Squamish mountain biker Marin Lowe finished her race with a dazzling performance at the UCI 2023 Cycling World Championships in Scotland.
Marin Lowe, 18, raced in the Women Junior category of the Cross-country Olympic course as well as the mixed-team relay race.
On Thursday, Aug. 10, Lowe placed second in the Women Junior Cross-country Olympic race. She chased her fellow Canadian, Isabella Holmgren, throughout the race and finished 39 seconds behind her but ahead of Polish rider, Natalia Grzegorzewska, by 45 seconds.
Lowe told The Squamish Chief before the race that this was her second world championship competition. During her first race, she placed 16th overall.
Lowe said recently that she would love to compete for a Top 10 spot, but wasn’t focusing too much on her placement.
“I try not to get too worked up about the actual numbers. I just want to go out there on the day of and just give it my all and make Canada proud and just make myself proud,” Lowe told The Chief.
It’s safe to say she made Canada proud.
As for the mixed team relay, the group consisted of Lowe plus five other Canadian riders on the Aug. 9 race day. Overall they placed fourth behind Switzerland, France and Denmark.
At several times throughout the race, Canada held onto third but ultimately fell just one second short behind third-place Denmark. Meanwhile, Switzerland dropped down to sixth early on in the race but climbed back to earn the top spot by the end with France finishing only nine seconds behind them.
Also on Aug. 10, Squamish rider Sean Fincham competed in the Men Elite Cross-country Short Track where he started in 53rd and climbed all the way to 34th at one point before settling at 43rd.
All of his fellow Canadian riders climbed upwards from their starting positions.
Squamish’s Ella MacPhee is set to race in the Women U23 Cross-country Olympic race on Friday, Aug. 11. Fincham should also line up for the Men Elite Cross-country Olympic on Saturday, Aug. 12.
