Ontario Athletes Capture 4 Titles at the Canadian MTB Championships
Ontario Athletes Capture 4 Titles at the Canadian MTB Championships
Langford, BC played host to the Canadian MTB Championships (July 17-20), which featured very competitive fields across all categories. Ontario was well represented across all the championship races and continues to show their depth of talent in the sport.
The XCC event was held under warm weather and very dry conditions. The course which twisted and turned through the forested area provided a shaded canopy to help with the hot temperatures for the first set of races. In the U17 women’s race Ontario athletes placed five in the top ten with Clare Hauber finishing as the top Ontario rider in 4th
place. In the Men’s U17 race Joshua Tyers timed his attack perfectly to take the national title with William McFarlne taking 3rd. This is Josh’s third national podium result in 2025 having won the U17 Canadian Gravel Championship and placing 3rd in the Road Race at U17 Canadian Road Championships. In the U19 races, Aislin Hallahan and Evan Moore both found themselves in very competitive races finishing one spot off the podium in 4th place respectively.
The evening concluded with the Elite races which lived up to the excitement of some deep fields. Jenn Jackson, former Team Ontario athlete who now resides in BC, took the top step of the podium. In the Men’s race, a back and forth battle of several athletes ended with Cole Punchard (2nd), Ian Ackert (3rd), and Gunnar Holmgren (4th) showing Ontario’s strength but missing out on the top step which went to local Island athlete Carter Woods.
The U17 Women were first on the course for the XCO events where Ontario placed four athletes in the top six including Team Ontario (and Shredders) teammates Alexa Haviland and Clare Hauber with 2nd and 3rd places finishes. William McFarlane has had an incredible season and this weekend added more achievements. After capturing 3rd in the XCC, William put an 8s gap between himself and 2nd place to win the U17 Men’s championship title. In a fast U19 Men’s field Ontario’s had six athletes placing in the top 10 including Evan Moore winning the bronze medal. The U19 Women’s field featuring some very strong international level athletes saw the Pivot team take the top three spots. Elly Moore was Ontario’s top finisher placing 6th. For the U23/Elite races, the course had become extremely dusty creating challenging corners. Former Team Ontario athlete, Nicole Bradbury battled hard finishing just off the U23 Women’s podium in 4th. In the Men’s races, Ontario athletes captured both the U23 and Elite titles. In the U23 race, Ian Ackert raced to the top step with an amazing effort followed by Cole Punchard taking the Elite Men’s title to conclude the day’s races which also saw Tyler Orshel take 2nd.
A thank you and congratulations to all the coaches, athletes, mechanics, and supporters who helped make this a very successful Canadian MTB Championships for Ontario.
XCC Results
U17 Men
1st Josh Tyres (Shredders MTB Club)
3rd William McFarlane (Team Ontario/Stimulus Trek)
Elite Men
2nd Cole Punchard (Cannondale Factory Racing)
3rd Ian Ackert (Trek Future Racing)
XCO
U17 Women
2nd Alexa Haviland (Team Ontario/Shredders MTB Club)
3rd Clare Hauber (Team Ontario/Shredders MTB Club)
U17 Men
1st William McFarlane (Team Ontario/Stimulus Trek)
U19 Men
3rd Evan Moore (Team Ontario/Ignite Junior Cycling)
U23 Men
1st Ian Ackert (Trek Future Racing)
Elite Men
1st Cole Punchard (Cannondale factory Racing)
2nd Tyler Orshel (Pan American Union Racing)