CATHARINE PENDREL WINS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS TITLE
CATHARINE PENDREL WINS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS TITLE
Pendrel wins second career World Title
(Hafjell, NOR – September 6, 2014) Canada’s Catharine Pendrel of Kamloops, BC won the elite women World Championships title on Saturday, in Hafjell, Norway, her career second title.
Pendrel finished the race with a time of 1:30:30, crossing the finish line 21 seconds ahead of former World Champion Irina Kalentieva of Russia and 43 seconds ahead of American Lea Davidson. The feat is exceptional, as she flatted in the last lap with a 43-second lead. Thanks to a quick wheel change, she was able to maintain her lead position and went on to win.
Pendrel won the same title in 2011, in Champéry, Switzerland. Pendrel stood on the Top 3-podium three times this season on the World Cup tour, including one victory in Windham (USA) and a second place on home soil in Mont-Sainte-Anne. Pendrel also won the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Scotland in a dominating fashion.
“I like to race from the front,” confirmed Pendrel to Canadian Cyclist, “and when there’s an opportunity to take the lead you should go for it. That’s always the kind of racer I have been. If you want to win the Worlds you have got to be willing to take some chances and go out strong. When I came through the finish line after the first lap and saw that I was 20 seconds faster than my Team Relay lap, I was pretty happy, and I felt that I could maintain it.”
“I knew Irina was coming behind me, and I knew that she had won here the year before [at the World Cup], so I had to stay on the gas. Then, with half a lap to go, I got a front puncture and I was lucky to have amazing technical support, and the fastest wheel change ever, and get back on the bike to win the world championship.”
“Catharine was phenomenal today. She was so strong and composed. It was one of her best race ever,” said Dan Proulx, Head Coach of the Canadian Mountain Bike team.
Emily Batty of Brooklyn, ON finished sixth. “Emily was on form and well prepared for these Worlds. She had an incredibly strong race. Canada is fortunate to have two female athletes at such a high caliber’” added Proulx, of Batty’s performance.
In the elite women’s race, Canada finished as the top-ranked country in the nations g.rankin
Derek Zandstra of Trenton, ON posted his career best result at World Championships. The 2013 Canadian cross-country champion finished in fifteenth place of the very strong elite men field. Had he not flatted, the outcome for Zandstra could have been breathtaking.
“It’s my best world championships by, I think, eight spots, so I’m pretty happy,” said Zandstra. “The start wasn’t the best for me, we got pretty tangled up in the first singletrack and I think I was sitting around 50th, but I kept going steady and passed when I could, and never let up,” commented Zandstra.
Dan Proulx was excited for Zandstra: “Derek was on track for an eighth place when he flatted. Despite the flat tire, this was still his best performance at World Championships. Now, he has the confidence and knows he’s a Top10 rider.”
About the Canadian performances, Proulx went on to add: “This year’s World Championships gave the entire team a lot of momentum and inspiration. We’ve got one of the strongest programs in the World, and each year it’s attracting more and more top-level athletes. Our job is simply to create an environment where Champions are inevitable. I think our progression this year shows we’re on track.”
Earlier in the week, the Canadian Team Relay finished in seventh place, while Léandre Bouchard of Alma, QC posted his career best result with an eighth place to end his U23 career as he will be racing in the elite category next year. Bouchard’s last season was filled with success, finishing in the Top 5 of a World Cup cross-country race, as well as making the medal race in the Eliminator. Bouchard also won two titles at the 2014 Canadian Champion, in the cross-country (U23) and the eliminator.
RESULTS
Elite Women
1. PENDREL, Catharine (CANADA) 1:31:30
2. KALENTIEVA, Irina (RUSSIAN FEDERATION) 1:31:51 +0:21
3. DAVISON, Lea (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA) 1:32:13 +0:43
====,=
6. BATTY, Emily (CANADA) 1:33:39 +2:09
34. WALTER, Sandra (CANADA) 1:43:03 +11:33
45. KOFMAN, Mikaela (CANADA) -1LAP
Elite Men
1. ABSALON, Julien (FRANCE) 1:27:06
2. SCHURTER, Nino (SWITZERLAND) 1:28:57 +1:51
3. FONTANA, Marco Aurelio (ITALY) 1:30:34 +3:28
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15. ZANDSTRA, Derek (CANADA) 1:33:30 +6:24
48. GUTHRIE, Evan (CANADA) -1LAP
64. GAGNE, Raphael (CANADA) -2LAP
76. KABUSH, Geoff (CANADA) -3LAP
U23 Women
1. NEFF, Jolanda SWITZERLAND 1:17:49
2. MOSCHETTI, Margot FRANCE 1:19:36 +1:47
3. INDERGAND, Linda SWITZERLAND 1:19:42 +1:53
=====
23. SMITH, Haley (CANADA) 1:28:31 +10:42
24. ROCHETTE, Maghalie (CANADA) 1:28:40 +10:51
28. FLEURY, Catherine (CANADA) 1:30:34 +12:45
30. PAGEAU, Rachel (CANADA) 1:31:21 +13:32
38. TRUDEL, Frederique (CANADA) -1LAP
U23 Men
1. VAN DER, HEIJDEN Michiel (NETHERLANDS) 1:18:40
2. SARROU, Jordan (FRANCE) 1:19:29 +0:49
3. GROTTS, Howard (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA) 1:19:52 +1:12
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8. BOUCHARD, Leandre (CANADA) 1:21:15 +2:35
31. BAILEY, Mitchell (CANADA) 1:26:49 +8:09
38. DISERA, Peter (CANADA) 1:27:51 +9:11
63. MCNEELY, Evan (CANADA) -1LAP
DNF. MARTIN, Jeremy (CANADA) DNF3
Junior Women
1. KOLLER, Nicole (Switzerland) 1:06:16 +0:00
2. DEGN, Malene (Denmark) 1:07:22 +1:06
3. FREI, Sina (Switzerland) 1:07:43 +1:27
=====
12. LEWIS, Marine (Canada) 1:13:21 +7:05
28. MEEUWISSE Soren (Canada) 1:21:44 +15:28
29. ARSENEAULT,, Laurie (Canada) 1:23:16 +17:00
36. FOXCROFT, Paige (Canada) -1LAP
Junior Men
1. ANDREASSEN, Simon (Denmark) 1:08:49
2. BERNAL, Egan (Colombia) 1:09:26 +0:37
3. SCHWARZBAUER, Luca (Germany) 1:09:27 +0:38
=====
12. FORTIER, Marc Andre (Canada) 1:13:11 +4:22
41. VERNER, Rhys (Canada) 1:17:58 +9:09
53. BELHUMEUR, Felix (Canada) 1:19:41 +10:52
69. BURKE, Felix (Canada) -1LAP
70. LAROSE-GINGRAS, Guillaume (Canada) -1LAP
XC Eliminator
Open Women
1. STIRNEMANN, Kathrin (Switzerland)
2. INDERGAND, Linda (Switzerland)
3. BOE JACOBSEN, Ingrid (Norway)
4. RISSVEDS, Jenny (Sweden)
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14. PAGEAU, Rachel (Canada)
Open Men
1. MELS, Fabrice (Belgium)
2. LINDGREN, Emil (Sweden)
3. MIQUEL, Kevin (France)
4. FEDERSPIEL, Daniel (Austria)
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30. GAGNE, Raphael (Canada)
