July 21, 2007 (Mt. Washington, B.C.) – The Elite Women’s XC race is underway in wet conditions as a light drizzle continues off and on. There are 24 starters today and the women will complete four (4) laps of the 6.4 km course.

Lap 1
Marie-Hélène Prémont (Rocky Mt/Haywood) is leading 3/4 of the way through lap 1 with Kiara Bisaro (Opus) in 2nd, Catherine Pendrel (Norco) in 3rd, Wendy Simms (Kona) in 4th and Melanie McQuaid (BMC/Natures Path) in 5th. Emily Batty (Team RACE) is the top U23 rider with Catherine Vipond in 2nd.

As the riders finish lap 1 and head into lap 2 it’s Prémont with 30 seconds on Pendrel who has moved into second with Bisaro 3rd, McQuaid 4th, Amanda Sin (3 Rox Racing/Scott) is now in 5th, Simms is 6th, Sandra Walter (XO Felt) is 7th and Mical Dyck (Trek/Terrascap) is 8th. The riders are strung out with 5-10 seconds between them.

Lap 2
Prémont has a 2-min lead over Pendrel at the end of lap 2 with Bisaro another 30 seconds back in 3rd. Sin is in 4th with McQuaid in 5th and Wendy Simms is in 6th. The rain looks like it’s going to stop finally.

Lap 3
At the end of lap 3 and the beginning of the last lap it’s Prémont extending her lead to almost 3 minutes over Pendrel in second. Another minute behind is Bisaro followed by Sin at 1 min. McQuaid is in 5th with Simms in 6th, Walter in 7th, Dyck in 8th, Trish Sinclair (Scott) in 9th… and forgot to add that the rain has returned.

Results

Elite 19+ Women

1. Marie-Helene Premont (QC) Rocky Mountain / Haywood 1:50:44
2. Catherine Pendrel (BC) Norco Factory Team 04:47
3. Kiara Bisaro (BC) Opus Bikes 06:41
4. Amanda Sin (ON) 3 Rox Racing 08:01
5. Wendy Simms (BC) Kona Les Gets 09:14
6. Melanie McQuaid (BC) BMC – Natures Path 09:28
7. Sandra Walter (BC) X-O-Felt 13:49
8. Mical Dyck (AB) Terrascape 15:51
9. Caroline Villeneuve (QC) Equipe du Québec /Opus 16:21
10. Patricia Sinclair (BC) Scott USA 16:31
11. Kathleen Villeneuve (QC) Équipe du Québec/La Cordée 17:03
12. Jean Ann McKirdy (BC) Rocky Mountain – Haywood 19:40
13. Karine Travaillaud (QC) cvm val-david 24:14
14. Lesley Tucker (ON) Velocity Bike and Multisport 27:24
15. Julie Sanders (QC) Marin bikes 31:56
16. Sue Trimble (ON) Team Ontario 33:32
17. Karen Trueman (BC) CycleLogic -1 lap
18. Kate Scallion (NS) The Cyclery -1 lap
19. Erica Musyj (SK) Team Saskatchewan -1 lap
20. Melanie Vaughan (BC) Steed Cycles -1 lap
21. K.J. Sadler (BC) Steed Cycles/NSA -1 lap
22. Christy Love (BC) Scott/Amberside Cycle -1 lap
23. Lynne Laporte (MB) Team Manitoba -2 lap
DNF Dawn Berg (BC) Oak Bay Bikes
DNF Elsie Torresan (QC) Specialized

U23 19-22 Women

1. Emily Batty (ON) Team R.A.C.E. 2:12:58
2. Meghan Kindree (BC) Team Squamish 04:05
3. Catherine Vipond (ON) Team Trek Store 06:53
4. Pepper Harlton (AB) Juventus 07:30
5. Marie-Claude Surprenant (QC) Équipe du Québec /Club Sportif Bromont 07:38
6. Kaitlin Michner (ON) Team Ontario -1 lap
7. Andrea Bunnin (SK) Team Saskatchewan -1 lap
8. Kylie Case (MB) Team Manitoba -1 lap