WomensCycling.net
WomensCycling.net
CATHERINE MARSAL JOINS TEAM RONA
The RONA Cycling Team is proud to announce that the French cyclist
Catherine Marsal signed to join the team in 2003.
Catherine « Cathy » Marsal,
who raced with Saturn-Timex in 2002, needs no introduction in the world of
cycling. Junior world road race champions at 16, junior world pursuit
champion at 17, Elite world road race champion at 19, team time trial world
champion in 1991, the 31 year-old athlete made the world championship podium ten
times in her career. Four times a
member of the French Olympic team, she also won several of the most prestigious
stage races in the world -- two Tours de l’Aude, one Giro d’Italia, one
Grand Prix de la Mutualité, one Étoile Vosgienne, two Tours of Texas, one Tour
of Norway, one Tour of the European Community.
Cathy Marsal also held the world hour record in 1995.
With a bicycle complying with the old UCI rules, she rode 47.112
kilometres in 60 minutes.
“Leaving Saturn was not an easy decision for me”, said Marsal, who in
2002 wore the leader’s jersey for four days and won a stage at the Vuelta
Castilla y León in Spain, and also won
stages in the Tour de l’Aude and Wendy’s International.
“Saturn is a great team. But
RONA gives me an environment to fulfil myself as a competitive cyclist.
André (Aubut, Team RONA’s manager) and I agreed that I can contribute
to the team and still pursue personal goals.
I’m very excited to have the opportunity to race with Geneviève (Jeanson),
she’s an outstanding competitor, I think we’ll have a ball in the peloton!”
“Cathy
is a fantastic addition to our team, said André Aubut.
She’s not only a strong rider and a versatile racer, but she brings
racing experience that our young team still lacks. She’s been at the forefront for a dozen years, she knows
both the European and the North American environments.
It’s barely an overstatement to say that she’s more experienced than
all the other RONA women added together! She’ll
be a solid and reliable road captain, and her presence will benefit all the
girls on the team.”
The
RONA cycling team is one of only two Canadian women’s elite cycling teams
acknowledged by the International Cycling Union.
Beside Cathy Marsal, up to now the following racers have signed with Team RONA
for 2003: Karen Bockel (GER),
Andrea Hannos (CAN), Melissa Holt (NZL), Geneviève Jeanson (CAN), Kristen
LaSasso (USA) and Carrie Tuck (CAN).
RONA
is the leading distributor and retailer of hardware, renovation and gardening
products in Canada.
Team
RONA receives
equipment sponsorship from several manufacturers, including Colnago,
Biemme, Shimano, Michelin, Mavic, Diadora, Limar, Selle Italia, Speedplay, ITM,
CatEye, Tacx and Finish Line.
