08.20.11 -CATHARINE PENDREL WINS THIRD WORLD CUP RACE THIS SEASON; RANKS #1 IN WORLD RANKINGS

Pendrel finishes season on high note; Canada remains Top Nation in the World in the Nations rankings

(Val di Sole, ITA – August 20, 2011) Catharine Pendrel of Kamloops, British Columbia, won her third UCI World Cup race of the season on Saturday in Val di Sole (ITA), finishing off the 2011 UCI World Cup season with two consecutive World Cup victories as she prepares for the 2011 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships to be held in Switzerland starting next week.

Defending her World Cup title, Pendrel finished second with 1420 points in the World Cup overall standings, a mere 40 points behind the newest World Cup winner Julie Bresset of France, who finished the World Cup season with 1460 points.

Pendrel stepped on the podium in five of the seven World Cup races, winning three races. She finished second twice. On the International UCI ranking, Pendrel is ranked #1, a ranking which includes all Mountain bike races held in the last 365 days.

Only two weeks ago, Pendrel won the Hadley Farm Invitational race, the 2012 Olympic Games test event. Since then, she went on to win both World Cups race to conclude the season.

2011 UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORD CUP FINAL STANDINGS – WOMEN

1. BRESSET Julie (FRA) [BH - SUNTOUR - PEISEY VALLANDRY] 1460 points

2. PENDREL Catharine (CAN) [LUNA PRO TEAM] 1420 points

3. KALENTIEVA Irina (RUS) [OPEAK ERGON RACING TEAM] 840 points

4. PREMONT Marie-Helene (CAN) [TEAM MAXXIS - ROCKY MOUNTAIN] 820 points

5. LECHNER Eva (ITA) [COLNAGO FARBE SUDTIROL] 808 points

Pendrel, who grew up in Harvey Station, New Brunswick, won this race in Val di Sole with a time of 1:25:07, showing a 29-second lead on the second position of Maja Wloszczowska of Poland.

Marie-Hélène Prémont of Chateau Richer, Québec went on to finish fourth in the final season rankings. Prémont was sitting in third place in the standings for most of the season, and slipped to fourth place last week when Russian rider Irina Kalentieva edged her in third place. Kalentiva finished the season in third place by a margin of only 20 points over Prémont.

Emily Batty of Brooklin, Ontario, finished her first season racing in the Elite category in eighth place of the World Cup rankings. Batty had her best performance of the seaon in Mont-Sainte-Anne, QC with a seventh place, and cracked the top 10 twice. With more time and experience internationally, Batty could very well be the next star of women’s mountain biking on the international scene.

Batty had a great week as she accepted the wedding proposal made by Adam Morka, another rider racing for Canada in Mountain biking. Both Batty and Morka raced today, and both will be part of the Canadian team competing at the upcoming World Championships.

In the women’s category, Canada remains the best nation in the world, sitting atop the Nations ranking for the Olympic qualification. Thanks to Pendrel, Prémont and Batty notably, Canada earned 2198 points, showing a lead of 425 points on the second place, France, with 1773 points.

In the men’s Elite category, Geoff Kabush of Courtenay, British Columbia, was the top Canadian in today’s last race of the season, taking the 35th position. Kabush finished the season ranked 24th as the top Canadian in the Elite men’s race.

In the U23 race in Val di Sole, Mikaela Kofman of Toronto, ON, the U23 Canadian Champion, finished inside the top 10 in ninth place. Evan McNeely of Kingston, ON, the only Canadian in the men’s U23 race, finished 37th.

Next stop for the mountain bikers will be at the 2011 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Champéry, Switzerland. Last season, the event was held in Canada at Mont-Sainte-Anne, and Pendrel went on to finish fourth, while Prémont placed ninth. Once again, Canada will be a country to watch in the women’s elite race, with three of the World’s best riders on the start line.

2011 UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORD CUP FINAL STANDINGS – WOMEN

1. BRESSET Julie (FRA) [BH - SUNTOUR - PEISEY VALLANDRY] 1460 points

2. PENDREL Catharine (CAN) [LUNA PRO TEAM] 1420 points

3. KALENTIEVA Irina (RUS) [OPEAK ERGON RACING TEAM] 840 points

4. PREMONT Marie-Helene (CAN) [TEAM MAXXIS - ROCKY MOUNTAIN] 820 points

5. LECHNER Eva (ITA) [COLNAGO FARBE SUDTIROL] 808 points

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8. BATTY Emily (CAN) [SUBARU – TREK] 611 points

