Canberra, Australia (September 6, 2009) – Kathy Pruitt (Santa Cruz, Calif./Jamis) gave the United States its fourth and final medal at the 2009 Mountain Bike World Championships on Sunday. The U.S. women earned silver and bronze medals in 4X, a bronze in elite cross country and finally a bronze in the elite women’s downhill to bring the American medal count to four. Melissa Buhl (Chandler, Ariz./KHS) also landed inside the top 10 with a ninth-place finish in women’s downhill. Twelve men contested the junior and elite men’s downhill with the top finish coming from Cody Warren (El Cajon, Calif./Decline) who placed 13th in the elite men’s category.
The ninth of 26 riders to start in the elite women’s downhill contest, Pruitt knocked nearly 10 seconds off the next best time to move into the top spot. The former junior world champion held that lead the majority of the event, until Emmeline Ragot (FRA) came down third from last and bested Pruitt’s time by nearly … Details
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