FORMAN-MACKEY AND NAUD DOUBLE UP ON GOLD TO CLOSE CANADA GAMES
Exciting Points Criterium races end road cycling on a beautiful day.
(Sherbrooke, QC – August 17, 2013) The last road cycling races at the Canada Games were held Saturday on a gorgeous sunny day in Sherbrooke, with Annie Foreman-Mackay of Ontario and Pierrick Naud of Québec each winning their second gold medals of the week.
The race, which awarded points at every five laps to the first four riders crossing the line, was different than the typical criterium race where the first crossing the line wins.
The men travelled 30 laps of the 1.8-kilometer course, and the pace was fast right from the start of the race. Team Quebec took control of the race from the sound of the whistle, placing both the Canadian Criterium Champion Pierrick Naud and Elliot Doyle in the points. After the first three laps, Naud and Doyle were alone at the top the 14 points, while Kris Dahl of Alberta and Andrew L’Espérance of Team Nova Scotia scoring seven points.
A small break comprised of the two-time Canada Games medallist Matteo Dal-Cin of Ontario, Adam de Vos of British Columbia and Chris Prendergast of Manitoba took off, and managed to get a lead of 17 seconds over five laps. The break forced Team Québec to stay at the front of the peloton and dispense significant energies to keep the gap to a controllable distance. The controlled break was eventually captured after just one sprint, or five laps, and did not impact the race leaders.
With five laps to go, in the sprint lap, Doyle squeezed in to take the five points and the solid lead in the race. But with double points awarded at the finish line, many scenarios remained possible. With a few break attempts that were easily controlled, Naud initiated the sprint and crossed the finish line with two arms up, taking the 10 points and the victory with a total of 25 points. Doyle, with his fourth sprint and 19 points already banked, was second. Dahl, with 10 points, finished third for the bronze medal.
“It’s a sense of mission accomplished,” said Pierrick Naud, of Team Quebec and member of the Garneau-Quebecor professional cycling team. “I had pretty high goals coming here, and I wanted to win two gold medals. My physical condition was very good. The team did a great job today, and we worked very well as a team.”
Asked if the points format was different from regular criterium races, Naud mentioned it didn’t change the way he raced: “We’re a little familiar with sprints for points. The Mardi Cycliste is a bit the same way. We knew we were going to be doing well,” said Naud, who will represent his team at the Tour of Alberta in early September.
In the women’s race, Annie-Foreman-Mackey of Ontario (Stevens p/b The Cyclery) won the points race scoring 15 pts in the five sprints throughout the 25-lap race, taking her second gold medal of the week.
“When I saw Alizée go up the road and Tessa joining, I thought there would be a pretty good chance that the break could stay away. Tessa and I were working the break the most, and we know each other, so we were cheering each other on. I think we both know that, should we win some sprints, we would have a chance to be on the podium.”
“[The second gold medal] is better than I could ever had imagined. I haven’t done too many crits, so this was very unexpected. This was my very first points race, even on the track, so yesterday we did a Points 101 course to learn how everything works. It was actually a lot of fun, just using strategies of the race.”
To start the race, Adriane Provost of Quebec managed to win the second sprint, for five points, and the third sprint, worth ten points, to take the early control of the race with 15 laps to go.
But an important three-woman break comprised of Foreman-Mackey, Alizée Brien of Quebec and Tessa Pinckston of British Columbia immediately changed the outcome of the race, with Foreman-Mackey scoring the some critical big points. This break, which would last until the very end, proved to be a critical mistake for Team Québec, leaving Foreman-MacKey alone in the break. The individual time trial gold medallist and powerful sprinter scored 11 points in the break to win the race with 15 points.
Adriane Provost did not score any points after her two winning sprints, and finished in second place for the silver medal with 15 points, while Tessa Pinkston scored points in the last two sprints to take the third place with 10 points.
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RESULTS – POINTS CRITERIUM – CANADA GAMES – SHERBROOKE, QC
Road cycling – Points Criterium, Men
1. Elliot Doyle (QC) 25 pts
2. Pierrick Naud (QC) 19 pts
3. Kris Dahl (AB) 10 pts
Road cycling – Points Criterium, Women
1. Annie Foreman-Mackey (ON) 15 pts
2. Adriane Provost (QC) 15 pts
3. Tessa Pinckston (BC) 12 pts
