GAUTIER REMAINS UNDEFEATED AT PARA-CYCLING ROAD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Still undefeated, Gautier wins her career eighth World Title
(Greenville (SC), USA – September 1, 2014) Shelley Gautier (Toronto, ON) has won her second World Title of the weekend at the 2014 UCI Para-Cycling Road World Championships in Greenville, South Carolina, taking the gold medal in the T1 class in the road race on Monday. For Gautier, this victory represents her eighth consecutive World Championships title, undefeated since her first representing Canada in 2010.
“It feels great to have won the two titles. Today’s race was just fantastic. I did everything right, and I’ve won so I am very happy with that”, commented the excited Gautier, after the race. “For the rest of the summer, I’ll ride my bike for fun. Then I’ll get back to training. We’ve had a first this week, with three on the podium. This is great as it is showing that the class is growing. At some point in the race, I had another competitor pass me, and I told myself ‘That’s not right’, so I went and passed her again.”
In the T2 class, Marie-Eve Croteau (Quebec, QC) was unable to start the race for health reasons. Croteau won silver last year in the road race, and won the World title in the event in 2011. Earlier this week, Croteau captured the silver medal in the time trial event.
Robert Labbé (Quebec, QC) finished sixth in the H2 race. Mark Ledo (Maple, ON) had an unfortunate day in the H3 road race. Ledo, a multiple medallist in the event in previous years, did not finish the race due to a combination of heat and a mechanical issue.
Jacques Landry, High Performance Director and Head Coach at Cycling Canada, is optimistic about the team’s results as it embarks on the next two years leading up to the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games: “Though we fell short of our goals, these past five days of racing have enabled us to look at where we are internationally when everyone brings their “A” game. We have veteran athletes in our program that continues to be competitive and that can deliver world class performances on the day, when the stars align.”
Landry was also thrilled to see upcoming riders excel at these World Championships. “We also have some new blood that have shown great potential and should continue to progress over the the next two years. That said, other countries are also finding new talent that have already reached the podium this year and are also improving with their already identified performers, so we need to continue to strive for excellence in order to stay on top.”
Canada ended these World Championships with three medals, two gold and one silver medals, all won by either Gautier and Croteau.
RESULTS – ROAD RACES – 2014 UCI PARA-CYCLING ROAD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
WOMEN T1
1. GAUTIER, Shelley (CANADA) 56:34
2. WOOLFORD, Bianca (AUSTRALIA) +0:23
3. SIBAGATOVA, Yulia (RUSSIA) +1:39
WOMEN T2
1. COOKE, Carol (AUSTRALIA) 1:02:43
2. WALSH, Jill (USA) +7:29
3. MAJUNKE, Jana (GERMANY) +13:42
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DNS. CROTEAU, Marie-Eve (CANADA)
WOMEN H3
1. KALUZA, Renata (POLAND) 1:37:53
2. BRELSFORD DANA, Alicia (USA) ST
3. DARKE, Karen WH3 GREAT BRITAIN) +7:23
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11. ADAM, Myriam (CANADA) -1 lap
MEN H2
1. MAZZONE, Luca (ITALY) 1:34:03
2. GROULX, William USA) +1:20
3. FANKHAUSER, Tobias (SWITZERLAND) +9:14
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6. LABBE, Robert (CANADA) 1:49:15 +15:12
MEN H3
1. PODESTA, Vittorio (ITALY) 1:38:33
2. FREI, Heinz (SWITZERLAND) +1:52
3. ABLINGER, Walter (AUSTRIA) +3:14
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7. MOREAU, Charles (CANADA) +8:34
DNF. BEGGS, Mark (CANADA)
MEN H4
1. JEANNOT, Joel (FRANCE) 1:38:08
2. MERKLEIN, Vico (GERMANY) 1:38:08 ST
3. SKRZYPINSKI, Arkadiusz (POLAND) 1:38:08 ST
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DNF. LEDO, Mark (CANADA)
Complete results are available on www.uci.ch.
