Towards a record participation: a “clear success” for the opening of the Pentathlon des neiges

BET À DAY

The Pentathlon des neiges kicked off on Saturday and this year's edition could very well beat its participation record, set in March 2020, just before the start of the pandemic.  

The new General Manager, Cynthia Paquet, did not hesitate to describe the first day of the event as a “great success”. 

“We are very happy because following the pandemic there are events that are having difficulty regaining their attendance and their participation rate. […] We hope to do even better next year”, she underlines, while only about forty registrations are missing to reach the 2020 mark, i.e. a total of 6156 people.< /p>

Participants and spectators turned out by the hundreds on the site on Saturday. The first three events of the weekend took place in good spirits despite the icy February wind blowing over the Plains of Abraham. 

“We had a great day. For the two challenges this morning and the one this afternoon, it went very well. I think the spectators and the participants are very happy”, continues the one who is at the head of her first winter pentathlon. 

A lot of work

< p>She maintains that the slope preparation teams had to work hard to tame the unexpected amounts of snow that fell on the Quebec region during the day on Friday. 

“It is certain that the courses were a little softer than expected because of the snow, but we worked hard to offer the best possible conditions”, supports the DG. 

Ms. Paquet also wanted to highlight the efforts of the City of Quebec with regard to snow removal from the streets around the Plains of Abraham. 

The lack of maintenance last weekend, when the Carnaval de Québec and the Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec were in full swing, had caused discontent in the population. 

Victory among friends

The first team to cross the finish line of the Short Distance Team Challenge, the Quillés, completed the course in five stages with a time of 1 h 31 min and 7 sec. The five friends in their twenties finished first out of 193 teams, after a rocky start to the 9.6km bike event. 

The team that finished first Xavier Asselin, Edward Asselin, Thomas Csisztu, Alexis Marceau and Felix Bedar at the Pentathlon des Neiges on the Plains of Abraham.

Whoever got into the saddle, Xavier Asselin, takes full blame. “It was our most difficult stage. Fortunately, we managed to climb the slope in the following ones, ”he explains.

His brother, Edward, believes instead that the mount is to blame for the slow start of the Quillés. “It's the bike I use every day to get around […] it's rather rudimentary”, jokes his eldest. 

After taking 14th place, the five sidekicks began their ascent to the top step of the podium in the snowshoeing, skating, skiing and running events. Last year, the two Asselin brothers and their friend Félix Bédard finished third in the short distance with two other teammates. The addition of skater Alexis Marceau and cross-country skier Thomas Csisztu will have made the difference this year. friends and we spend the weekend in Quebec. After finishing third, we were aiming for first place and we worked hard to get there. concludes Xavier Asselin.

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