July 21, 2008 (Mont Ste-Anne, Que.) – All of the expected favourites won their respective national titles on Saturday at the Canadian XC National Championships – but in the elite women’s races, it wasn’t a clear case of domination as in the past. The partisan crowd got very quiet when Catharine Pendrel (BC) Luna Women’s MTB Team took the lead from hometown favourite and defending champ Marie-Hélène Prémont (QC) Rocky Mountain, while in the men’s race many spectators were rooting for the young underdog Derek Zandstra (ON) Scott-3 Rox Racing as he finished only a second away behind maple leaf jersey winner Geoff Kabush (BC) Maxxis.

In the U23 races, Emily Batty (ON) Trek Store and Raphaël Gagné (QC) Rocky Mountain dominated, winning the women’s and men’s titles, respectively. The junior women’s and men’s victories were also not unexpected, with Bianca Adolf (BC) Natural Earth/Team BC and Evan Guthrie (BC) Total Restoration/Team BC sewing up the titles.


The elite women’s race was the most exciting to watch when a hungry and confident Pendrel took control from her Beijing teammate on the first lap of the five-lap, 25.5km race. Pendrel’s was a gutsy move, as Mont-Ste-Anne is virtually in Prémont’s backyard, so the Québécoise knows the trails inside out. Prémont was hindered by a malfunctioning suspension fork and a crash, but Pendrel knew that Prémont would work hard to close the gap she had built to 1.5 minutes, so the Luna rider just dug deep and stayed ahead as long as she could. When Prémont made the pass on the fourth lap, Pendrel fought back. The two switched leads four times, as the spectators held their breath. The overwhelming contingent of Prémont fans could finally let out sighs of relief and cries of jubilation when their favourite crossed the finish line first – a mere six seconds ahead of Pendrel, who was disappointed to have missed the win when it had been so close. But she was also excited to have been in such an epic battle with the six-time National Champion. Wendy Simms (BC) Kona rode a strong and consistent race to finish third.


The six-lap men’s race was also suspenseful, as Zandstra began chipping away at Kabush’s early escape by the end of the second lap, when he distanced himself from the rest of the chase group, and began to close on the defending champion. Zanstra stormed away from the chasers, steadily closing the gap to a single second at the finish. Mathieu Toulouse (QC) Maxxis, hunted by Andrew Watson (ON) Team Ontario, held the bronze medal position for most of the race, but Watson took advantage of a tech zone stop by Toulouse at the start of the final lap. Toulouse snatched it back, however, to secure the bronze by 20s over Watson. The sky grew black and lightening was visible nearby, but the downpour waited until the men had finished to really let loose.

An exciting development during the competition was the evidence of a so-called “changing of the guard” at the front of the elite men’s field, with seven riders aged 25 or under establishing themselves in the top 10: Zandstra (2nd), Watson (4th), Plaxton (5th), Marty Lazarski (ON) K-Capital Source/Different Bikes (6th), Peter Glassford (ON) Trek Store (7th), Stefan Widmer (BC) K-Capital Source/Different Bikes (8th), and Eric Batty (ON) Trek Store (10th).

Gagné is another prime example of a bright future in Canadian men’s racing. He started two minutes back with the U23 men’s field, and powered through the elite pack during his five-lap race. He won the U23 title and had moved up to sixth in the elite field at the time of his finish. Gagné left the rest of his competition in the dust, finishing over seven minutes ahead of second place, Francis Morin (QC) Specialized/Équipe du Québec, and 8.5 minutes ahead of third, Kyle Douglas (QC) Scott-3 Rox Racing.

Batty was also virtually unchallenged in the U23 women’s event, gaining over one minute per lap on second place, Marie-Claude Surprenant (QC) Sportif Bromont, during the four-lap race. Mikaela Kofman (ON) 3 Rox Racing took third spot.

Adolf secured the national title in the three-lap junior women’s race, finishing nearly three minutes ahead of Canada Cup series winner Rébecca Beaumont (QC) Cyclone d’Alma. Ashley Barson (ON) Team Ontario won the bronze medal.

Guthrie cruised to victory in the junior men’s race, securing another red and white jersey for the BC Team juniors. His teammate, Tyler Allison (BC) Team BC, grabbed the bronze medal, while Chris Everist (ON) Team Ontario finished second after four laps.

Masters Competition

The masters raced for their respective national titles yesterday, on a course made slicker by the storm following Saturday’s races.

Robin Tétreault (QC) La Cordée Plein Air won the master men’s 30-39 category, followed by Luc Proulx (QC) Xprezo and Elvis Thiboutot (QC) Xprezo in second and third, respectively.

The master men’s 40-49 race was won by former National MTB Coach Michel LeBlanc (QC), who credited home course advantage. Kevin Simms (ON) Hardwood Hills, coach and brother of elite women’s bronze medallist Wendy, took second, followed by Ted Ingram (ON) Cycle Solutions/Angry Johnny’s Racing in third.

Gilles Morneau (QC) Le Pédalier took home the jersey in the master men’s 50+ event, followed by XC skiing and cycling legend Pierre Harvey (QC) Devinci. Robert Anderson (BC) Team Specialized Racing finished third.

Joanne Thomson (ON) Ride with Rendall took victory in the master women 30-39 race, Marianna Knights (ON) Arrow Racing was second, and Julie Lafrenière (QC) placed third.

Caroline Patry (QC) won the master women 40+ title, with France Arseneault (QC) in the silver medal position, and Linda Jacques (QC) Lessard Bicycles taking bronze.