June 20, 2011 – Mont St. Anne, Quebec. While the B.C. Rocky Mountain Factory Team riders were battling at the Test of Metal, their Quebecois colleagues were preparing to do battle at an equally legendary race course, Mont St. Anne, the site of the upcoming round of the UCI World Cup.
Long time Rocky Mountain team rider Raphael Gagne was using the race to test his fitness for the World Cup. He commented “It was a good opportunity to test my fitness a couple weeks prior to the upcoming World Cup in Mont-Sainte-Anne. Also it was a good opportunity to work on some of the world cup course sections at race speed. I felt good and my fitness is getting better everyday since I took a little recovery time after some hard World cup in Europe in May.”
Also on the start line that day were Rocky Mountain Factory Team riders Jérémy Martin and Léandre Bouchard. From the start Gagne, Bouchard, and Martin hit the gas and got away from the rest in the first half lap. In one of the more slippery sections, Gagne was able to gap the two other riders. In another treacherous section, Bouchard pulled away from Martin. By that point Gagne had a comfortable lead and slowed down at the end to save his legs for the World Cup, finishing just ahead of Bouchard who came second, with Martin in third.
All three riders rode their Element Team race bikes on the very technical and challenging course. Gagne commented, “I chose the Element for the bumpy course, and when a bike takes first, second, and third place, you can maybe say it was an advantage.” In addition, Rocky Mountain Factory rider Andreane Lanthier-Nadeau won the Junior Womens race.