GARRIGAN AND PENDREL ON TOP OF CYCLOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIPS PODIUM

Garrigan earns second career title; Pendrel defends 2013 title

(Winnipeg, MB – October 25, 2014) The 2014 Shimano Canadian Cyclocross Champions took place today in National historic site “The Forks”, at the junction of the Red and Assiniboine rivers in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Large crowds converged to the popular touristic venue to cheer on Canada’s top Cyclocross racers.

Racers were treated to a fantastic fall day at the venue in the heart of downtown Winnipeg. The course featured many obstacles, both natural and man-made structures such as sand pits, cobblestones, steep climbs, side hills, elevated platforms and steps just to name a few.

In the Elite races, Mike Garrigan from Ontario residing in Brooklyn, NY (Van Dessel/POC/Shimano) and Catharine Pendrel of Kamloops, BC (Team LUNA Pro) both raced to the top of the podium in their respective races.

In the women’s race, Pendrel took no time to make her move, taking the lead in the very first lap. For most of first half of the race, Pendrel was followed closely by Mical Dyck of Victoria, BC. An unfortunate crash followed by a mechanical took Dyck right out of the lead group, leaving Pendrel alone with a very comfortable lead for the remaining the race. Pendrel’s teammate Maghalie Rochette of St-Jérome, QC crossed the line in second place, followed by Sandra Walter of Coquitlam, BC in third place.

Capping off an exceptional season, Pendrel won the UCI World Championships title in cross-country, as well as the Commonwealth Games title. She also won the Canadian title in mountain bike cross–country earlier in July.

“It’s really nice to be able to do it two years in a row on totally different courses. It capped off a really amazing year for me,” said Pendrel, who will be racing Cincinnati for the first ever UCI Pan-American Cyclocross Championships. “The season was really great for me. I couldn’t be happier with how it went for sure. There is not much more I could have done this season. I have a couple more seasons ahead of me, so I’ll do as much as I can with those.”

“It’s really unfortunate for Mical,” continued Pendrel. “This is the Canadian Championships and I know she wanted to have a good race here. That’s why we call tomorrow “The Nationals revenge.” Tomorrow, with couple of the US girls and Mical not having any problems should make for a good race.”

Of the event in Winnipeg, Pendrel had only positive things to say: “The Organizers here have done such an amazing job. I think they have set the bar for what a Canadian Championships should look like in any discipline. The energy, the level of organization, the quality of the course was really fantastic. I’ll be happy to be back here next year.”

In the elite men, Mike Garrigan went hard right from the start, and took a solid early lead, and managed to maintain his gap at around 15 seconds throughout most of the race. Some solid Cyclocross racers chased hard, with the defending Champion Geoff Kabush of Courtenay, BC (SCOTT-3Rox Racing) and first-year elite rider Michel Van den Ham of Winnipeg, MB (Trek Red Truck p/b Mosaic Homes) chasing hard to close the gap.

The two chase riders managed to get within five seconds of Garrigan, but ultimately ran out of real estate. Kabush launched an attack on Van den Ham with about two kilometres to go, but could not close the gap on Garrigan as he crossed the finish line.

Garrigan came first, three seconds ahead of Kabush, followed by the 2013 Canadian U23 Champion and local sensation Michael Van den Ham shortly thereafter.

“I couldn’t be happier,” said Garrigan. “First off, I just came here for a good result. I came here because I knew it would be a good event. These guys in Manitoba have been saying they would put a good event. They’ve been preparing a lot, doing lots of stuff, and they pulled it off.”

“To see the guys close the gap back down with 2.5km to go, I told myself it would be a very tight finish. I knew I had to work hard for that gap, and that it took a bit of time early on. I thought they would need to work pretty hard to bring it back. I saved enough in the tank in case it came down to a sprint. Luckily for me, it didn’t come down to that.”

Garrison, the 2007 Canadian Cyclocross Champion, spent time in the United States to build his form for this weekend. “I’ve been preparing by doing some racing in New England, and getting lots of races and getting stronger each week.

Garrigan stepped back from coaching with the Ontario Cycling Association this season to focus on racing, and he feels good about that decision: “This results solidifies my decision to take a step back from coaching for a year, and do a bit of training, to re-evaluate what my life goals are moving forward. It means that maybe I made the right decision at least for a year.”

In the men’s U23 and junior races, the top of the podium was overtaken by local Winnipeg riders to the great pleasure of the crowd. Danick Vandale, wearing the Team Manitoba outfit, went shoulder to shoulder in a passionate and exciting sprint to the finish with William Elliot of Barrie, ON (Team NCCH-DEC Express). On Elliot’s wheel for most of the last lap, Vandale launched his sprint with about 100m to go from the finish line, and Elliot simply couldn’t answer.

In the junior race, Oliver Evans, also of Winnipeg, easily controlled the race, and cruised solo to the finish line, showing an impressive lead over his closest competitor.

Anna-Gabrielle Traxler of Calgary, AB won the junior women race.

 

FOUR MASTER RACERS CROWNED CANADIAN CHAMPIONS

In the master races, Alana Heise of Calgary, AB took the women’s title for a second straight year. Douglas Van Den Ham of Ottawa, ON took the title in the Men 30-39 race. Bob Welbourn of North Vancouver, BC won the Master 40-49 race with a 13-second gap. Peter Lawrence of Calgary, AB defended his title from 2013, winning the 50+ Canadian title.

 

CYCLOCROSS ENJOYS SIGNIFICANT GROWTH

Cyclocross traces its origins back to the early 1900s as a way for road racers to squeeze in off-season training. Cyclists race on a closed circuit, usually about 3km long, often through mud, sand, and grass. Each lap racers must dismount and carry bikes over man-made or natural barriers.

