Great Britain’s Annie Last and Isla Short both produced top ten finishes at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Mont-Sainte-Anne.
Last secured her third top ten finish of the season, taking eighth place in the elite women’s race while Short achieved her best-ever result at under-23 level, finishing seventh.
Elite women
Fresh from her maiden world cup victory in Lenzerheide, Last was confident of another good performance this weekend.
The British champion got off to a flying start, moving up to third on the first lap, just three seconds behind then race leader Catherine Pendrel (Clif Pro Team) of Canada.
Last lost time on the challenging rocky ascents, slipping to sixth at the halfway stage, before falling back another couple of places on the penultimate lap.
That’s where the OMX Pro Team rider stayed - crossing the line in eighth place, 2:47 behind race winner Yana Belomoina (CST Sandd American Eagle MTB Racing Team).
That win secured the overall world cup title for the Ukrainian, with one race remaining - as France’s Pauline Ferrand Prevot (Canyon Factory Racing RC) finished second, 44 seconds behind, with Pendrel a further 30 seconds behind in third.
Last stays sixth in the standings, just 60 points behind the second-placed rider. Switzerland’s Linda Indergand.
Under-23 women
Prior to this weekend, Isla Short’s career best finish at the world cup was eighth place in Vallnord, Andorra earlier this season.
The OMX Pro Team rider got off to a flying start, as high as sixth after the first lap, and just over a minute and a half behind eventual race winner, the American Kate Courtney (Specialized Racing).
Short dropped a place on the second lap and then lost time on the third lap - but her work in the earlier phase of the race had built up a gap.
She crossed the line 6:20 behind Courtney to claim seventh - a terrific result on a challenging course.
Second place went to Switzerland’s Sina Frei (JB Brinex Felt Team), 2.31 behind the American with Lucie Urruty (Scott Creuse Oxygene Gueret) third, a further 1:05 behind.
The result means Short is now up to 11th in the standings, with Great Britain Cycling Team’s Evie Richards in third despite her absence in Canada.
In the elite men's race, Great Britain's Grant Ferguson finished 46th, 9:39 behind race winner Nino Schurster (Scott-Sram MTB Racing Team) of Switzerland.
France's Stephane Tempier was second, 10 seconds behind Schurster, with Italian Gerhard Kerschbaumer (Torpado Gabogas) a further 11 seconds back in third.
