Kabush, Sutherland, Pendrel Honored by VeloNews
12/01/2009VeloNews has released its 22nd annual awards list, and three of Maxxis’ sponsored riders have been named to the prestigious ranking. Maxxis-Rocky Mountain’s Geoff Kabush is VeloNews’ Mountain Bike North American Man of the Year, Rory Sutherland of OUCH Presented by Maxxis is Domestic Male Roadie of the Year, and the Luna Pro Team’s Catharine Pendrel is Mountain Bike North American Woman of the Year. The awards were published in the magazine’s January 2010 issue.
Kabush’s 15th national series win was the deciding factor in his award, according to VeloNews. The magazine also highlighted his “several impressive wins…including a string of victories that started with the first Pro XCT race of the season at Fontana, peaked with his first-ever World Cup win at Bromont, and kept on through Mount Snow and Windham Mountain.”
VeloNews cited Sutherland’s performance throughout the season in explaining its choice: “The OUCH-Maxxis captain can time trial better than almost every rider in North America, he can climb and he can sprint. Most importantly, he can win stage races, as he did at Joe Martin and Nature Valley, winning the latter on the final day’s tough Stillwater Criterium by catching Zirbel with a surprise attack on the last lap.”
Pendrel’s third place overall in the cross country World Cup was just one factor in her award. According to the publication, “Pendrel’s success didn’t end there, as she was the overall winner of the inaugural USA Cycling Professional Cross Country Tour. She pipped Luna Chix teammate Georgia Gould for the title by winning Bump and Grind, Sand Creek and Mount Snow.”
Maxxis congratulates Geoff Kabush, Rory Sutherland and Catharine Pendrel and thanks them for choosing the brand of champions.