Canada's Gagne wins men's title at mountain bike championship
Quebec City native previously captured silver in 2013, bronze in 2014
Canada's Raphael Gagne won the elite men's title at the Continental Mountain Bike Championships on Saturday in Aguascalientes, Mexico.
Gagne also won the silver medal in 2013 and bronze medal in 2014.
Catharine Pendrel was the top Canadian in the elite women's race, finishing fourth.
Held at 2000 metres altitude, the Pan American championships offered important UCI ranking points towards Olympic qualifications, and all six Canadians competing finished in the top-10 in their respective races.
"Definitely over the moon with this win," said Gagne. "I came second, nine seconds from winning, in 2013 and one minute from winning in 2014 with bronze. Today I finally got it."
Leandre Bouchard finished seventh in the elite men's race while Quinton Disera was sixth in the under-23 men's race.
The Elite women's race was led from start to finish by world champion Kate Courtney of the United States. Pendrel, the Olympic bronze medallist in 2016, was part of the four rider group that dropped the rest of the field and challenged for third in the final laps.
Canadian champion Emily Batty finished sixth and Sandra Walter was ninth.
"The course is a tough one with the desert heat and altitude, but we came in with a well-laid out plan and everyone executed really well," said Jeff Ain, manager of the Canadian team. "Raph showed some exceptional tactical skills to pull off the win in the elite men, and Catharine was in a tight last lap battle for bronze. Everyone was in the top-10 with some very deep fields."