(La Bresse, FRA – May 29, 2016) Canada concluded the first half of the Mountain Bike World Cup season with a strong showing on Sunday, in La Bresse, France, as Catharine Pendrel of Kamloops, BC, and Emily Batty of Brooklin, ON, finished second and third respectively in the third round of the series. Pendrel is second in the overall standings, only 66 points behind Annika Langvad of Denmark, while Batty jumps to fourth from ninth in the overall standings.

Pendrel came back from a poor start to move into the top-3 by the halfway mark of the 16.8 kilometre race, and then both she and Batty joined race winner Jolanda Neff of Switzerland at the front for the final lap. Neff attacked on the final climb to win by 25 seconds over Pendrel, with Batty at 48 seconds.

“The last couple laps were awesome,” said Pendrel, “because I didn’t have traffic to deal with. The first couple laps were really, really frustrating, just trying to manage that and use that energy to get me forward whenever possible. Having a traffic free lap [by the third lap] and being able to choose your own lines, meant that you could carry your own pace and flow.”

Canadian men also had top-20 performances, with Leandre Bouchard of Alma, QC, finishing 20th in the Elite men, and Peter Disera of Barrie, ON, finishing 17th in the Under-23 Men’s category.

“I’m pretty proud about my first top-20 in Europe,” said Bouchard. “I’m happy about how I am going in only my second year of Elite. I had a great start, and managed to stay up there. It’s true that I am bigger and heavier, but I also have more power, which helped me at the start.”

In the Under-23 women’s race, held Saturday, Soren Meeuwisse of Orillia, ON, finished 25th, in only the second world Cup of her career. “I’m very satisfied,” said Meeuwisse. “Today my goal was to finish top-25, and I finished 25th. Consistently throughout the race I was just trying to pick my way up to each group and hold on. The downhills are usually where I can gain some time, but I was riding well on the climbs today.”

The next major event on the international mountain bike schedule is the World Championships, in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic, at the end of June. Cycling Canada will soon announce the Canadian team.

(Ottawa, ON – May 24, 2016) Nearly two months after the opening round of the Canada Cup, at Bear Mountain, Victoria, BC, the national domestic off-road series resumed in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, for Round 2 of the Cross-country and the opening round of the Downhill, on May 21-22.

Canada’s top cross-country pros were in Europe for the second round of the World Cup series. This provided an opportunity for developing riders to show their stuff on Sunday.

Mikaela Kofman (Ridebiker/Liv) won the Elite women’s 22 kilometre race with a time of one hour, 39 minutes and 21 seconds, finishing 1:16 ahead of Ellen Noble (Ridebiker). Jena Greaser (Women’s Pedal Project) was third, a further 1:16 back. With her victory, Kofman takes the Canada Cup leader’s jersey.

“This past month has forced me to make some very difficult decisions,” said Kofman. “I had been selected to ride for Team Canada at the two World Cups in Europe, and my plan was to attend these races in hopes of qualifying for the 2016 World Championships. As a first year dental student I have to write my first set of board exams at the end of the final semester. Unfortunately, the preparation and exams conflicted with these World Cup races and I had to make the decision to hang back in North America to race. In reality, I think this was a blessing in disguise because I couldn’t be more excited to stand atop the podium here in Mont Tremblant. I have never had much success at this venue but I believe that the new course design played to my strengths. I am looking forward to the next set of Canada Cups and representing my new team, Ridebiker, that has provided ongoing superlative support.”

In Elite men, it was Evan McNeely (Norco Factory) who took the win and the leader’s jersey, with a time of one hour, 37 minutes and 41 seconds for 27.5 kilometres. Jeremy Martin (iWill Pro Cycling) finished second, 57 seconds back, and Andrew l’Esperance (Norco Factory) took third, 4:20 behind McNeely.

In the Junior expert categories, Sean Fincham (Cycling BC) was the men’s winner and Sidney McGill (Juventus) the women’s. Both riders took the lead in their respective Canada Cup categories.

On Monday, it was time for the Gravity riders to compete in their first national series event of the season. Prior to the start of the Elite men’s competition, a minute of silence took place to remember Canada’s greatest male downhiller, Steve Smith, who died tragically in a motorcycle accident earlier this month. A fund has been started in his name to assist young athletes. Donations can be made at https://www.gofundme.com/23k7fus.

Junior Expert woman Skye Follas of Ontario was the fastest overall woman at 4:18.45, and will wear the leader’s jersey into the next round at Blue Mountain, Ontario, on June 24th. Elite rider Sarah Konefal (Équipe Laferte /Trou du Diable) finished just under two seconds back followed by Audrée Vaillancourt (Kona‐Trees‐Sports aux Puces).

