July 3, 2007 (St-Felicien, Que.) — It wasn’t the best Canada Day for several of the country’s top XC mountain bikers on Sunday, July 1, at the Nissan UCI World Cup MTB XC #5 in St-Felicien, Que about 4.5 hours north of Quebec City. The big exception was the belle province’s darling, Marie-Hélène Prémont (Can) Rocky Mountain-Haywood, who logged the fastest women’s lap of the day, ripping up the singletrack-rich 6.3-kilometres in a time of 23:03. Prémont finished second in the 33.6-kilometre race, only one minute behind the winner and World Cup MTB leader Irina Kalentyeva (Rus) Topeak-Ergon. Prémont now holds second spot in the overall ranking with only one event left.

In the men’s race, the top finisher was Seamus McGrath (Can) Rocky Mountain-Haywood in 18th place. He was tailed closely by National Champ Geoff Kabush (Can) Maxxis, who finished 20th — a little disappointing for Kabush as he rode onto the podium last weekend in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Que. winning the bronze medal. France’s Julien Absalon (Fra) Orbea won the St-Felicien race, taking over the lead from Jose Antonio Hermida (Esp) Multivan-Merida when the Spaniard broke his chain, making it his fourth consecutive World Cup win. Absalon has a death grip on the series lead and will look to take the World Cup trophy home after the final event in Maribor, Slovenia September 15.

The women started their five-lap race in sunshine and 20 degrees at 11:00 a.m. EST with a two-kilometre start loop that felt strangely slow due to the steep gravel hill the 72-rider field hit right off the bat. It was Prémont who came through first, with Kalentyeva on her heels. The entire race was a literally a two-woman battle between the Canadian and the Russian with Kalentyeva taking over the lead from Prémont on the third lap as the rain began to fall. The rooty course became slightly slick, but it held up well given the abuse coming from the womens’ tires.

Meanwhile, the fight for third was an epic battle between Willow Koerber (USA) Subaru-Gary Fisher, Georgia Gould (USA) Luna Women’s Team and Sabine Spitz (Ger) Ghost International Racing, with Spitz coming out on top. Koerber and Gould finished fourth and fifth, respectively, making it two Americans on the podium.

Canada’s Catharine Pendrel (Can) Norco Factory Team was having a fantastic ride, powering into seventh place from her 20th start position by lap three. Disaster struck on lap four, however, when Pendrel lost a pedal during the ride of her life. The threads had been damaged, so she was unable to reinsert the pedal by hand and was forced to run and ride (one-footed) for approximately half a lap to the nearest tech zone, where the mechanical support was able to affix the pedal.

But the damage was done. Pendrel had slid back into the 30s with only one lap to go. A heartbroken Pendrel crossed the line in 30th position. “It was really nice to have a strong ride in front of a very supportive Canadian crowd,” said Pendrel, after getting over the initial disappointment. She viewed the race as a success, just for the fact that she was able to ride among the top 10 women in the world.

Kiara Bisaro (Can) Opus also had a below par race, evidently not having recovered from a dramatic crash at the start of the previous weekend’s race in Mont-Sainte-Anne. She revealed she had been feeling “spaced out” and unwell all week due to the concussion and other injuries incurred from the impact. “I’m just happy I stuck it out,” she said of her race in St-Felicien, where she placed 22nd. Sandra Walter (Can) X.O-Felt Women’s MTB Team was the second-best Canadian finisher with a 21st-place ride. “I’m pretty happy with it,” she said of her career best World Cup placing, “but I was really aiming for top 20,” which she missed by 30 seconds. Mical Dyck (Can) Trek-Terrascape was 26th and Amanda Sin (Can) 3 Rox Racing-Scott finished 35th.

The spectators were out in full force, lining exciting sections of the course and cheering especially hard for all of the Canadian riders. Shuttle buses ran regularly to and from the race site, bringing fans the five kilometers from downtown St-Felicien.

Many spectators ran for cover when it began to pour at 2:00 p.m. EST just in time for the start of the six-lap men’s race. It was very much a battle of two riders — Absalon vs. Hermida. Both were evenly matched and it looked like it would come down to a sprint finish until Hermida broke his chain. Hermida was forced to seek technical help, losing him precious time and a few spots, which he regained again. He would eventually finish second, 1:18 back from the leader. Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Cannondale-Vredestein rounded out the top three.

McGrath seemed content with his ride, whereas Max Plaxton (Can) Rocky Mountain-Haywood was disappointed with his 40th place.

