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Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec (September 4, 2010) – The penultimate day of the 2010 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships was a good one for American ladies as Willow Koerber (Durango, Colo./Subaru-Trek) rode to the bronze medal in the elite women’s cross country event and her teammate Heather Irmiger (Boulder, Colo./Subaru-Trek) finished sixth.

In what was arguably the most exciting race of the world championships so far, Koerber powered her way to a bronze medal to cap off a stellar season that also saw her finish second overall in the World Cup standings last weekend.

“This was my first world cup podium in 2004 so I have a lot of good feelings and memories from here,” Willow said about Mont-Sainte-Anne. “Lots of U.S. people were cheering me on which was really motivating. Even if they were cheering for the Canadians, I pretended they were cheering for me.”


The ladies set out for 26 slick kilometers on a wet, foggy morning and on the second of six laps, Polish rider Maja Wloszczowska pulled away, making the decisive move that won her the world title.
Koerber and Canadian favorite Catharine Pendrel chased the leader for the duration of the race, swapping positions frequently on the technical course. Close behind the North American duo was Russian Irena Kalentieva. On the final lap, Koerber pulled away and appeared to have taken over second place for good, but then slipped on a rocky section, coming off her bike and falling back into fourth place as both Pendrel and Kalentieva passed her.

“Oh crap,” Willow said when asked what she was thinking during the slip-up. “I was stuck in fencing. I like to make it exciting and stressful for my fans.”

On the last half of the final lap, Koerber passed Pendrel and moved into the bronze medal position while Kalentieva claimed the silver medal.

“You go into the World Championships wanting to win but third place is great,” she said afterwards. “Especially since I was like fourth until the last three seconds… So I’m happy.”

After toeing the line in a less-than-ideal start position, Koerber’s teammate Heather Irmiger showed her strength on the tricky course, worked her way up in the field and finished in sixth-place.

“I felt really good today so I was able to move up,” she explained at the finish line. “I rode the safer line just because people crash in front of me sometimes and it was just better to do that. I just kept smiling and pedaling.”


Other women who competed for the U.S. in Saturday’s race were Mary McConneloug (Chilmark, Mass./Kenda-Seven-NoTubes) in 13th, Georgia Gould (Fort Collins, Colo./Luna) in 41st, Kelli Emmett (Colorado Springs, Colo./Giant) in 49th, and Allison Mann (Murietta, Calif./Rock N Road) in 50th.

Following the women’s race, the men took to the start line for a race that was foggy, sunny, and rainy.


The leaders seemed to change as frequently as the weather over the seven laps. In the end, Spaniard Jose Antonio Hermida Ramos rode off with the world title while Jaroslav Kulhavy (Czech Republic) and Burry Stander (South Africa) collected the silver and bronze.

Just like at the World Cup finale in Windham, young Sam Schultz (Missoula, Mont./Subaru-Trek) was the top rider for the U.S., passing five riders on the final lap to finish in 20th place. Todd Wells (Durango, Colo./Specialized) was next up for the red, white and blue in 20th.

Adam Craig (Bend, Ore./Giant) finished in 29th place while Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Boulder, Colo./Subaru-Trek) was 34th. Michael Broderick (Chilmark, Mass./Kenda-Seven-NoTubes), Carl Decker (Bend, Ore./Giant), and Spencer Paxson (Seattle, Wash./Team S&M Young Guns) were 41st, 48th, and 68th respectively for the U.S. contingent.

The 2010 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships will conclude on Sunday with the junior men’s and women’s and elite men’s and women’s downhill contests. Stay tuned to www.usacycling.org for full reports on all Americans in action.



2010 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships
Sept. 1-5, 2010
Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec

Elite Men’s Cross Country
1. Jose Antonio Hermida Ramos (Spain)
2. Jaroslav Kulhavy (Czech Republic)
3. Burry Stander (South Africa)
20. Sam Schultz (Missoula, Mont./Subaru-Trek)
21. Todd Wells (Durango, Colo./Specialized)**
29. Adam Craig (Bend, Ore./Giant)
34. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Boulder, Colo./Subaru-Trek)
41. Michael Broderick (Chilmark, Mass./Kenda-Seven-NoTubes)
48. Carl Decker (Bend, Ore./Giant)
68. Spencer Paxson (Seattle, Wash./Team S&M Young Guns)

Elite Women’s Cross Country
1. Maja Wloszczowska (Poland)
2. Irina Kalentieva (Russian Federation)
3. Willow Koerber (Durango, Colo./Subaru-Trek)
6. Heather Irmiger (Boulder, Colo./Subaru-Trek)
13. Mary McConneloug (Chilmark, Mass./Kenda-Seven-NoTubes)
41. Georgia Gould (Fort Collins, Colo./Luna)
49. Kelli Emmett (Colorado Springs, Colo./Giant)
50. Allison Mann (Murietta, Calif./Rock N Road)