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Catharine Pendrel wins 2016 World Cup overall title

Emily Batty takes third place overall

September 4, 2016
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Olympic bronze medalist Catharine Pendrel (Luna Racing) once again stood on the podium as the cross country mountain bike World Cup wrapped up in Vallnord, Andorra which is situated at altitude in the Pyrenees mountain range in between France and Spain. Pendrel put in a strong performance to vault to the top step taking the overall World Cup title with a third place finish in the final round. Pendrel, who had a short break back home in Kamloops, B.C. following her Olympic success, had a 56 point gap to bridge in order to take the overall title for the third time in her career. Emily Batty (Trek Factory Racing) had a tough race but still managed to accumulate the points to move into third place overall.

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Annika Langvad of Denmark (Specialized Racing) held the overall lead entering the race but with altitude a factor in Vallnord, it was bound to be an unpredictable race. It was Swiss rider Jolanda Neff (Stöckli-Pro-Team) who took the win. She was the overall winner the last two years but had increased road commitments in 2016. Norwegian veteran Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa (Multivan Merida) led into the final lap but began to fade allowing Neff to catch and then pass the 43-year-old.

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Early on, Pendrel was involved in a crash but held third place on course throughout most of the race. Pendrel had accumulated points throughout the season on the World Cup circuit with fourth in Cairns, third in Albstadt, second in La Bresse, eighth in Lenzerheide, first at Mont-Sainte-Anne and finally third in Vallnord to go along with her Olympic bronze medal. She won the overall World Cup title in 2010 and 2012. Pendrel has also been world champion twice winning the title in 2011 and 2013.

Langvad did not enter the race in tip-top shape fighting illness and suffering several crashes throughout the day. At one point she sat sixth which would have seen her retain her lead but as the race progressed her rhythm never came back and she could only manage a 13th place finish.

Batty, who so narrowly missed out on a medal in Rio with a fantastic ride to fourth place, was able to move up to third place in the overall standings. The bronze medalist from the 2016 world championships also had a very consistent season. The resident of Brooklin, Ont. crashed in training on Saturday bruising her ribs but come race day she was resilient and moved up from a bad start that saw her in 27th on course to finish 12th. The finish was enough for her move from fourth to third place overall and join Pendrel on the podium.