Results

Elite Women

1. Irina Kalentyeva (Rus) Topeak 2:02:02
2. Marie-Hélène Prémont (Can) Rocky Mountain-Haywood 1:00
3. Sabine Spitz (Ger) Ghost International Racing 3:15
4. Willow Koerber (USA) Subaru-Gary Fisher 3:24
5. Georgia Gould (USA) Luna Women’s MTB Team 3:33
6. Ren Chengyuan* (Chn) China 4:42
7. Katerina Nash (Cze) Luna Women’s MTB Team 5:49
8. Lene Byberg (Nor) Specialized 6:15
9. Mary McConneloug (USA) Kenda Seven 6:45
10. Cécile Rode Ravanel (Fra) Team Lapierre International 7 :19
11. Petra Henzi (Sui) Fischer-BMC 7:55
12. Ivonne Kraft (Ger) 8:09
13. Jingjing Wang (Chn) China 8:12
14. Laura Turpijn (Ned) 8:20
15. Blaza Klemencic (Slo) Pintatim Full-Dynamix 8:41
16. Nina Göhl (Ger) Multivan/Merida Biking 8:42
17. Tereza Hurikova* (Cze) Ceska Sporitelna Mtb 9:11
18. Laurence Leboucher (Fra) 9:15
19. Anna Enocsson (Swe) Ghost International Racing 9:21
20. Heather Irmiger (USA) Subaru-Gary Fisher 9:29
21. Sandra Walter (Can) XO Felt 10:01
22. Kiara Bisaro (Can) Opus 10:29
23. Magdalena Sadlecka (Pol) Halls Professional MTB Team 10:42
24. Nina Homovec* (Slo) 10:57
25. Anna Szafraniec (Pol) Halls Professional MTB Team 11:13
26. Mical Dyck (Can) Trek/Terrascape 11:35
27. Susan Haywood (USA) Trek-VW 12:32
28. Sabrina Enaux (Fra) Team Lapierre International 13 :34
29. Wendy Simms (Can) Kona/Les Gets 13:52
30. Catharine Pendrel (Can) Norco 14:15
31. Lea Davison (USA) Trek-VW 14:42
32. Laura Lorenza Morfin (Mex) 15:25
33. Bernardine Boog-Rauwerda (Ned) 15:48
34. Tanja Zakelj* (Slo) 15:59
35. Amanda Sin (Can) 3 Rox Racing/Scott 16:28
36. Helene Marcouyre (Fra) Bh-Sr. Suntour 17:06
37. Séverine Hansen (Fra) Bh-Sr. Suntour 17:09
38. Maroussia Rusca (Sui) 17:21
39. Jaqueline Mourao (Bra) 17:27
40. Dellys Starr (Aus) 18:14
41. Emiliy Batty* (Can) Team R.A.C.E. 18:49
42. Rie Katayama (Jpn) 19:03
43. Yolanda Speedy (Rsa) 19:31
44. Natalya Krompets* (Ukr) 20:10
45. Tory Thomas (Aus) 20:21
46. Liliya Zaytseva* (Ukr) 20:25
47. Jennifer Smith (Nzl) 20:43
48. Trish Sinclair (Can) Scott USA-Kenda 20:54
49. Sarah Koba (Sui) 21:39
50. Jean Ann McKirdy (Can) Rocky Mountain/Haywood 22:57

One Lap Down

51. Kathy Sherwin (USA)
52. Sandra Dolcerocca (Den)
53. Julie Sanders (Can) Marin Bikes
54. Kathleen Villeneuve (Can) Equipe du Quebec
55. Ksenia Chernykh (Rus)
56. Erika Gramiselli (Bra)
57. Catherine Vipond* (Can) Team Trek Store
58. Chloe Forsman* (USA) Luna Women’s MTB Team
59. Amy-Jane Mundy (Rsa)
60. Caroline Villeneuve (Can)
61. Karine Travaillaud (Can) CVM Val-David
62. Sara Bresnick (USA)
63. Joanna Wall (Aus)
64. Marie Kunst (Den)
65. Zoe King (Aus)
66. Sabra Davison (USA)

Two Laps Down

67. Inbar Ronen (Isr)
68. Rosemary Barnes (Aus)

DSQ Ying Liu* (Chn) China
DNF Renata Bucher (Sui)
DNF Katrin Leumann (Sui)
DNF Tarja Owens (Irl)