36. SIN Amanda (CAN) 245 points

52. VIPOND Catherine (CAN) 99 points

54. DYCK Mical (CAN) 92 points

56. WALTER Sandra (CAN) 75 points

61. BERKENPAS Jean Ann (CAN) 68 points

66. MONTAMBAULT Cindy (CAN) 46 points

78. HEISTERMAN Brandi (CAN) 30 points

85. VILLENEUVE Caroline (CAN) 23 points

2011 UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORD CUP FINAL STANDINGS – MEN

1. KULHAVY Jaroslav (CZE) [SPECIALIZED RACING] 1610 points

2. SCHURTER Nino (SUI) [SCOTT - SWISSPOWER MTB – RACING] 1270 points

3. ABSALON Julien (FRA) [ORBEA] 960 points

4. HERMIDA RAMOS José Antonio (ESP) [MULTIVAN MERIDA BIKING TEAM] 813 points

5. MAROTTE Maxime (FRA) [BH - SUNTOUR - PEISEY VALLANDRY] 810 points

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24. KABUSH Geoff (CAN) [TEAM MAXXIS - ROCKY MOUNTAIN] 363 points

34. ZANDSTRA Derek (CAN) 247 points

77. MORKA Adam (CAN) 43 points

81. HADLEY Matthew (CAN) 34 points

83. WATSON Andrew (CAN) 32 points

87. GLASSFORD Peter (CAN) 25 points

90. PLAXTON Max (CAN) 20 points

91. BATTY Eric (CAN) 19 points

97. GAGNE Raphael (CAN) 13 points

RESULTS – WORLD CUP – MOUNTAIN BIKE – VAL DI SOLE (ITA)

ELITE WOMEN

1. PENDREL Catharine (CAN) [LUNA PRO TEAM] 1:25:07

2. WLOSZCZOWSKA Maja (POL) [CCC POLKOWICE] +00:29

3. DAHLE FLESJAA Gunn-Rita (NOR) [MULTIVAN MERIDA BIKING TEAM]+00:42

4. BRESSET Julie (FRA) [BH - SUNTOUR - PEISEY VALLANDRY] +01:15

5. LECHNER Eva (ITA) [COLNAGO FARBE SUDTIROL] +01:51

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11. PREMONT Marie-Helene (CAN) [TEAM MAXXIS - ROCKY MOUNTAIN] +03:14

12. BATTY Emily (CAN) [SUBARU – TREK] +03:31

39. VIPOND Catherine (CAN) +12:04

43. SIN Amanda (CAN) +13:57

ELITE MEN

1. KULHAVY Jaroslav (CZE) [SPECIALIZED RACING] 1:25:08

2. SCHURTER Nino (SUI) [SCOTT - SWISSPOWER MTB – RACING] +00:00

3. VOGEL Florian (SUI) [SCOTT - SWISSPOWER MTB – RACING] +01:21

4. ABSALON Julien (FRA) [ORBEA] +02:05

5. FLÜCKIGER Lukas (SUI) [TREK WORLD RACING ] +02:37

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35. KABUSH Geoff (CAN) [TEAM MAXXIS - ROCKY MOUNTAIN] +07:36

46. ZANDSTRA Derek (CAN) +08:13

65. MORKA Adam (CAN) +11:46

76. HADLEY Matthew (CAN) -1LAP

105. JETTE Cameron (CAN) -3LAP

U23 WOMEN

1. BELOMOYNA Yana (UKR) [INFOTRE - BI & ESSE – LEECOUGAN] 1:11:20

2. FERRAND PREVOT Pauline (FRA) [LAPIERRE INTERNATIONAL] +01:31

3. GORYCKA Paula (POL) [CCC POLKOWICE] +01:45

4. BENKO Barbara (HUN) [FOCUS MIG TEAM] +02:24

5. GROBERT Helen (GER) +03:00

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9. KOFMAN Mikaela (CAN) +04:54

22. BEAUMONT Rebecca (CAN) +10:12

U23 MEN

1. KERSCHBAUMER Gerhard (ITA) [TX ACTIVE BIANCHI] 1:14:41

2. KONWA Marek (POL) [MILKA TREK MTB RACING TEAM] +00:09

3. SCHULTE-LUENZUM Markus (GER) [FOCUS MIG TEAM] +00:19

4. INDERGAND Reto (SUI) [MK – ZENTRALSCHWEIZ] +00:30

5. CANAL Fabien (FRA) [GT SKODA CHAMONIX] +00:44

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37. MCNEELY Evan – CAN +04:55