Catharine Pendrel Wins at Offenburg

On Saturday, the third mountain bike World Cup of the 2010 season was held in Offenburg, Germany. Canadian mountain bike racer and member of the Luna Pro Team, Catharine Pendrel pedaled away from the elite field to take the win. With this win, Pendrel is also now leading the World Cup points race.

Pendrel sat down and answered some questions for us about the race:

Congrats on the win – tell us how it came together for you.
The start was a bit sketchy and I lost some positions, but was able to be back in the top 10 entering the woods. I was able to get up to Georgia pretty quickly. Having her at the front helped me set a fast pace and motivated me to stay on it all race. I got off the front at the
beginning of 3rd lap, but on the 4th Georgia was reeling me back in. I dug deep and was able to open again and secure the lead.
How was the course today? Any favorite sections?
The course was in perfect condition. The rain of previous days made it nice and tacky after the last 2 days of sun. I’ve always enjoyed this course. It has some fun rooty, twisty entrances to the drops and gradual climbing through the woods. There are always tons of spectators out cheering and having a good time. It is a fun course to ride aggressively.
How does it feel to win?
Amazing! It was such a close battle the entire race. It was really helpful to have my coach Dan there giving me splits and the right advice on when to attack or keep the pressure on. Having my Luna team mate Georgia at the front with me was also super motivating.
It was also a good day for a team, can you tell us a bit about the race from a team perspective?
My team is stoked! We could not have asked for a better race. Knowing each other as racers Georgia and I were able to push each other and use our strengths to get a gap early on. Then we had to follow our own race plan being confident the other was strong enough to keep the front positions. The whole team is riding so strong this year, it’s nice to see it all come together for the big events like here and Dalby.
Where will we see you racing next?
I’ll be doing some fun races in BC in June and then BC Bike race.

A number of other Canadians placed very well in the race:
4 Marie-Helene Premont Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain
29 Amanda Sin 3 Rox Racing
51 Emily Batty Trek World Racing