September 2, 2010 (Mont-Sainte-Anne, QC) – The under-23 women set off on course on yet another hot and dusty day at the Mont Sainte Anne World Mountain Bike Championships, and it was Sweden’s Alexandra Engen who wore the rainbow jersey when the dust had settled. Emily Batty was Canada’s top finisher, in 5th place.

With cloud covering the course, the conditions were slightly more favourable than Wednesday’s brutal heat, but remained tough and humid. The World Championships is the only event on the world calendar where the espoir riders race on their own, separate from the elites. Today’s event featured a battle amongst the world’s top-ranked U23 women throughout the race and a late surge by Canada’s Batty despite fighting a cold virus for about a week. Mikaela Kofman was the top Canuck after Batty finishing in 14th and before the race her mother Lori felt confident in her chances for a high finish, saying “she’s feeling great” and that “she’s really prepared, and it’s at home”.

As the action began the fastest through the start loop was Vivienne Meyer of Switzerland, who led Slovenia’s Tanja Zakelj and Engen of Sweden down through the rock garden followed by Annie Last (Great Britain), Paula Gorycka (Poland) and Fanny Bourdon of France. Batty came through La Beatrice in eighth, about 40 seconds behind the leaders who all looked confident coming down the front side of the rocks. Kofman chose the back side of the rock garden as did many of the racers emergin in 19th, followed by Andreanne Pichette in 21st. Ashley Barson came through the rock section in 29th place, followed by Cassandre Olivier-Lapierre in 32nd. Rebecca Beaumont brought up the rear, losing a bit of time as she went over the tape near the bottom – but she gritted her teeth, untangled herself and kept on riding.

Last posted the fastest lap of the day on the first full lap and maintained a 15-second lead over Meyer, who was still riding strongly ahead of Zakelj and Engen. Gorycka went over the handlebars at the top of La Beatrice and ran down the first length of the rocks, but was back on her bike by the bottom, still holding 25 seconds over Emily Benko of Hungary. Batty came through the rock garden in 7th but lost two positions by the end of the lap as she kept battling the competition.

Britain’s Last continued to lead through the third lap as Engen passed Zakelj by the end of the lap to move into second. Batty was battling hard against Bourdon and Benko and maintained her 9th spot while Kofman moved up into 15th place.

Last and Engen battled it out for first place on the foot of La Marmotte, Mont Ste-Anne’s switchback-filled, leg punishing climb. Nearby whistles could be heard through the forest amidst cowbells as the DH racers put in their training runs. Eventually, a slight breeze picked up to the relief of the racers, and the spectators. It appeared that Engen had enough firepower to pass Last before the switchbacks, but the British rider held her off by a few seconds at the top. However, by the end of the lap Engen took over with a two-second lead.

Batty and Bourdon also duked it out on the climb, with Batty passing Bourdon after the second switchback, but Bourdon countered after the fourth. At the top, Batty reached out a hand to motion Bourdon out of her way as she passed the French rider a second time within a minute. It was an impressive contest of wills as both riders set their sights on Swiss rider Kathrin Stirnemann, who was only a few metres ahead but managed to keep her 5th place position at the end of the lap.

On the final lap, Engen pulled away from Last, putting in a huge effort to beat her by 41 seconds while Gorycka surged past Zakelj to claim the final spot on the podium. The spectator cheers at the finish line were deafening as Batty came into view only 15 seconds later in fifth , having passed Stirnemann on the last lap and keeping Bourdon at bay in sixth. Batty’s last lap was an immense effort with the second-fastest time as she got faster and faster as the race went on.

Kofman moved up steadily through the race to finish 14th as she was pipped at the line in a road-style sprint by Zhuanzhuan Ye of China. Pichette was the third Canadian across the line in 26th; Beaumont finished 30th and Olivier-Lapierre was 33rd.

In a post race interview, Batty confirmed that she has been sick for a while and that she is still quite sick. Asked about the support she received (Emily Batty Fan Club t-shirts were to be seen all over the race course), she said that it was “absolutely insane. Everytime I went up the gravel climb, I was getting goose bumps just from my family and friends and sponsors just screaming my name – it was so inspiring. Those are the people who helped me get here.”

The bike she rode, a 2011 Trek Top Fuel dual suspension, was just delivered to her less than two weeks ago. She described it as “a bit of a surprise” and said it was her first time racing on it. She was enthusiastic saying “it was what helped me ramp it up in the last half of the race.” Batty usually rides a hardtail Trek; however, when she tried out the new bike mid season she was ready to give it a try.

As for the heat, she commented that they, “…lucked out as the junior women had a harder day yesterday with the sun,” adding that because the heat was still strong, and the air was still, “I was still grabbing a bottle of cold ice water to cool down”. She was pleased that the rain held off, commenting on the “typical Mont Sainte Anne weather”.
Batty acknowledged that this is her last year in the U23 category, she “didn’t want it to be over” as she’s been building up to this event for most of the season and had put a lot of time in on the course. Now she “will take a little break” and then refocus on next season racing with the Elite women.

Kofman was very pleased with her result, calling it awesome. “I really had no expectation,” she continued, as this was her first MTB World Championships adding that her finish was “a stepping stone” for future races as she still has another year in the U23 category.

Full results and more photos here.