Pan American Games MTB tomorrow!

Catharine Pendrel (Norco) will be going for gold at the Pan American Games tomorrow in Rio. She will face a very tough level of competition. Based on her recent results and dramatic improvements this year, she should be on track to be on the podium at this prestigious competition.

Since joining Dan's program 5 years ago, Catharine has represented Canada at the World Championships three times. She won the silver medal at the Pan American Mountain Bike championships last November. She is also a likely candidate for her fourth World Championship team this September.

This year has been Catharine's most precise year of training to date. The program has be calculated to address each particular physiological performance area required for success at the international level. Catharine has worked extremely hard and has been very dedicated to the training program. She has also benefitted from the immense level of support of her technical advisor, husband and best riding buddy Keith Wilson.

In the coming years, Catharine will most certainly advance to the top level of international competition in mountain biking. She has the right ingredients to be a top contender.

Catharine's greatest strength has been her ability to keep both feet on the ground. She is a down to earth person with a passion for riding. She trains hard, but uses good judegment and is seldom swayed by "what everyone else is doing". Since Catharine has begun this journey, the process has always been focused on longterm development. She has trained optimally - not maximally as so many athletes are apt to try and do. Her workouts have purpose and they fit well within an overall multi-year progression. She has been methodical and consistent in following her training plan and adding her own judgement and personality to the program. She isn't out there doing anything crazy - she has just followed a good program, and kept things fun, consistently over a period of several years. As a result, there are so many tricks left in the training tool bag that can be brought out to make Catharine improve even more over the coming years.

Also competing at the Pan American Games this week will be two other athletes who got their start in cycling in Dan's Junior Program at the Olympic Oval National Cycling Center. Ryan McKenzie and Cameron McKinnon will be competing at their first Pan American Games. Dan coached Ryan from his entry into the sport (and even before that as a swimmer with Cascade Swim Club when he was eight) to his first Junior World Track Championship competition. Dan also coached Cameron for the first four years of his cycling career - from the first day he came out to the track to his first taste of National level success as a junior.

Best of luck to Catharine, Ryan and Cam on their journey at the Pan American Games. You are on your way to even bigger things in the future.

Catharine's Blog

Interview with Catharine on Canadian Cyclist