Pendrel claims third elite national title in Canmore

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Catharine Pendrel (Luna) took her third consecutive elite women's title at the Canadian National cross country championships on Saturday in Canmore, Alberta.

Held in perfect conditions beneath the Three Sisters mountains in Kananaskis Country, Canada's top professional mountain bike racers made a rare appearance on Canadian soil to battle for the right to race in the maple leaf jersey of national champion for the next 12 months.

Pendrel, coming off a first and second place finish in the World Cup over the past two weeks, was untouchable in the four lap, 28.7 kilometre race. She dropped former champion Marie-Helene Premont (Maxxis-Rocky Mountain) on the main climb of the first lap, and soloed in two minutes and two seconds in front of Premont. Emily Batty (Subaru-Trek) took the bronze medal, four minutes and 29 seconds in arrears.

"I knew that I had good form," explained Pendrel, "but Marie has been getting stronger and stronger in the last few World Cups, so I didn't take anything for granted. We went up the main climb together, but I think I was riding the technical descents a bit better, so I was able to get a gap there, and then extend it."

In earlier morning races, Frederique Trudel (Equipe Quebec) followed up last weekend's World Cup victory with her first national title in the Junior women's race. Marie-Pierre Nadon won the U17 women's race.