CATHARINE PENDREL BACK ON THE WORLD CUP PODIUM, TAKING THIRD PLACE
World Cup in Nove Mesto showcases strong Canadian results with Plaxton fifth and Kabush seventh
(Nove Mesto na Morave, CZE – May 26, 2013) Canadian Mountain Bike Catharine Pendrel of Kamloops, BC, racing with Team Luna Pro, was back on the podium today at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Tour, taking the third place on the second race of the 2013 season in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic.
Pendrel crossed the finish line after 24.2 km of racing with a time of 1:27:11 for the third place. Slovenia’s Tanja Zakelj took her career first victory at the World Cup level, while Maja Wloszczowska of Poland crossed the finish line in second place.
“Today was a lot of fun,” commented Pendrel to Canadian Cyclist. “It was definitely a lot better than last week, a return to the aggressive rider I am. The racing was top notch with all these strong girls. I felt good and then Tanja made an attack, and she had some pretty amazing speed. I was feeling the earlier effort and had to regroup and get back into my rhythm.”
Emily Batty of Brooklin, ON, racing with Trek Factory Racing, made the Top 10 for the second consecutive week, taking the ninth spot in today’s race.
With the third place, Pendrel jumps to the sixth spot on the UCI World Cup overall standings, followed by Batty in seventh place.
Racing with Canadian-based professional team SCOTT-3RoxRacing, Amanda Sin of Collinwood, ON finished 32nd.
In the men’s race, Canada’s Max Plaxton of Victoria, BC, racing for Sho-Ari Cannondale, had a great result, taking the fifth spot – his best performance of the season. Plaxton, the two-time reigning Canadian Champion, cross the line with a time of 1:41:35.
“It was hard on the last two laps,” said Plaxton to Canadian Cyclist. “With my start I was number 37. I was lucky to not have any problems at the start and I paced myself for the first half of the race. With two laps to go I could see the Czech rider [Ondrej Cink] in front of me, so I motivated to chase harder. My first top five in Europe, so I’m really pleased.”
Geoff Kabush of Courtenay, BC racing for SCOTT-3RoxRacing, also had a great run on this second week of World Cup action, taking the seventh place by completing the race just 10 seconds past Plaxton.
Derek Zandstra, also of SCOTT-3RoxRacing, bounced back this week, placing 31st.
The next event on the 2013 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup June 8 in Fort William, Great Britain, with the presentation of the first downhill race of the calendar.
MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CUP – NOVE MESTO NA MORAVE, CZE
WOMEN ELITE
1. ZAKELJ Tanja (SLO) UNIOR TOOLS TEAM 1:25:50
2. WLOSZCZOWSKA Maja (POL) GIANT PRO XC TEAM 1:26:09 +0:19
3. PENDREL Catharine (CAN) LUNA PRO TEAM 1:27:11 +1:21
4. ENGEN Alexandra (SWE) GHOST FACTORY RACING TEAM 1:27:57 +2:07
5. LECHNER Eva (ITA) TEAM COLNAGO SUDTIROL 1:28:09 +2:19
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9. BATTY Emily (CAN) TREK FACTORY RACING 1:29:36 +3:46
32. SIN Amanda (CAN) SCOTT-3ROXRACING 1:36:02 +10:12
MEN ELITE
1. SCHURTER Nino (SUI) SCOTT SWISSPOWER MTB RACING TEAM 1:39:33
2. ABSALON Julien (FRA) BMC MOUNTAINBIKE RACING TEAM 1:39:36 +0:03
3. FLÜCKIGER Lukas (SUI) BMC MOUNTAINBIKE RACING TEAM 1:40:18 +0:45
4. LITSCHER Thomas (SUI) MULTIVAN MERIDA BIKING TEAM 1:40:35 +1:02
5. PLAXTON Max (CAN) 1:41:35 +2:02
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7. KABUSH Geoff (CAN) SCOTT-3ROXRACING 1:41:45 +2:12
31. ZANDSTRA Derek (CAN) SCOTT-3ROXRACING 1:46:54 +7:21
48. GAGNE Raphael (CAN) 1:49:00 +9:27
62. JETTE Cameron (CAN) SCOTT-3ROXRACING 1:52:22 +12:49
