August 8, 2005 — Team B.C.’s Jean Ann McKirdy (BC) is the proud owner of a Canada Summer Games gold medal, after she used all her physical strength and racing smarts in today’s three-lap mountain bike race to finish first.

“I’m tired now,” she said on the phone after her race. “I’m pretty thrilled.”

The 21-year-old’s teammate, Martina Feldmann (BC), also 21, finished only seconds behind to grab the silver medal.

“It was pretty fun,” said McKirdy of racing with Feldmann. The two have been racing together since they were in their mid-teens.

They worked together in the race, trying to distance themselves from Team Ontario’s impressively strong 17-year-old Emily Batty (ON), who eventually finished third. “She was really smart,” said McKirdy of Batty. It took attack after attack from the two B.C. women to finally get a gap on Batty.

When it was just McKirdy and Feldmann left at the front, it was a “free-for-all.” The two finished first and second, respectively, in the espoir category at the mountain bike National Championships in June.

“Martina and I both wanted the win,” said McKirdy, who finally put a small gap into Feldmann on the final lap when the latter made an error in the singletrack. For the rest of the race, McKirdy knew she had to put all her effort into staying away, because she could see Feldmann chasing hard.

McKirdy is looking forward to tomorrow’s individual road time trial and the road race and criterium later this week. “I’ll be going for the podium for all of them,” she said.

The race consisted of three 25-minute, mainly singletrack laps in Wascana Park about 20 minutes outside of Regina. Light rain before the race made some of the loop’s short, steep climbs slightly slippery. McKirdy said drafting and road tactics played a major role in the women’s race, as there were no major climbs and no extremely technical sections, although riders had to keep their heads up. The trail surface was hard-packed clay, almost like pavement and most of the course was open, so it was easy to see the other riders.

1. Jean Ann McKirdy (BC) 1:14.210
2. Martina Feldmann (BC) 1:14.540
3. Emily Batty (ON) 1:15.280
4. Anne-Marie Jobin (QC) 1:16.140
5. Catherine Vipond (ON) 1:16.490
6. Meghan Kindree (BC) 1:18.200
7. Alexandra Wrubelski (SK) 1:20.010
8. Mathilde Hupin-Debeurme (QC) 1:20.160
9. Amy Woodward (AB) 1:21.330
10. Danielle Kenny (AB) 1:21.390
11. Helena Coney (BC) 1:22.320
12. Andrea Bunnin (SK) 1:22.460
13. Pepper Harlton (AB) 1:23.340
14. Alison Testroete (AB) 1:23.360
15. Kate Scallion (NS) 1:23.510.510
16. Nicola Hughes (NS) 1:23.540
17. Sarah Coney (ON) 1:28.290
18. Kylie Morin (SK) 1:29.070
19. Kelly Bietola (ON) 1:29.570
20. Krystal Jeffs (ON) 1:30.110
21. Allison Furniss (YK) 1:31.210
22. Hannah Dueck (SK) 1:32.020
23. Marie-Pier Bédard (QC) 1:32.350
24. Carla Binning (SK) 1:33.510
25. Heather Enders (YK) 1:34.550
26. Alyssa Weninger (SK) 1:37.120
27. Joanie Caron (QC) 1:40.190
28. Melissa O’Brien (NFL) 1:40.330
29. Nicole Ruest (YK) 1:40.570
30. Kelly Foster (NS) 1:41.130
31. Annie-Mylene Comeau (NB) 1:42.050
32. Alyshia Kitchen (YK) 1:42.460
33. Samantha Atkinson (NB) 1:43.180
34. Jessica Dahn (NB) 1:44.160
35. Lisa Tasa (BC) 1:44.580
36. Valérie Violette (NB) 1:45.040
37. Elizabeth Russell (NB) 1:45.200
38. Ainsley Decker (NFL) 1:48.580
39. Teresa Samek (MB) 1:49.560
40. Lilla Roy (NS) 1:51.330
41. Kyla Fisher (NFL) 1:52.520
42. Lindsay Argue (MB) 1:53.300

DNF Kylie Case (MB)

DNF Breanna Rice (PEI)

DNF Rae Anne Hardie (MB)

DNF Geneviève Gagnon (QC)

DNF Anna Tratnyek (ON)

DNF Kylie Gadsby (YK)

DNF Meghan Read (NS)

DNF Julie Belanger (NB)

DNF Emily Sandwith (BC)