Gracey Hemstreet is keeping a strong hold on the podium at the Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup this season.
The Sunshine Coast teenager only just started competing in the World Cup at the tail end of the 2021 season after returning from an injury. Now in 2022, she hasn’t left the World Cup junior women’s podium since the season began, securing , one bronze and now a silver.
At the latest competition, held July 15 to 17 in Vallnord, Andorra, Hemstreet took second place with a time of 00:03:22.845 and adding 50 points to her overall score. Ahead of her was Phoebe Gale of Great Britain — another podium regular this year — taking the win at 00:03:16.852 (earning 60 points in the process). The race saw Hemstreet and Gale swap their standings on the podium from the week before, when Hemstreet took gold. Jenna Hasting of New Zealand repeated her bronze for the second consecutive comp with 00:03:24.301. Andorra saw Gale’s second gold of the season.
As the World Cup is past the halfway mark for the season, the are close: Hemstreet has earned 275 points. Gale has 270.
Another gold for Goldstone
In the men’s junior division, Squamish’s Jackson Goldstone landed atop the podium once again, less than two seconds ahead of Jordan Williams (Great Britain).
His winning time was 00:02:43.420 — faster than all of the downhill racing categories of elite men, elite women and the junior divisions — and set the fastest time in all four splits. Williams was close behind with 00:02:45.106. In third place among the junior men was more B.C. talent: Tegan Cruz of Pemberton claimed bronze and 45 points with his time of 00:02:48.190. For his victory, Goldstone adds 60 points to his overall score of 280 in the series, continuing to secure his lead position. Last season, Goldstone earned a junior world title.
The downhill mountain bikers don’t have long to rest — on July 23 and 24, Canada hosts its national championships. Then the sixth World Cup of 2022 starts July 29, in Snowshoe, West Virginia. The next week, Canadian athletes will be return to home turf for the World Cup in the first week of August at Mont-Saint-Anne, Québec.
