07.31.11 - CATHARINE PENDREL WINS MOUNTAIN BIKE OLYMPIC TEST EVENT IN ESSEX, GREAT BRITAIN
A year out of 2012 Olympic, Pendrel is queen of 2012 Olympic Track

(Essex, GBR – July 31, 2011) Catharine Pendrel won the 2011 Hadleigh Farm International Olympic Test Event in Essex, Great Britain on Sunday as the one-year countdown is underway.

In front of the sold-out crowd of 5000 spectators, over 100 mountain bikers took to the challenging track, including both of the defending Olympic champions - Sabine Spitz of Germany and Julien Absalon of France.

Pendrel of Kamloops, BC who rides for Team Luna Pro during the UCI World Cup Tour, wore the Maple Leaf uniform representing Canada for this special invite-only event. Pendrel completed the course with a time of 1:32:04.

“This was a strong performance for Catharine. She trained really hard this week. We did a ton of intervals and data collection on the Hadleigh course. Catharine’s win was a bit surprising considering how hard her workouts were,” said Dan Proulx, Head coach of the Canadian Mountain Bike Team.

Proulx continued by noting there are still room for improvement for Pendrel on this specific course: “It’s great to see her do well here, but there is still a lot she can do to go faster on this course. Next year’s Olympic event is going to be extremely challenging. She’s an ambitious rider and I know she’ll work hard to be the best.”

At the 2008 Olympic Games, Pendrel went on to finish fourth, missing the podium and an Olympic medal by one position.

Georgia Gould of the United States of America took the second place. Gould was in Pendrel rear mirror for the entire race until she suffered from a crash midway through the last lap. Julie Bresset of France, the current World Cup leader, finished third.

Reigning Olympic Champion Julien Absalon of France took the win in the men’s race, showing he still has what it takes to win in the final stretch to the 2012 Olympic Games. Christoph Sauser of Switzerland finished second, followed by Karl Markt of Austria.

Three other Canadians took part in the race: Andrew Watson and Evan McNeely in the men’s category, and Amanda Sin in the women’s race.

Organized by the 2012 Olympic Games Organizing Committee, the invitational event was aimed to test the track to be used at the 2012 Games and to prepare the crew of volunteers for smooth sailing during the event, held next summer in London.

RESULTS – 2011 HADLEIGH FARM INVITATIONAL OLYMPIC TEST EVENT

ELITE HOMMES

1. Julien Absalon (France) 1:31:48
2. Christoph Sauser (Switzerland) +1:20
3. Karl Markt (Austria) +1:46
18. Andrew Watson (Canada) +7:42
33. Evan McNeely (Canada) -2 laps

ELITE WOMEN

1. Catharine Pendrel (Canada) 1:32:04
2. Georgia Gould (United States of America) +0:56
3. Julie Bresset (France) +1:32
14. Amanda Sin (Canada) +10:05