The men’s competition was won by Hugo Langevin (Cycles Performance), with a time of 3:06.59 . Langevin dons the red and white Canada Cup leader’s jersey with his win. Philippe Ricard (Major Cycles/Devinci) took second, less then three seconds behind, with Jonathan Lefrancois (Independent) in third, a further second back.

Adam Robbins of Ontario was the top rider in the Junior Expert Men’s competition, with a time of 3:15.78 . Robbins’ time would have been good enough for fifth in Elite men.

(Albstadt, GER – May 16, 2016) Soren Meeuwisse (Team Canada) was the top Canadian finisher in the Women’s Under-23 race on Saturday, finishing 32nd at Round 2 of the Mountain Bike World Cup in Albstadt, Germany.

Canada’s top-ranked rider in the race, Catherine Fleury (Team Canada), was forced to drop out early in the race while in the top-10, after crashing on a descent and spraining her ankle. Fleury finished second in the first round of the World Cup.

European champion Sina Frei of Switzerland dominated the race, finishing 34 seconds in front of Evie Richards (Great Britain). First round winner Kate Courtney of the United States was fourth, and retains the overall leader’s jersey with 140 points, followed by Frei at 90, then Richards and Fleury, who are tied at 70 points.

Meeuwisse worked her way up steadily through the field after starting on the last row. Frederique Trudel (Team Canada) finished two spots behind Meeuwisse in 34th, with Rachel Pageau (Cyclone d’Alma/Devinci) another two spots back. Laurie Arseneault (Team Canada) was 43rd.

(Cairns, AUS – April 24, 2016) The opening round of the Cross-country World Cup in Cairns, Australia, saw two Canadians on the podium, with Catherine Fleury (Canadian National) finishing second in the Under-23 Women, and Catharine Pendrel (Luna) taking fourth in the Elite women. Two Canadian men finished in the top-20 in the Elite Men’s race. In Mountain Bike, the podium is determined by the five top finishers.

Pendrel overcame a slow start to move into the top five after two laps, then fourth a lap later, and then to third with two laps to go. However, a mistake on a descent allowed Australian Rebecca Henderson to get away on the final lap to take third. Emily Batty (Trek Factory Racing) also had a strong race, finishing seventh. Sandra Walter (Canadian National) was 24th and Cindy Montambault 36th. Haley Smith (Canadian National) did not finish after crashing. Danish rider Annika Langvad was the winner.

“Fourth isn’t what I ideally wanted to start with,” admitted Pendrel, “but I had thumb surgery two weeks ago, so I’ll take it today. I was riding pretty sketchy out there, so I’m happy that I kept it together for fourth.”

Raphael Gagne (Canadian National) had a top-20 start in the Elite men’s race and managed to improve on that in the first few laps, moving as high as 13th. He faltered in the middle portion of the race before recovering to finish 12th; a career high in a non-North American World Cup. World champion Nino Schurter of Switzerland was the race winner.

“I’m absolutely satisfied with my ride,” said Gagne. “I started around 18th or 20th and picked my way up. So I rode a consistent race and paced myself. I felt strong physically and technically and felt that I finished well for the high heat conditions. Last year I cracked the top-20 in World Cups, so this year I wanted top-10 to top-15. Last year, outside of North America my best result was 14th, so I improved on it today.”

Léandre Bouchard (Canadian National) is only a second-year rider in the elite ranks. However, he moved from his 47th start position to the mid-20s in the first two laps and then held that position until the finish, when he outsprinted others in his group to take 19th.

Other Canadian results include Derek Zandstra (Scott-3Rox) in 29th, Geoff Kabush (Scott-3Rox) in 56th, Evan Guthrie (Norco) in 57th and Andrew L’Esperance (Norco) in 58th. Evan McNeely (Norco) did not finish after crashing.

In the Under-23 Women’s race, Catherine Fleury moved into second on the first lap, behind American Kate Courtney. Fleury rode a consistent race to maintain her position unchallenged through the entire race.

“This is my best result ever,” said Fleury. “I think I rode really strongly, and I was catching Elite riders [who started two minutes ahead] every lap, so I’m pretty happy with what I have done.”

In the Under-23 Men’s race, Marc-André Fortier (Equipe du Quebec) was the top finisher, in 25th place, after Canadian national champion Alexandre Vialle flatted on the final lap while a few spots in front of him. Vialle recovered to finish 29th. Other Canadian results include Felix Belhumeur in 32nd and Raphael Auclair in 35th.