Elite Men

1. Julien Absalon (Fra) Orbea 2:07:56
2. José Antonio Hermida Ramos (Esp) Multivan/Merida Biking Team 1:18
3. Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Cannondale-Vredestein 1:55
4. Ralph Näf (Sui) Multivan/Merida Biking Team 2:50
5. Jakob Fuglsang* (Den) Cannondale-Vredestein 3:00
6. Nino Schurter* (Sui) Swisspower MTB Team 4:37
7. Balz Weber (Sui) Bikepark.Ch Tui 4:41
8. Wolfram Kurschat (Ger) MBC Bochum 4:53
9. Lado Fumic (Ger) Fumic.Brothers.International 5:15
10. Adam Craig (USA) Giant Mountain Bike Team 5:39
11. Roel Paulissen (Bel) Cannondale-Vredestein 5:55
12. Florian Vogel (Sui) Swisspower MTB Team 6:03
13. Filip Meirhaeghe (Bel) Versluys-Landbouwkrediet 6:06
14. Cédric Ravanel (Fra) Team Lapierre Internation 6:16
15. Christoph Sauser (Sui) Specialized 6:32
16. Ruben Ruzafa Cueto (Esp) Orbea 6:41
17. Christoph Soukup (Aut) Fuji 6:52
18. Seamus McGrath (Can) Rocky Mountain-Haywood 7:04
19. Jader Zoli (Ita) Asd Ktm International Tea 7:07
20. Geoff Kabush (Can) Maxxis 7:26
21. Ricky Federau (Can) Trek 7:40
22. Bas Peters (Ned) 7:53
23. Inaki Lejarreta Errasti (Esp) Orbea 7:53
24. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) Subaru-Gary Fisher 8:16
25. Milan Spesny (Cze) Merida Biking Team 8:33
26. Valeriano Rubens Donizeti (Bra) 8:34
27. Karl Platt (Ger) Team Bulls 8:48
28. Stefan Sahm (Ger) Team Bulls 8:48
29. Emil Lindgren* (Swe) Gewiss Bianchi 9:01
30. Manuel Fumic (Ger) Fumic.Brothers.International 9:14
31. Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) 9:50
32. Jochen Kass (Ger) Team Alb-Gold Mountainbike 9:55
33. Ricardo Pscheidt (Bra) 10:12
34. Nicolas Bazin (Fra) Bh-Sr. Suntour 10:46
35. Rudi Van Houts (Ned) Dolphin Bike Team 10:57
36. Peter Riis Andersen (Den) Team Alb-Gold Mountain Bike 11:02
37. Robin Seymour (Irl) 11:16
38. Kashi Leuchs (NZl) Cannondale-Vredestein 11:20
39. Moritz Milatz (Ger) Multivan/Merida Biking Team 11:28
40. Max Plaxton* (Can) Rocky Mountain-Haywood 11:41
41. Jiri Friedl* (Cze) Merida Biking Team 11:52
42. Carlos Coloma Nicolas (Esp) Spiuk-Tau Ceramica 12:07
43. Burry Stander* (RSA) GT 12:13
44. Hannes Metzler (Aut) 12:36
45. Klaus Nielsen (Den) Team Alb-Gold Mountainbike 12:59
46. Derek Zandstra (Can) 3 Rox Racing/Scott 13:04
47. Carl Decker (USA) Giant Mountain Bike Team 13:16
48. Michael Broderick (USA) Kenda Seven 13:17
49. Neal Kindree* (Can) Kona/Les Gets 13:18
50. Marti Gispert Labarta (Esp) Spiuk-Tau Ceramica 13:27
51. Olivier Maignan (Fra) Bh-Sr. Suntour 13:30
52. Miha Solar (Slo) 13:44
53. Edivando Cruz (Bra) 13:53
54. Tim Heemskerk (Ned) 14:02
55. Kris Sneddon (Can) Kona/Les Gets 14:09
56. Filip Eberl (Cze) 14:16
57. Oleksandr Yakymenko* (Ukr) 14:17
58. Kenji Takeya (Jpn) 14:57
59. Chris Jongewaard (Aus) Dolphin Bike Team 14:57
60. Todd Wells (USA) GT 16:00
61. Andrew Watson (Can) TEAM R.A.C.E. 16:49
62. Sid Taberlay (Aus) Dolphin Bike Team 17:22
63. Christof Bischof (Sui) Bikin’cyprus Int’l MTB Team 17:38
64. Cristobal Silva (Chi) 17:51
65. Sergiy Rysenko (Ukr) 18:03
66. Michael Weiss (Aut) Bikin’cyprus Int’l MTB Team 18:12
67. Raphael Gagne* (Can) Rocky Mountain-Haywood 18:49
68. Niall Davis* (Irl) 19:21
69. Jelmer Pietersma (Ned) Beone Mountainbiketeam 20:35
70. Lee Williams (GBr) 21:42
71. Andreas Kugler (Sui) Fischer-Bmc 31:58

One Lap Down

72. Samuel Schultz* (USA) Subaru-Gary Fisher
73. Benoit Simard (Can) Specialized Canada
74. Maxim Gogolev (Rus)
75. Frederic Bussieres (Can)
76. Roddi Lega (Can) United Cycle
77. Stuart Houltham (NZl)
78. Colin Cares* (USA)
79. Martin Lazarski (Can) Rocky Mountain-Haywood

Two Laps Down

80. Pierre Lebreton (Fra) Bh-Sr. Suntour

Three Laps Down

81. Dror Pekatch (Isr) Subaru-Gary Fisher
82. Justin Price (NZl)

Four Laps Down

83. Sam Jurekovic* (USA)

DNF Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) Orbea
DNF Torsten Marx (Ger) Team Alb-Gold Mountainbike
DNF Jan Skarnitzl* (Cze)
DNF Mathieu Toulouse (Can) Maxxis
DNF Conor Mcconvey* (Irl)
DNF Jeff Hall (USA)
DNF Alexandre Moos (Sui) Bmc Racing
DNF Eric Drower (NZl)
DNF Giuseppe Lamastra (Ita)
DNF Matthew Hadley (Can) Rocky Mountain-Haywood

*U23