April 05, 2019 (Ottawa, ON) – Canada is sending a strong team to the Pan American Mountain Bike Championships in Aguascalientes, Mexico, this weekend. The Championships are the Continental Championships for Cross-country, and carry valuable nation ranking points for Olympic spots at the 2020 Games.

For the Elite women’s competition, Canada will send three of its top-ranked women, led by 2018 world championship bronze medalist Emily Batty and 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Catharine Pendrel. They will be joined by Sandra Walter, who won the silver medal at the 2018 national championships. Cindy Montambault was also named to the team but had to withdraw due to illness.

The men’s squad includes 2016 Olympians Leandre Bouchard and Raphael Gagne in the Elite category, and Quinton Disera for the Under-23 category.

“The goal here is just to earn points,” said Dan Proulx, national mountain bike coach. “It’s still early season, and it is a bit of a tricky race; it is in a difficult location, with extensive travel time to get to and from, and it’s at altitude. There are a lot of points on the line, and the trick is to go down there and come back healthy enough to benefit.”

Women
Emily Batty – Brooklin, ON (Elite)
Catharine Pendrel – Kamloops, BC (Elite)
Sandra Walter – Coquitlam, BC (Elite)

Men
Leandre Bouchard – Alma, QC (Elite)
Quinton Disera – Horseshoe Valley, ON (Under-23)
Raphael Gagne – Quebec City, QC (Elite)