Olympians Max Plaxton of Victoria and Geoff Kabush of Courtenay were the top Canadians in the opening UCI World Cup cross-country mountain bike race of the 2013 season Sunday in Abstadt, Germany.
Two-time reigning Canadian champion Plaxton, racing with his professional team Sho-Air Cannondale, took seventh spot, 1:06 behind winner Daniel McConnel of Australia. Kabush, racing for team SCOTT-3RoxRacing, was 15th.
Emily Batty of Brooklin, Ont., racing for team Trek Factory, was the top Canadian woman in finishing sixth. Batty crossed the finish line 1:35 behind winner Eva Lechner of Italy. The 2012 UCI World Cup women鈥檚 champion Catharine Pendrel of Kamloops, a UVic grad racing for Team Luna Pro, finished 12th. Mikaela Kofman of Toronto and Amanda Sin of Collingwood, Ont., were 35th and 44th, respectively.
The Canadians now travel to the Czech Republic to compete in the second event of the World Cup tour in Nove Mesto next weekend.
