Baie-Comeau, QC (August 18, 2018) – Canada won five medals on Friday at Round 3 of the UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup in Baie Comeau, Quebec, adding to the two medals they won on Thursday. Canada is now fourth in the medal standings, with three gold, one silver and three bronze medals.

World champion Michael Sametz of Calgary won his men’s C3 time trial to give Canada its third gold medal. In other medal performances, Tristen Chernove of Cranbrook, BC, won silver in the C2 men’s time trial, while bronze medals went to Ross Wilson of Edmonton in the men’s C1, Marie-Claude Molnar of St-Hubert, QC, in women’s C4, and the men’s tandem team of Daniel Chalifour (Mont-Laurier QC), and his pilot Jean-Michel Lachance (Quebec City, QC).

“It was a good race for us, although we had a bit of stress at the start with a mechanical problem,” said Lachance. “It was a technical course, but we climbed pretty well and had a smooth ride.”

“Our motivation was at the top with the home crowd cheering for us,” said Chalifour. “The last year has been very tough for me, after my crash in Italy and the two surgeries I had to my hips. So to finish third here is very, very nice.”

In other Canadian results, Nicole Clermont (St-Denis-de-Brompton, QC) was fifth in C5 women, and in women’s tandem, Robbi Weldon (Ottawa, ON) and Anais Courteille (Gatineau, QC) were fourth, the Calgary team of Carla Shibley and Erin Ruttan fifth, and Annie Bouchard (Baie-St-Paul, QC) and Evelyne Gagnon (Montreal, QC) sixth, after two flats. In men’s tandem, Matthieu Croteau Daigle (Sherbrooke, QC) and Benoit Lussier (Montreal, QC) were 11th, and Lowell Taylor (Lethbridge, AB) and Andrew Davidson (Calgary, QC) were 13th after a flat.

Baie-Comeau, QC (August 16, 2018) – After a strong showing at the UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships, where Canada won seven medals, including four gold, Cycling Canada will conclude the para-cycling road season on home soil in Baie-Comeau, Quebec, for the third and final round of the Road World Cup. Canada will send a team of 29 riders across all categories, including the three newly titled world champions.

“We are very excited to race on home soil in Baie-Comeau,” said Sebastien Travers, national para-cycling coach at Cycling Canada. “Coming back from a strong Road World Championships, we look forward to performing at home. This World Cup is also an amazing opportunity for NextGen and Devo athletes to be exposed to their first international events. The people of Baie-Comeau have been invested in this event since 2010 and we can’t wait to go back!”

The team will be led world champions Shelley Gautier of Toronto, double gold medalist at the world championships in Women’s T1; Tristen Chernove of Cranbrook, BC, gold and silver medalist in Men’s C2; and Michael Sametz of Calgary, gold medalist in Men’s C3.

Athletes will compete in time trial events on Thursday and Friday, followed by the road races on Saturday and Sunday.

Women
Myriam Adam – H3 [Saguenay, QC]
Annie Bouchard – Tandem [Baie-St-Paul, QC]
Evelyne Gagnon – Tandem Pilot [Montreal, QC]
Nicole Clermont – C5 [St-Denis-de-Brompton, QC]
Marie-Eve Croteau – T2 [Quebec City, QC]
Holly Dapp – H2 [Fort Erie, ON]
Kara Douville – H4 [Calgary, AB]
Shelley Gautier – T1 [Toronto, ON]
Marie-Claude Molnar – C4 [St Hubert, QC]
Carla Shibley – Tandem [Calgary, AB]
Erin Ruttan – Tandem Pilot [Calgary, AB]
Robbi Weldon – Tandem [Ottawa, ON]
Anais Courteille – Tandem Pilot [Gatineau, QC]

Men
Daniel Chalifour – Tandem [Mont-Laurier, QC]
Jean Michel Lachance – Tandem Pilot [Quebec City, QC]
Tristen Chernove – C2 [Cranbrook, BC]
Matthieu Croteau Daigle – Tandem [Sherbrooke, QC]
Benoit Lussier – Tandem Pilot [Montreal, QC]
Joey Desjardins – H3 [Hawkesbury, ON]
Patrick Desnoyers – H5 [Blainville, QC]
Alex Hyndman – H3 [Morpeth, ON]
Matthew Kinnie – H2 [Riverview, NB]
Charles Moreau – H3 [Victoriaville, QC]
Eric Page – H2 [Gatineau, QC]
Michael Sametz – C3 [Calgary, AB]
Mike Shetler – T2 [Kirkland, QC]
Lowell Taylor – Tandem [Lethbridge, AB]
Andrew Davidson – Tandem Pilot [Calgary, AB]
Ross Wilson – C1 [Sherwood Park, AB]

Maniago, Italy (August 4, 2018) – Shelley Gautier of Toronto won the 14th world championship title of her career on Saturday at the UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships, in Maniago, Italy. Gautier, who won the Time Trial title on Thursday, is undefeated at the world championships since 2010, the first year competition was held for her T1 category.

