08.28.10 - Catharine Pendrel Wins Gold Medal And Overall Mountain Bike World Cup Title; Prémont Takes Silver Medal

Pendrel and Prémont takes top two spots of the last World Cup race before World Championships

(Wyndham, NY (USA) – August 29, 2010) Canadian Mountain Bike riders Catharine Pendrel (Kamloops, BC) and Marie-Hélène Prémont (Château-Richer, QC) took the first two spots in the sixth and last Cross-Country race of the 2010 season in Wyndham, New-York. In winning the race, Pendrel ends the 2010 on Top of the overall UCI World Cup standings, her career first UCI World Cup title.

The two riders will represent Canada at the 2010 UCI Mountain Bike and Trial World Championships in Mont-Sainte-Anne, QC, starting on Wednesday.

“I felt really good today. I felt strong. Marie-Hélène was pushing me the entire race. I’m really excited that we’re both riding strong going into the World Championships,” said Pendrel, who rides for Luna Pro Team on the World Cup Tour.

In 2008, Pendrel was second in the UCI World Cup standings.

“This is amazing, to win my second World Cup of the season, and the (overall) World Cup title, all a week before the World Championships take place in Canada. To win a WC race is always special, but to be consistent right through the season and win the title is hard. The race for the title was so tight all season, it is extra special to win it.”

Pendrel has had an amazing season in 2010, stepping on the podium in four of the seven races on the calendar, winning two races.

In 2009, Pendrel took the victory at the World Cup in Mont-Sainte-Anne, site of the 2010 World Championships.

Pendral, 30 years old, has been on the Canadian Mountain Bike team since 2003. Pendrel just missed the podium at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, finishing fourth. At the 2007 Pan-Am Games, Pendrel won the gold medal in the cross country event.

Pendrel currently resides in Kamloops, BC, but grew up in the small community of Harvey Station in New Brunswick. Pendrel holds a degree of Sociology and Psychology at the University of Victoria.

“Catharine and Marie-Hélène have worked very hard to achieve this. They are in good form heading to into Worlds. They both know that they’ll have to work hard together to succeed at Worlds. They’ve done the work and they have belief in their potential,” said Dan Proulx, Canada’s coach of the Canadian Mountain Bike program.

Canada’s Marie-Hélène Prémont, who learnt how to ride on the hills of Mont-Sainte-Anne, QC, took the silver medal in Wyndham, her first podium of the 2010 campaign. Prémont, 33, just missed the podium in May at the third World Cup race in Offenberg, Germany.

Prémont has been a member of the Canadian Mountain Bike team since 2000. She was crowned Canadian Champion in Mountain Bike six years in a row, from 2003 to 2008. In 2006, she took the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia.

Prémont’s career is no doubt highlighted by her silver medal in Mountain Bike race at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

Prémont also had some success at the World Cup stops in Mont-Sainte-Anne, winning back to back events in 2005 and 2006.

In 2007, Prémont finished second in the overall UCI World Cup standings. Prémont redeemed herself the following year, winning the Overall title in 2008. To accomplish this feat, she stepped on the podium in eight of the nine World Cup stops.

Canada has a strong history in Women’s Mountain bike racing. Alison Sydor, who won 11 medals at UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, took the World Cup title three times in the late 1990’s.

The race in Wyndham, on the calendar for the next three years, is the first UCI World Cup race on American soil since five years.

RESULTS – WOMEN – MOUNTAIN BIKE – WORLD CUP – WYNDHAM, NY
1. Catharine PENDREL (CAN) – Luna Pro Team – 1:39:48
2. Marie-Hélène PRÉMONT (CAN) – Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain – 1:39:52
3. Georgia GOULD (USA) – Luna Pro Team – +2:07
4. Blaza KLEMENCIC (SLO) – Felt Oetztal X-Bionic Team – +3:17
5. Elisabeth OSL (AUT) – Central Pro Team – 3:41