Mika Comaniuk turned a tight Under-23 race at Jordie Lunn Bike Park into his first national mountain bike title on Saturday. He moved to the front by the start of the third lap, then attacked with a lap to go and held the advantage in Langford, BC.
Langford’s Long Climb
The course at Jordie Lunn Bike Park changed significantly for the second consecutive year, with a longer climb and more technical sections. That setup produced spread-out results across the championship races, and it rewarded riders who could keep pressure on the front for more than one lap rather than simply react once the pace lifted.
Emilly Johnston and Carter Woods won the Elite XCO national championships on the same Saturday, giving the event two elite winners and a national title in the Under-23 men’s race. Johnston and Ella MacPhee broke away early in the elite women’s race, and Johnston opened a small gap near the end of the first lap before winning by over three and a half minutes. Anne Marie Gauthier took third, more than 15 minutes back.
Mika Comaniuk’s Late Move
Comaniuk’s win came against a live front group, not in isolation. Ian Ackert and Maxime St Onge took a small lead on the first lap, but Comaniuk joined Ackert at the front by the start of the third lap and then made his move with a lap to go. He is the current cyclo-cross national champion, and the mountain bike title adds a second national result to a résumé already built on winning at speed.
That kind of crossover is the practical takeaway from Langford. A rider who can handle the more technical course and still finish with enough speed to attack late is not relying on one discipline alone; he is carrying form from one national-level test into another. In a field where a half-bike-length decision can separate first and second, that versatility is a real edge.
Elite Names, Same Pressure
Carter Woods matched that standard in the elite men’s race, attacking on the long climb with a lap and a half to go. He built a 20-plus second gap, stretched it to nearly 40 seconds by the start of the last lap, and still won by over a minute before a crash forced him to ride more conservatively to the finish line. Cole Punchard took silver, 19 seconds back, and Owen Clark took bronze.
Jenn Jackson’s absence from the elite women’s race altered the shape of that contest because the defending champion was recovering from a serious leg injury. In the other categories, Rafaelle Carrier beat Marin Lowe by half a bike length in the Under-23 women’s race, Eliane Blais won the junior women’s race, Hannah Lehmann led a Team Ontario sweep in the Under-17 women, Ethan Wood won the junior men’s race by nearly a minute, and Joshua Tyers took the Under-17 men’s title by 21 seconds.
Mika’s result leaves the cleaner read: a cyclo-cross national champion carried that speed into a longer, more technical mountain bike championship and left Langford with a first national title. That is the kind of crossover win that usually ends one conversation and starts another.
