2015 CMRC Eastern Canadian Women’s National Preview

by Leah Clarke

As we approach the first moto of the 2015 CMRC Eastern Canadian Women’s Nationals, Sylvain Brodeur and I are just finishing up finalizing some things for the series. This year the series will continue to consist of three races. The women will be starting at Gopher Dunes on July 11th, Sand Del Lee on July 18th, and then there is a two week break until the final round in Ulverton, QC on August 8th. I have a feeling that the first round at Gopher Dunes is going to be really challenging because of the deep sand and simply how rough the track gets.

Results-wise at Gopher Dunes, I think it will come down to whomever has the most physical endurance and skill in the rough conditions. Round two in Sand Del Lee is also a sand track. While this track doesn‘t get as rough as Gopher Dunes, it will still be a very tough track to ride. The third and final round in Ulverton may be the most challenging of the series because of the mixed conditions. With parts of the track are sandy and other sections rocky and a little more hard packed, plus the very steep hills, the Ulverton circuit may beat Gopher Dunes as the roughest track of the three round series.

In previous years, the final round had been at Deschambault. Substituting Deschambault with Ulverton will allow girls that are used to mixed conditions shine. Additionally, most of the girls will be competing at the ECAN in Deschambault on July 23rd-25th. This is a stand-alone event in itself so there will be two separate Women’s classes that are always full.

Our champion last year was Eve Brodeur, and I am expecting her Duroy KTM 250 two-stroke to be sporting the same #1 next year. Her dedication to training is second-to-none as she takes this sport very seriously. With a great off-season of training in the USA behind her, she will enter round one at Gopher Dunes very motivated to repeat as champion.

Abbrielle Tardelli earned the #3 plate last year on her Leahy’s KTM 150SX. Abbrielle is also a college hockey goaltender and her determination shines through in her riding. Rocking the #4 plate on her Honda CRF250 is Cassandra Belanger. Cassandra is balancing racing with doing triathlons and working and studying in nutrition. Alexandra Raymond finished fifth overall on her KTM 250F. Alexandra is a great rider and I think she will surprise us this year.

If I were to choose a wild card for this year, it would be Allie Argue. If Allie didn’t have a mechanical failure at Gopher Dunes or the DNF at Deschambault last year, I’m sure she would have finished second overall. She did get second overall at the Sand Del Lee round last year in front of her hometown fans. I’m sure she’s going to be a top contender this year.

We’re also hoping to see a lot of new faces at the races this year. Yes, this is a Women’s National series but it is also important to remember that it is an “open” class, meaning that it is 85cc and up. I encourage all girls thinking of racing the series to come to participate, because you’re only going to get better by racing!

For Canadian women’s motocross to grow, it’s important that we have lots of girls that want to ride and compete. Because we have such a range of skill levels competing in the same class, we will have a draw table at the end of the day with all sorts of prizes from our series sponsors. This will ensure that every girl that races that day has a chance of taking home some very cool product.

In closing, I just want to point out that any girls that are planning on racing the series should check out the Women’s National Package on the CMRC site:

http://www.cmrcracing.com/womens-national-info/

See you at the races!

2015 CMRC Eastern Canadian Women’s National Schedule:

July 11th, 2015
Gopher Dunes

July 18th, 2015
Sand Del Lee

August 8th, 2015
Ulverton