PETER DISERA WINS SILVER MEDAL AT MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Disera becomes first men to win a medal at World Championships since Max Plaxton’s bronze in 2006
(Ottawa, ON – August 29, 2013) Peter Disera, of Barrie, ON, won Thursday the silver medal in the junior men competition at the 2013 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, posting Canada’s best result at this event since 1998 when Ryder Hesjedal had won the silver medal.
Disera finished second of the 23.5-kilometer junior men race with a time of 1:20:48, just 42 seconds behind the time of the newly crowned Junior Men World Champion, Lukas Baum of Germany.
“I’m not sure if it’s the extreme fatigue or the high of being on the podium, but I feel like I’m floating,” said Disera to Canadian Cyclist after the medal presentation. “This has been an extremely successful year for me, and I am pleased to end the season with a bang. It really exceeded any expectations I had before the season. My coach and I have been working extremely hard.
“It’s all mind over matter, really. I woke up this morning hesitant, but with the small belief that I could be on the podium. Despite the traffic, I enjoyed just racing my own race, making my way through traffic one by one.
The young cyclist has enjoyed a successful season to date, winning the Junior Canadian Championships titles in the road time trial, the mountain bike cross country and in cyclo-cross, as well as winning the UCI World Cup stop at Mont-Sainte-Anne, QC earlier in August.
The last time a Canadian men had won an individual medal at this event goes back to 2006 when Max Plaxton had won the bronze medal in the U23 men’s cross-country. In 1998, now UCI WorldTour rider Ryder Hesjedal had won the silver medal in the junior men’s race at the Mountain Bike World Championships.
Other Canadians were in the race with Félix Burke and Félix Belhumeur taking the 25th and 26th rank respectively.
In the women’s junior race, Marine Lewis had the fastest time among the three Canadian women, finishing in 15th place. Rachel Pageau and Gabrielle April finished 19th and 22nd.
In Wednesday’s team relay, Canada finished in fourth place of the four-rider race. Canada started the first lap with the seventh fastest time with Disera at the helm, and then the 2013 Canadian Champion Derek Zandstra flew by everyone to bring back the team in the second place midway to the race. In the third exchange, Mitchell Bailey took the control of the race, and managed to pass the Italian rider to take the race lead with one lap to go. In the fourth lap, the 2013 Canada Cup Champion Sandra Walter worked hard to maintain the lead, but against men elite riders managed to finished cross the finish line in fourth eleven seconds off the podium.
Follow Cycling Canada on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cyclingcanada and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cyclingcanada.
RESULTS – 2013 UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS – SOUTH AFRICA
Junior Men
1. BAUM, Lukas (GERMANY) 1:20:06
2. DISERA, Peter (CANADA) +00:42
3. BERTOLINI, Gioele (ITALY) +01:02
=========
25. BURKE, Félix (CANADA) +08:16
26. BELHUMEUR, Félix (CANADA) +08:35
DNF. FORTIER Marc-André (CANADA)
Junior Women
1. KELLER, Alessandra (SWITZERLAND) 1:18:24
2. COLLOMB, Emilie (ITALY) +00:46
3. BAUER, Sarah (GERMANY) +01:01
=========
15. LEWIS, Marine (CANADA) +06:45
19. PAGEAU, Rachel (CANADA) +09:34
22. APRIL, Gabrielle (CANADA) +11:38
Team Relay (Wednesday)
1. ITALY 19.38 km/h 0:58:12
FONTANA, Marco Aurelio ME 13:39
BERTOLINI, Gioele MJ 14:33
LECHNER, Eva WE 16:13
KERSCHBAUMER, Gerhard MU 13:47
2. FRANCE 19.38 km/h 0:58:12 +00:00
SARROU, Jordan MU 14:00
GAY, Raphael MJ 14:42
BRESSET, Julie WE 15:58
MAROTTE, Maxime ME 13:32
3. GERMANY 18.63 km/h 1:00:33 +02:21
SCHULTE-LUENZUM, Markus MU 14:04
EGGER, Georg MJ 15:06
KLEIN, Hanna WE 17:51
FUMIC, Manuel ME 13:32
==========
4. CANADA 18.57 km/h 1:00:44 +02:32
DISERA, Peter MJ 14:15
ZANDSTRA, Derek ME 14:17
BAILEY, Mitchell MU 14:48
WALTER, Sandra WE 17:24
