09.05.07 - Mountain biking – world championships - Emily Batty satisfied with 10th place

September 5, 2007 – Emily Batty of Brooklin, Ont., the first Canadian rider at this week’s world mountain bike championships being in Fort Williams, Scotland placed 10th Thursday in the women’s under-23 race.

‘’I had a great race,’’ said the 19-year-old making her worlds debut. ‘’I didn’t set any goals in terms of results but I felt fit and ready to deliver a strong performance. To crack the top-10 is very satisfying.’’

Chinese riders were 1-2 with Liu Ying first in one hour and 45 :23 minutes and Chengyuan Ren second three minutes and 31 seconds behind the winner. Elisabeth Osl of Austria was third 5:20 from the winner. Batty’s final time was 1:57:10.

Batty wasn’t hampered by the driving rain. ‘’It was very wet but the track remained in very good condition. In fact, under the circumstances it couldn’t have been better.’’

In junior competition, Ariane Pichette of Quebec City was 21st. The 17-year-old finished 15:19 behind the winner Alla Boyko of Ukraine who clocked the 25.64 kilometre race in 1:25:14.

Competition continues until Sunday. On Thursday it’s the men’s junior race and on Friday the men’s under-23 event. The men’s and women’s elite races are on Saturday and the downhill races are set for Sunday.