Source: Canadian Cycling Association
(Mont-Sainte-Anne, QC - September 2, 2010) Canadian Mountain Bike cyclist Emily Batty (Brooklyn, ON) crossed the finish line in fifth position of the U23 women cross-country race at the 2010 UCI Mountain Bike and Trials World Championships at Mont-Sainte-Anne.
"Being here with the home crowd, on our home turf, being cheered by my sponsors and friends; it's just incredible. I know I wasn't quite on the podium, but I had a strong race. The first race of the 2011 will be with a strong field. These conditions were just amazing. I had so much energy in reserve, and that's why I came out so strong in the last half of the race," said Batty only moments after crossing the finish line.
The performance by Batty, ranked sixth in the World in the discipline, is a surprising result for Batty as she took the start despite fighting a nasty cold for at least one week.
"I'm still quite sick, but no excuses. It is what it is. We have to deal with what we're given."
Batty had a slow start, taking the provisional ninth place in the first two laps of the challenging course at Mont-Sainte-Anne. The 23-year-old kept her energies for the second half of the race, posting the second fastest time in the last lap. Batty, who was ranked ninth midway, went on to gain four spots and finished fifth.
"I did leave everything out there today, and I look forward to racing next year with the Elite women, and making my way back to the top five rank again. I am happy with how everything went, and I can't thank enough everyone who have been supporting me."
"Every time I was going up the gravel climb, I was getting goose bumps with all my friends and family screaming my name, and it was so inspiring. Those are the people who helped me get here."
"It was still hot, even though the sun wasn't out there. It could have been worst and the rain held off, which was typical Mont-Sainte- Anne weather."
Batty posted a time of 1h 33m 49s, showing a time deficit of 3m 49s behind the winner and 2010 World Champion, Swedish cyclist Alexandra Engen.
The young cyclist from Great Britain Annie Last won the silver medal, and the polish rider Paula Gorycka took the bronze.
Mikaela Kofman (Toronto, ON) also offered a good performance to the spectators in Mont-Sainte-Anne, finishing 14th.
Andréanne Pichette (Québec, QC), Rebecca Beaumont (Alma, QC) and Cassandre Oliver-Lapierre (Lac Beauport, QC) respectively finished in 26th place, in 30th place and in 33rd place.
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