Gautier won the 27.2 kilometre, two lap, race in a time of one hour, five minutes and 36 seconds, finishing eight minutes and 13 seconds ahead of Yulia Sibagatova of Russia. Olga Tsybulskaia of Russia took the bronze medal.

“It was a really enjoyable experience today,” said Gautier. “It made me feel all the hard work I’ve done was really worth it. Winning for Canada made me happy and it made my team happy.”

In other competition, Charles Moreau of Victoriaville, Quebec, finished sixth in the men’s H3, 68 kilometre road race. Moreau was just six seconds off the podium. Jean-Francois Deberg of Belgium won the title in a three-way sprint. Two other Canadian riders participated in the H3 race – Alex Hyndman of Morpeth, Ontario, finished 13th and Joey Desjardins of Hawksbury, Ontario, was 15th.

Canada is ranked fifth in nation standings after three days of competition with six medals – three gold, two silver and one bronze.

Competition concludes on Sunday with Bicycle and Tandem category road races.

Maniago, Italy (August 2, 2018) – Canada opened the 2018 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships with a bronze medal on the first day of competition in Maniago, Italy. Alex Hyndman of Morpeth, Ontario, finished third in the men’s H3 category individual time trial.

Hyndman’s time for the 13.6 kilometre race against the clock was 21 minutes and 20.58 seconds, 12.95 seconds behind winner Federico Mestroni of Italy. Paolo Cecchetto of Italy took the silver medal.

“It was an achievement just to make it to Worlds after having an off year,” said Hyndman. “Making the podium…I don’t know what to say. I was able to execute my strategy perfectly. As far as making the podium, I was hoping for a top-8. I crashed here last year in the rain, which made me hammer the brakes this year. I’ve been struggling to get within a minute of the top guys so to finish within 12 seconds is a huge achievement.”

Two other members of Team Canada raced in the H3 category on Thursday, with Charles Moreau of Victoriaville, Quebec, finishing 11th despite crashing, and Joey Desjardins of Hawksbury, Ontario, finishing 12th.

On Friday, Canada will have three defending world champions competing in the time trial – Shelley Gautier of Toronto in women’s T1, Tristen Chernove of Cranbrook, BC, in C2 men and Michael Sametz of Calgary in men’s C3.

Emmen, Netherlands (July 9, 2018) – Canada had an extremely successful weekend at Round 2 of the UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup in Emmen, Netherlands, winning a total of six medals, including four gold, and finishing the event ranked fifth among nations.

Three riders won races in their classifications, with world champion Shelley Gautier of Toronto winning both the time trial and road race in the women’s T1 category, and finishing the weekend with the World Cup leader’s jersey. Other gold medal winners were Charles Moreau of Victoriaville, Quebec, in the men’s H3 time trial, and world champion Michael Sametz of Calgary, Alberta, in the men’s C3 time trial. Moreau also leads the World Cup standings in his division after Emmen. At the event, Sametz rode the same distance as the higher class C4 and C5 athletes, and his time would have won the C4 class as well as finishing fourth in the C5 class.

“Friday was a great race,” said Moreau, “I wasn’t expecting to win, with the contenders that were here, but I was definitely aiming for the podium. The course wasn’t too technical and I managed my effort well. This was a good chance to see where the other racers are at before the world championships, so I have good expectations as we get ready for Worlds in Italy.”

Canada also won silver and bronze medals in the time trial competition, with Keely Shaw of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, winning silver in women’s C4, and Nicole Clermont of St Denis de Brompton, Quebec, winning bronze in the women’s C5.

“We are very pleased with the results we had here,” said Sebastien Travers, National Para-cycling Coach. “The first goal was adding to our points from the first World Cup in Belgium and we are now in second place in the Americas, behind the United States. In terms of Paralympic qualifications [for Tokyo 2020], this is a very good situation for us. I’m also very proud of our high performance athletes, who delivered excellent performances, led by Shelley Gautier, who leaves this World Cup with the leader’s jersey, as does Charles Moreau, who won his time trial and is also the World Cup leader. We are looking forward to the next event, which will be the world championships at the beginning of August in Italy.”