It was nine years ago that a young volunteer working at a World Cup mountain bike race at Mont Ste-Anne, Que. became swept up in the emotion of the riders.
“I was looking at the girls and the feelings they seemed to have at the finish line,” Marie-Helene Premont remembered with a smile. “All the effort they gave.
“That’s what I wanted to do.”
Premont created her own excitement and enthusiasm today when she rode to a silver medal in the women’s mountain bike race at the Olympics Games.
“It’s hard to describe what I’m actually feeling,” said Premont, who up until last year worked with her mother as a house painter. “I’m so happy.
“It’s a feeling I hope to share with everybody.”
Canadian flags waved and Premont pumped her fist in the air after crossing the finish line 59 seconds behind winner Gunn-Rita Dahle of Norway. Back home in Chateau-Richer, Que., about 150 family and friends had gathered in her parent’s backyard to watch the race on television.
Premont, 26, laboured through blistering 30-degree heat and battled a rocky, dusty course with leg-draining climbs and a white-knuckled descent to finish in one hour, 57 minutes, 50 seconds.
Dahle, 31, won the race in a time of 1:56.51. Even a wonky derailer couldn’t stop her from winning for the 28th time in the last 32 races she’s entered since May, 2003.
Germany’s Sabine Spitz was third in 1:59:21.
After the race, Premont’s jersey was drenched with sweat and her face streaked with grim, but her smile sparkled and her blue eyes gleamed.
The hours of training—even spending time riding her bicycle in a sauna—had ended with a silver lining.
“I really worked hard for this race,” she said. “Now I have the medal. I can’t really find a way to describe the joy I’m feeling.”
Alison Sydor of North Vancouver, B.C. looked in position to win a bronze but was overtaken by Spitz.
Sydor ended up fourth in 1:59:47 while Kara Bisaro of Courtenay, B.C. was 15th in 2:09:50.
The race may have been the passing of the torch between Premont and the 37-year-old Sydor, the silver medallist in Atlanta when mountain biking made its Olympic debut.
“It was disappointing at the end to be just off the podium,” said Sydor, who looked both physically and mentally drained. “Some day it’s your day and some day it’s not.
“I don’t have any regrets for my effort today. I will enjoy today.”
The riders went five laps around the six-km course at the Parnitha Olympic Mountain Bike Venue. The trail crawled up steep forest roads—where even Dahle had to leap off her bike and push it up hill—and careened down stone-covered drops.
Dahle led the race from the opening gun. Premont kept the Norwegian in her sights, but didn’t want to court disaster by trying to run her down.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
