Batty and Pendrel podium in South Africa
Second and third for Canadian women at World Cup race in Pietermaritzburg
Canadian women showed their cross-country mountain bike strength by finishing second and third in the UCI World Cup’s first event in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Polish rider Maja Wloszczowska (CCC Polkowice) beat Brooklin, Ontario’s Emily Batty (Subaru-Trek) by four seconds and Kamloops, BC’s Catharine Pendrel by :23.
Wloszczowska and Batty dropped Pendrel and then eyed each other before the Cascades Mountain Bike Park course’s final rock garden. There, Batty got hung up and the Pole had to pick a line around her, staying ahead to the finish line. Still, it was Batty’s highest ever World Cup placing. Pendrel’s consolation was that she picked up more World Cup points than her main rival for the title, Frenchwoman Julie Bresset.
In the men’s race, Swiss rider Nino Schurter (Scott-Swisspower) repeated his Pietermaritzburg victory of last year, with home crowd darling Burry Stander (Specialized) coming in eleven seconds in arrears. German Manuel Fumic (Cannondale) rounded out the podium. The top Canadian riders were Derek Zandstra (Scott-3Rox Racing) coming in 29th and Geoff Kabush (Scott-3Rox) 37th.
