EMILY BATTY 3RD AT MONT-STE-ANNE WORLD CUP

Mont-Sainte-Anne, QC (August 13, 2018) – Canadian champion Emily Batty of Brooklin, Ontario, flew the Canadian colours at home on Sunday, with a third place finish in the Elite women’s cross-country Mountain Bike World Cup in Mont-Ste-Anne, Quebec. This was Batty’s fourth podium in six races, and moved her up from eighth to fourth in the standings with one race remaining in the series.

Batty overcame a poor start to move up to eighth by the end of the first lap and fourth by the end of the second in the six lap race. She moved into third place on the fifth lap and came within 14 seconds of catching second place Annika Langvad of Denmark. The race was won by world champion Jolanda Neff of Switzerland.

Showing the depth of the Canadian women’s field, Haley Smith of Uxbridge, Ontario, had her best result ever at a World Cup, finishing eighth, while four-time Mont-Ste-Anne winner Catharine Pendrel of Kamloops, BC, was 16th in her first race back from suffering an injury in June.

“I love racing here,” said Batty. “The energy from the Canadian fans is so empowering. I didn’t have a good first lap, so it was just a matter of trying to get by as many people as I could; climbing the climbs as hard as I could, and not making mistakes in the singletrack. I was giving everything I could to catch Annika, but I just came up a little bit short. I’m really proud to get Canada in the top three spots.”

In other Canadian results, Canadian Under-23 men’s champion Sean Fincham of Squamish, BC, finished tenth in the Under-23 men’s race, while Raphael Gagne of Quebec City was the top Canadian in the Elite men, finishing 25th.

Full results: https://bit.ly/2nxXwv3