The sport of Cyclocross has seen unprecedented growth over the past five years. It is currently the fastest growing form of bike racing in North America. Cyclocross is a marriage between road racing and mountain biking, two completely different bike cultures.

The highly successful event was organized by Manitoba Cycling, with an army of approximately 200 volunteers led by chief organizers Chris Huebner and Ian Hall, two avid Cyclocross participants.

The 2015 edition of this event is slated to make a return to Winnipeg.

 

SPECIALIZED DONATES 15000 TO SOLDIER ON INITIATIVES

During the afternoon break, a special ceremony took place. Bike manufacturer Specialized made a 15000 $ donation to the Canadian Forces program Solider On. The cheque was presented to the Canadian Forces by Forces veteran, cyclo-cross enthusiast and Café Roubaix Bicyces owner Dan Richters. The money will be allocated to cycling-specific initiatives through the SoliderOn program. (www.soldieron.ca)

 

RESULTS – 2014 CANADIAN CYCLOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIPS (WINNIPEG, MB)

Elite Women

1. PENDREL, Catharine (Kamloops, BC) Luna Pro Team 41:24

2. ROCHETTE, Maghalie (St-Jerome, QC) Luna Pro Team 41:45 0’21”

3. WALTER, Sandra (Coquitlam, BC) LIV Canada 42:11 0’47”

4. ELLIOTT, Natasha (Gatineau, QC) Cycle-Smart Elite Team 42:28 1’04”

5. SCHAPPERT, Anna (Winnipeg, MB) Dark Red Racing 43:30 2’06”

 

Elite Men

1. GARRIGAN, Mike (Brooklyn, NY) 58:37

2. KABUSH, Geoff (N. Vancouver, BC) Scott-3Rox Racing 58:39 0’02”

3. VAN DEN HAM, Michael (Edmonton, AB) Trek Red Truck p/b Mosaic Homes 58:44 0’07”

4. SCHOOLER, Aaron (Edmonton, AB) Focus CX Team 59:35 0’58”

5. MCNEELY, Evan (Kingston, ON) Norco Factory Team 59:50 1’13”

 

U23 Men

1. VANDALE, Danick (Winnipeg, MB) Team Manitoba 46:10

2. ELLIOTT, William (Barrie, ON) Team NCCH p/b DEC Express 46:10 0’00”

3. PRENDERGAST, Christopher (Winnipeg, MB) Team H&R Block 46:26 0’16”

4. GERMAINE, Sean (Edmonton, AB) Juventus CC 47:02 0’52”

5. WIEBE, Jason (Morden, MB) Team Manitoba 47:10 1’00”

 

Junior Women

1. TRAXLER, Anna Gabrielle (Calgary, AB) Team Alberta 46:28

2. YOUNG, Natalie (Winnipeg, MB) Devo Manitoba 51:29 5’01”

 

Junior Men

1. EVANS, Oliver (Winnipeg, MB) Team Manitoba 38:27

2. DISERA, Quinton (Barrie, ON) CSAJCC p/b Norco & LG 38:41 0’14”

3. BOERSMA, Willem (Portage La Prarie, MB) Cycle-Smart 38:57 0’30”

4. MULCAHY, Liam (Brooklin, ON) CCAJCC p/b Norco & LG 38:58 0’31”

5. RITTER, Stefan (Edmonton, AB) Team Alberta 39:46 1’19”

 

Master Women

1. HEISE, Alana (Calgary, AB) Terrascape Racing 47:05

2. DONALDSON, Shawna (Calgary, AB) Synergy Racing 47:36 0’31”

3. JACKMAN, Michelle (Calgary, AB) Terrascape Racing 48:32 1’27”

4. ROBBINS, Sarah (Saskatoon, SK) Cycledelia 49:59 2’54”

5. KOFMAN, Lori (Toronto, ON) Erace Cancer Cycling P/B La Bicicletta50:20 3’15”

 

Master Men 30-39

1. VAN DEN HAM, Douglas (Ottawa, ON) Nine2Fivepro.Com Cycling Team 47:44

2. KERR, Brad (Regina, SK) Regina CC 48:41 0’57”

3. ENNS, Daniel (Winnipeg, MB) Dark Red Racing 48:47 1’03”

4. BAKKE, Erik (Calgary, AB) Deadgoat Racing 49:00 1’16”

5. PETERS, John (Winnipeg, MB) Dark Red Racing 49:05 1’21”

 

Master Men 40-49

1. WELBOURN, Bob (N. Vancouver, BC) Glotman Simpson 47:06

2. AULD, Ian (Calgary, AB) Soul Sportif 47:19 0’13”

3. SUTTON, Andre (Edmonton, AB) Hardcore Bikes 47:33 0’27”

4. MARSHALL, Tim (Toronto, ON) Morning Glory CC 48:07 1’01”

5. B. OSTIGUY, Charles (Lac-Beauport, QC) Genetik Sports 48:18 1’12”

Master Men 50+

1. LAWRENCE, Peter (Calgary, AB) Soul Sportif 40:49

2. SAUNDERS, Blair (Newark, DE) Sportif Coaching Group/BPB 41:23 0’34”

3. GARVIN, Ed (Calgary, AB) Cyclemeisters / Bow Cycle 41:42 0’53”

4. BERGMAN, Bob (Toronto, ON) Canadian Cycling Magazine 41:54 1’05”

5. ORANGE, Robert (Chelsea, QC) Ride With Rendall 42:58 2’09”