RACE DAY: Pre-race interviews with Geoff Kabush and Catharine Pendrel

Catharine Pendrel

How do you feel about the course?

“It’s good. I like it. They’ve changed it a bit and originally I thought they made it a bit less technical, but it’s still Saint Anne technical. It’s dry and loose technical right now (as of Friday) so a bit of rain could make it better, I think. It could make it slick too.”

 How do you deal with the heat that we’ve had the past few days here?

“In your preparation you try to spend as little time in the heat as possible and in the race, you keep as cool as you can. My body is pretty good at adapting to the heat so I’ll probably still race similarly. Sometimes you have to just take a risk.”

 It must be a great feeling coming into the race after winning the World Cup title?

“I know that I’m riding well and that I’ve had a good season. I also know the Olympic medalists from 2008 weren’t there, so I can’t get overly confident because they’ll be strong. I should race to win, but I also have to race my hardest to try and get a medal.”

 Geoff Kabush

What do you think of the course this year?

“I’ve never seen it so blown out and dusty. It’s a bit of a sand pit, but we should get some moisture, so it should tighten up a bit. I’ve never really thought Sainte Anne was the best course for me, but I’ve had a lot of success here. The steep climbs are hard, but I’m able to recover and be efficient in the really technical stuff.”

 If we do get a lot of rain before or during the race, how will that affect things?

“It doesn’t really matter either way, but I think it plays into my advantage because I don’t care either way, but I know a lot of guys will have anxiety if it rains. I know exactly what changes I’ll make for tires depending on how much it rains. As long as we can stay on the bike and ride everything, I’ll be pretty happy.”

With this race being in Canada, how different are the expectations and pressure on you?

“I’m not too affected by the outside pressure, but there has been more media attention on the Canadian athletes. It has been on the calendar for the past two years so I’ve been looking forward to it. This is the peak of my career and this is a big opportunity for me. I’m sure it’s going to be pretty exciting once we get under way. With all of the Canadian fans it’s going to be pretty electric.”

Do you treat this race as bigger than previous World Championships

“I’m hoping it goes well, but if it doesn’t it’s not the end of the world. I feel like things are really going well for me in training right now and hopefully I can prove that out on the course. I’m hoping I can do something special because it’s a unique opportunity.”