Montreal, May 2 2010 (Sportcom) - A broken derailleur following a collision with a competitor forced Marie-Hélène Prémont to abandon the race in the first full lap Sunday at the World Cup mountain bike race in Houffalize, Belgium.
"I had a good start and I felt really good. Four of us had a small lead before departure from the start loop," said Marie.
In a descent, two girls fell in front of Marie and she decided to wait to have a clear field before taking her turn at the descent. "Going down, I slipped and Margarita Fullana followed right behind me and she did not wait, then she rolled over my bike, which broke my rear derailleur."
Marie believed that the damage was limited, so she did not stop at the first Tech Zone. Moments later, her derailleur got caught in the spokes of her rear wheel. Marie pushed her bike to the next repair area.
"We had to change the chain and derailleur. I could repair everything and go, but since the course was fairly short, I struggled to return to the head. It's disappointing not being able to finish the race because I had the form to win and I knew I was in on it. At least the upside is that my good feelings are back, my health is there and the fitness is there. I just had bad mechanical luck. Now, I look forward to racing again in Germany in three weeks."
Translated from Sportcom Press release.