06.17.08 - Canadians on medal prowl at world mountain bike championships June 17-22 at Val di Sole, Italy

OTTAWA – Olympic silver medallist Marie-Hélène Prémont of Chateau-Richer, Que., leads a 32-member Canadian team to the world mountain bike championships which starts today and runs until Sunday at Val di Sole, Italy.

Prémont heads to the worlds as the most successful rider in the women’s cross country event this season. She is the only rider to reach the podium at all five World Cup races and leads the overall standings. She won the most recent World Cup stop in Scotland this past weekend.

Joining Prémont on the women’s team are CathArine Pendrel of Kamloops, B.C., and Kiara Bisaro of Courtenay, B.C.

‘’Marie-Hélène has to be considered one of the favourites based on her performances this year,’’ said Sean O’Donnell, Manager, High Performance Programs for the Canadian Cycling Association. ‘’We also have high expectations for both CathArine and Kiara. They’ve both shown they are very competitive on the world scene.’’

The men’s elite cross country squad consists of Geoff Kabush of Victoria, Seamus McGrath of Carling, Ont., Derek Zandstra of Trenton, Ont., and Max Plaxton of Victoria. Kabush won a bronze medal earlier this season on the World Cup.

‘’Geoff and Seamus have had some solid results this season,’’ said O’Donnell. ‘’They’ve shown they are capable to ride with the best riders in the world. Certainly a top-12 performance would be very satisfying for both guys.’’

Meanwhile, Raphael Gagné of Quebec City and Emily Batty of Brooklin, Ont., race in the men’s and women’s under-23 event respectively. Batty was a top-10 finisher last year.

There are five Canadian entries for the junior cross country competition: Evan Guthrie of Kelowna, B.C., Tyson Wagler of Shakespeare, Ont., and Jonathon Boucher of Quebec City for the men and Leah Kirchmann of Winnipeg and Bianca Adolf of Vancouver for the women.

In the downhill competition Canada has nine riders for the Elite competition: for the men, Steve Smith, Andrew Mitchell, Charles Alexandre-Dubé and Hans Lambert. For the women, Claire Buchar, Micayla Gatto, Denise Uyesugi, Kim Huard, and Marie-Ève Marcotte.

Six of the seven Canadian entries for the junior competition are in the men’s division: Yann Gauvin, Trenton Zoobcoff, Alex Prochazka, Philippe Cyrenne Blanchard Rob Fraser and Simon Garstin. Miranda Miller competes in the junior women’s class.

In the men’s trials, James Barton and Jeff Anderson are the Canadian entries.

Competition gets underway Tuesday June 17 with the cross country team relays, the women’s under-23 and junior cross country races are on June 18, the men’s junior cross country is June 19, under-23 June 20, the downhill events are June 21 and the men’s women’s elite cross country race June 22.