Canadian Olympic hopefuls one step closer to nomination

A 13-person short list of Canadian mountain bikers was released Monday, from which the final Canadian Olympic team will be selected.

The Canadian team qualified to send two men and two women to the Olympics.

“The Canadian mountain bike program has developed significantly over the past four years. We have exceptional riders on both the men’s and women’s side of the program. It’s an exciting time for our sport with several riders set to continue Canada’s rich tradition of success,” said Dan Proulx, Head Coach of the Canadian Mountain Bike Team.

A medal in London is by no means beyond the Canadian women’s team, with two women in the top 5 in the World Cup standings and the highest national UCI ranking. As the top UCI ranked woman, Catharine Pendrel will likely make the list. Behind her, Emily Batty sits in fifth in the World Cup after getting second in the year’s first World Cup and top-10 finishes in the other three. Marie-Hélène Prémont also had a top-10 finish in the 2012 World Cup.

The men’s Canadian team is ranked 11th, with the highest World Cup rankings belonging to Max Plaxton, in 23rd, and Geoff Kabush, ranked 26th. Plaxton had a top-10 World Cup finish this year in La Bresse.

The final nominees will be announced on June 20 at the Mont Saint Anne World Cup cross country race.

Women’s nominees

Catharine PENDREL (Kamloops, BC/ Team Luna Pro)
Emily BATTY (Brooklin, ON/ Team Subaru-Trek)
Marie-Hélène PRÉMONT (Château Richer, QC/Team Rocky Mountain Bicycles)
Catharine VIPOND (Oshawa, ON/Team Norco Factory Team)
Jean-Ann BERKENPAS (Valemount, BC/Team Xprezo-Borsao)
Amanda SIN (Collingwood, ON/Team SCOTT-3RoxRacing)
Sandra WALTER (Vancouver, BC/Team Xprezo-Borsao)

Men’s nominees

Max PLAXTON (Victoria, BC/ Specialized Racing USA)
Geoff KABUSH (Courtenay, BC/ Team SCOTT-3RoxRacing)
Derek ZANDSTRA (Trenton, ON/Team SCOTT-3RoxRacing)
Matthew HADLEY (Mount Hope, NB/Team Xprezo-Borsao)
Cameron JETTE (Toronto, ON/Team SCOTT-3RoxRacing)
Adam MORKA (Toronto, ON/Team Trek Canada)

Canadian 2012 World Cup results

World Cup #1
Women:
2nd: Batty
3rd: Pendrel

World Cup #2
Women:
1st: Pendrel
7th: Batty

World Cup #3
Women:
6th: Pendrel
9th: Premont
10th: Batty

World Cup #4
Men:
9th: Plaxton
Women:
4th: Pendrel
9th: Batty

UCI rankings

Nation
Men: 11th
Women: 1st

Individual
Women:
1st: Pendrel
10th: Batty

World Cup ranking:

Women:
2nd: Pendrel
5th: Batty

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