07.19.08 - Prémont and Kabush successfully defend titles at Tim Hortons Nationals mountain bike championships

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MONT-STE-ANNE, Que. – Marie-Hélène Prémont of Chateau-Richer, Que., and Geoff Kabush of Victoria successfully defended their Canadian cross country titles on Saturday at the Tim Hortons Nationals mountain bike championships.

It was a sixth career national crown for Prémont while Kabush collected his fifth elite Canadian title.

Prémont overcame mechanical problems at the start of the race and a fall on the final descent to win by six seconds over her Olympic team teammate Catharine Pendrel of Kamloops, B.C. Wendy Simms of Nanaimo, B.C., was third.

Despite a scraped chin and a bruised wrist, Prémont was all smiles at the end of her race.

‘’My legs weren’t in top shape but that’s normal with my training geared towards a top performance at the Olympic Games,’’ said Prémont, currently the overall leader on the World Cup circuit. ‘’It was mainly a preparation race for me.’’

On the men’s side, Kabush won by only one second over runner-up Derek Zandstra of Trenton, Ont. Mathieu Toulouse of Montreal was third.

‘’I was confident but you can never take anything for granted when you’re the favorite,’’ said Kabush, also tuning up for the Games. ‘’I was really impressed by Derek’s ride. He made me nervous at times.’’

In the under-23 category, Raphael Gagné of Lac-Beauport, Que., and Emily Batty of Mississauga, Ont., were the men’s and women’s champions respectively.

In the junior category, the winners were Evan Guthrie of Peachland, B.C., and Bianca Adolf of Vancouver.

Competition ends Sunday with races in the Masters categories.

Mont-Ste-Anne will also host the sixth stop on the World Cup circuit next weekend which will feature the four Canadian riders on the Olympic team.

Full results: www.velirium.com