July 28/11 14:13 pm - CCA Announces MTB Worlds Team

Posted by Editoress on 07/28/11
 

Once again, Canada will bring to the start line of the 2011 Mountain Bike World Championships some of the best riders in the world, including all of its newly-crowned Canadian Champions and Canada Cup Champions, in all categories.  The world championships will take place in Champery, Switzerland, between August 31st and September 4th.

The star-studded line up in women's Elite categoryincludes three-time Canadian Champion and 2010 World Cup Champion Catharine Pendrel of (Team Luna Pro), five-time Canadian champion and 2009 World Cup champion Marie-Hélène Premont (Maxxis-Rocky Mountain) and Emily Batty (Subaru-Trek), a four-time U23 Canadian Champion now racing in the Elite category.

Canada's Pendrel and Premont currently sit second and third in the UCI World Cup rankings. Thanks to the performances from Pendrel, Premont and Batty, Canada is ranked #1 in the world in the Women's Elite UCI Olympic Qualification rankings.

Six-time Canadian Champion and Olympian Geoff Kabush (Maxxis-Rocky Mountain) and the new Canadian Champion and Pro XCT series champion Max Plaxton (Specialized Factory Team) will be Canada's top riders in the Men's Elite category.

"The World Championships in Champery will be another great chance for our athletes to fine tune their performances before the 2012 Olympic Summer Games London," said Dan Proulx, Head Coach of the Canadian Mountain Bike program. "Our women's program is very strong right now and we have some talented young riders coming up through the ranks. Our men's program is also increasing in strength and depth from the Elite level down to Junior.   We saw some very intense battles in every category at Canadian Championships in Canmore earlier in July."

Proulx adds: "We have some fantastic role models and leaders in our elite team. They are eager to see the program succeed at the international level. Their success at the top of the sport has raised the bar for our younger riders. Every member of the team seems more and more driven to be the best.  It's an honor to work with such an ambitious group. It's a very exciting time for the mountain bike program."

Both Canada Cup Champions will be racing at the 2011 UCI World Championships, with the married couple of Matthew Hadley (Xprezo) and Catherine Vipond (Norco) making the trip overseas to wear Canada's maple leaf on their backs.

New faces to the World Championships include Junior Canadian Champions and 2011 Canada Cup Champions Frédérique Trudel (Specialized) and Marc-Antoine Nadon (3 Rox Racing).

The downhill riders selected to represent Canada will be named next week.

Courtesy CCA

National Cross-country Team

Elite Women
Catharine Pendrel (Kamloops, BC)
Marie-Hélène Prémont (Château Richer, QC)
Emily Batty (Brooklin, ON)
Amanda Sin (Collingwood, ON)

Elite Men
Geoff Kabush (Courtenay, BC)
Derek Zandstra (Trenton, ON)
Max Plaxton (Victoria, BC)
Matthew Hadley (Mount Hope, NB)

Elite Women Development Team
Catherine Vipond (Oshawa, ON)
Jean Anne Berkenpas (Maple Ridge, BC)

Elite Men Development Team
Adam Morka (Fonthill, ON)
Neal Kindree (Garibaldi Highlands, BC)

U23 Women
Mikaela Kofman (Toronto, ON)
Rebecca Beaumont (Alma, QC)
Laura Bietola (Greenwood, ON)

U23 Men
Evan McNeely (Kingston, ON)
Léandre Bouchard (Alma, QC)
Mitchell Bailey (Barrie, ON)

U23 Women Development Team
Andréanne Pichette (Québec, QC)

U23 Men Development Team
Jérémy Martin (Boischatel, QC)
Evan Guthrie (Peachland, BC)
Antoine Caron (Stoneham, QC)

Junior Women
Frédérique Trudel (Breakeyville, QC)
Hayley Smith (Uxbridge, ON)
Andréanne Lanthier-Nadeau (Québec, QC)
Lauren Rosser (Squamish, BC)

Junior Men
Marc-Antoine Nadon (Timmins, ON)
Thomas Néron (Québec, QC)
Alexandre Vialle (Prévost, QC)