07.27.08 - Olympic team member Marie-Hélène Prémont wins gold at mountain bike World Cup

MONT-STE-ANNE, Que. – Olympic team member Marie-Hélène Prémont of Chateau-Richer, Que., won the gold medal Sunday in the women’s cross country race at the sixth stop on the mountain bike World Cup circuit.

Catharine Pendrel of Kamloops, B.C., added a silver in the women’s race while Geoff Kabush of Victoria was also second in the men’s race.

Prémont left no doubt she was racing to win. She built a comfortable lead early on and distanced herself from the field after each lap.

‘’My goal was to get a quick start and get a lead to reduce my chances of falling,’’ said the current overall World Cup leader who added she was buoyed by the large and enthusiastic crowd at the event near her hometown.

Prémont clocked two hours and six minutes and 30 seconds while Pendrel crossed the finish line two minutes and 53 seconds later. Lene Byberg of Norway was third, 4:28 back of the winner.

Obviously a 1-2 Canadian finish is exciting for Prémont with the Olympics on the horizon. ‘’It certainly shows we can get some very good results at the Games,’’ she said. It was Prémont’s second consecutive World Cup win and she has stepped on the podium in all six races this season.

Amanda Sin of Wolfville, N.S., was 10th, Wendy Simms of Nanaimo, B.C., 13th, Emily Batty of Brooklin, Ont., 17th and Jean Ann McKirdy of Burnaby, B.C., 20th.

In the men’s cross country race, Kabush collected his second World Cup medal this season finishing 2 :33 behind Julien Absalon of France. Absalon won the race in 2:07:44. Burry Stander of South Africa was third.

The medal performance provides a big confidence boost for Kabush. ‘’It shows my training is going well,’’ he said. ‘’It’s been almost a perfect season for me so far based on my planning and preparations for Beijing.’’

Seamus McGrath of Victoria was eighth, Derek Zandstra of Trenton, Ont., 14th, Mathieu Toulouse of Montreal 18th and Raphael Gagné of Quebec City 20th.

The seventh stop on the World Cup is next weekend in Bromont, Que. It will be the last opportunity to see the Canadian Olympic mountain bike riders race on home soil before the summer Games get underway August 8.

Full results : www.velirium.com