08.03.08 - Canadian Olympian Catharine Pendrel wins first career World Cup mountain bike race

BROMONT, Que – Catharine Pendrel of Kamloops, B.C., will be heading to the Beijing Olympics with plenty of confidence after earning her first career victory on the World Cup mountain bike circuit on Sunday.

Pendrel won the 18.4 kilometre cross country race in one hour and 37 minutes and 43 seconds finishing 1:53 ahead of Olympic teammate Marie-Hélène Prémont of Chateau-Richer, Que., who stopped twice for technical assistance. Katerina Nash of the Czech Republic was third 2:39 behind the winner.

It was the second straight weekend, Canada posted a 1-2 finish in the women’s World Cup race. Last week at Mont-Ste-Anne, Que., Prémont took the gold and Pendrel was second.

Prémont led early in the race but had problems with her gears and by the end of the first lap Pendrel was ahead. Conditions were muddy and treacherous due to heavy rainfalls throughout the race.

Amanda Sin of Wolfville, N.S., was 15th, Jean Ann McKirdy of Burnaby, B.C., 17th, Emily Batty of Brooklin, Ont., 18th and Wendy Simms of Nanaimo, B.C., 20th.

In the World Cup season standings, Prémont has reached the podium in all seven World Cup races this season and leads with 1,420 points. Pendrel has moved into second overall at 973.

In the men’s 27.6 kilometre cross country race, Julien Absalon of France was the winner with Lukas Fluckiger of Switzerland second and Adam Craig of the U.S., third. Geoff Kabush of Victoria was fourth just over five minutes off the winning time and moved into third in the World Cup standings.

Derek Zandstra of Trenton, Ont., was 14th, Seamus McGrath of Victoria 15th and Mathieu Toulouse of Montreal 20th.

Canada is fielding four riders for the Olympic mountain bike competition: Prémont and Pendrel for the women and Kabush and McGrath for the men. The women’s cross country race is August 22 and the men’s race on August 23.

After the Olympics there are three more stops on the World Cup.