish, but it wasn't by enough to overcome the time deficit. Justin would take 3rd, and I would take 4th.
Overall, I rode consistently and well throughout the whole day, without major mistakes. I took some chances and they paid off, but today anyone of the top 4 could have won.
Next up :
-U.S. Nationals, Breckenridge, Colorado. March 20-21. PGS and SL
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