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Pendrel second on Jingle Cross Day 2

November 16, 2013
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Iowa City, IOWA – Catharine Pendrel finished second overall on the second day of racing at the UCI Jingle Cross race in Iowa City, Iowa. The Canadian finished second to Luna teammate Katerina Nash.

Saturday’s course was changed from the course layout on Friday, and featured a climb with multiple steep pitches that suited the World Cup mountain bikers. By the end of the first lap, Pendrel and Nash were riding close together in second and third positions. Riding in first overall was Elle Andreson of California Giant Strawberries/Specialized

“We traded up pulls for a little bit, but she [Katerina] had me on the climb, and pulled away,” said Pendrel. “Luckily I had Elle on the climb, Katerina caught up to Elle and got away and then I caught up to Elle and got away.”

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Anderson ultimately finished third overall.

Pendrel came to Iowa primarily as preparation for cyclocross Canadian National Championships. During Friday’s race, Pendrel struggled to get a good position from the start and got hung up in traffic before riding alone during the second half of the race, claiming fifth place.

“Today my focus was on having a good start, and I did a better job of that,” said Pendrel, of Saturday’s race. “With the layout, I was able to move my way up more quickly. It favoured fitness and power to weight today, with a pretty significant climb. I used that to my advantage and got up there pretty quickly.”

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Sunday marks the final day of racing at the Jingle Cross weekend, and also offers up the most UCI points for racers, with a Cat 1 race as compared to Friday and Saturday’s Cat 2 competitions.

“People have been choosing to not race every day, tomorrow’s a category 1, so more points,” said Pendrel. “Others, like Katerina and myself are racing every day. It’ll be interesting to see how that pans out tomorrow, but for myself, the more cross races I can do, the better.”

Pendrel was the only Canadian to race today. Quebecois racer Maghalie Rochette started yesterday’s race, but crashed and scored a DNF. Organizers barred the Canadian from racing for the rest of the weekend, citing concerns about a concussion, although Rochette appeared to be fine.

 

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