Para-Cycling – Page 13 – Cycling Canada Cyclisme

CANADA TAKES MEDAL COUNT TO TEN AT PARA ROAD WORLD CUP

MANIAGO, May 15, 2017 – After winning seven medals on Friday, the opening day of competition at the first round of the Para-cycling Road World Cup in Maniago, Italy, Canadian riders added three more medals to their tally over the weekend in the road race events.

Paralympic gold medalist Tristen Chernove of Cranbrook, BC, won the Men’s C2 road race in a field sprint, to add to the silver he won in the time trial. World champion Shelley Gautier of Toronto was also victorious, in the Women’s T1 road race.

“It was a great race, it feels good to win,” admitted Chernove. “I’ve never had a World Cup leader’s jersey before and it felt good to put it on. I have to admit that racing at high speed through cobbles is a new experience for me and I had a couple of touchy moments, but it was a great race.”

The final Canadian medal went to Women’s Tandem team of Robbi Weldon (Ottawa, ON) and her pilot Audrey Lemieux (Montreal, QC), who took bronze in their road race, adding to the silver medal they won in the time trial on Friday.

“The road race was pretty crazy because it was raining and there were some cobble sections,” said Lemieux. “So it was pretty slippery. With our two Canadian teams we tried so hard, but unfortunately the Irish and Greek teams got away at the front, so we were fighting for bronze. Today it was teamwork with both Canadian teams and our coach. It was an amazing day.”

In other Canadian results, fourth places went to Nicole Clermont (St Denis de Brompton, QC) in Women’s C5 and the Women’s Tandem team of Shawna Ryan (Saskatoon, SK) and her pilot Joanie Caron (Rimouski, QC). Charles Moreau (Victoriaville, QC) finished eighth in Men’s H3. The men’s tandem team of Daniel Chalifour (Mont-Laurier, QC) and pilot Jean-Michel Lachance (Quebec, QC), and Marie-Claude Molnar of St-Hubert, QC, in the Women’s C4 did not finish their respective races.

“I’m very pleased with the weekend overall,” said Sebastien Travers, national Para-cycling head coach. “In the road races we have identified a lot of things to work on for the next World Cups and the world championships. I am very satisfied with everyone’s performances and the spirit of the team.”

May 15, 2017/by Communications

CANADA OPENS PARA-CYCLING WORLD CUP WITH 7 MEDALS

MANIAGO, May 13, 2017 – Team Canada had an exceptional start to the first Para-cycling Road World Cup with 7 medals on Friday, the first day of competition in Maniago, Italy, during the individual time trial competitions. Canadian athletes won one gold, three silver and three bronze medals.

“It was a good day,” agreed Sebastien Travers, national Para-cycling head coach. “Coming here, the goal was to evaluate where we stand against the international field, since this is the first year of the [Olympic] quad. So we came with our athletes not 100% ready, but it paid off with some good results.”

Michael Sametz of Calgary, AB, won the only Canadian gold medal of the day in the Men’s C5 category, beating Sergey Ustinov of Russia by over one minute.

“It was a good ride and a personal best for me,” said Sametz. “I hit all the metrics I wanted to hit, so it was pretty awesome.”

Silver medals were won by Marie-Claude Molnar of St-Hubert, QC, in the Women’s C4 category, Tristen Chernove of Cranbrook, BC, in Men’s C2, and by the Women’s Tandem team of Robbi Weldon (Ottawa, ON) and her pilot Audrey Lemieux (Montreal, QC).

“The time trial was a long one and a hard course,” commented Weldon. “We had a fantastic race with great prep leading into it at a training camp in California. It’s a great start to the season.”

“It was a good ride for the most part,” said Chernove. “What I was trying to execute happened, although I did drop my chain with about 200 metres to go and that cost me a bit of time. I think I was in first when the chain came off and I had to push the bike, but that’s bike racing. I felt really good on the bike and it’s nice to be on the podium.”

Bronze medals were won by Nicole Clermont (St Denis de Brompton, QC) in Women’s C5, Charles Moreau (Victoriaville, BC) in Men’s H3 and the Women’s Tandem team of Shawna Ryan (Saskatoon, SK) and her pilot Joanie Caron (Rimouski, QC).

“I’m really happy with the result,” said Moreau. “It’s difficult to have specific expectations at the beginning of the year, not knowing where the other riders are in their preparation. But I was quite close to first and second, by only a few seconds, so I’m really quite happy.”

In other competition, reigning Women’s T1 world champion Shelley Gautier of Toronto, ON, finished second in her category, but a silver medal was not awarded since there were only two athletes. The Men’s Tandem team of Daniel Chalifour (Mont-Laurier, QC) and pilot Jean-Michel Lachance (Quebec, QC) finished eighth and Alex Hyndman (Morpeth, ON) was 15th in Men’s H3 after a crash.

Racing continues over the weekend with the road race events.

May 13, 2017/by Communications

CANADA COMPLETES PARA TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS WITH SEVEN MEDALS

LOS ANGELES, March 6, 2017 – Canada finished off the Para-cycling Track World Championships on Sunday in Los Angeles with two top-10 performances. In the combined category Men’s Scratch Race, C2 rider Tristen Chernove of Cranbrook, BC, finished fourth, while C1 rider Ross Wilson of Sherwood Park, Alberta was ninth.

Head coach Sebastien Travers explained, “The last day was a good one for us, with Ross and Tristen being very aggressive during the Scratch Race. Tristen was marked by his opponents, so Ross put in a tremendous effort to create an opening. Fourth and ninth overall is very satisfying.”

Canada finishes the Championships with a total of seven medals – four gold and three silver.

“This is by far our best track world championship,” said Travers, “and we couldn’t have achieved these results without the help of the personal coaches, our NextGen coach Guillaume Plourde, therapist Mindy Mar and coach/mechanic Alex Ongarro. We will build on these results for the coming season.”

March 6, 2017/by Communications

MOLNAR WINS DOUBLE SILVER AT PARA TRACK WORLDS

LOS ANGELES, March 5, 2017 – Canada continues to add medals at the Para-cycling Track World Championships in Los Angeles, with two more silver medals on Saturday, bringing the Team Canada total to seven. Marie-Claude Molnar of St-Hubert, Quebec, won both medals, bringing her tally to three silver medals in three events.

Molnar started her day off with the C4 3000 metre Individual Pursuit, qualifying for the gold medal final and setting a personal best in the first 1000 metres before being caught by multi-time world champion Shawn Morelli of the United States. Molnar also took second in the C4 Scratch Race.

“Day 3 was a long day for Marie-Claude,” said head coach Sebastien Travers. “She raced two pursuits and a scratch race, earning silver in both events. The qualifying was a first good test, as Marie rode better than expected and set a very good baseline for the coming season. In the final, she went for it and did a personal best on her opening Kilo. The work done by her personal coach Eric Van Den Eynde, as well as her Strength and Conditioning coach Corey Kennedy is noticeable and it shows in her time.”

March 5, 2017/by Communications

CANADA WINS THREE MEDALS ON SECOND DAY OF PARA TRACK WORLDS

LOS ANGELES, March 4, 2017 – Team Canada continues to excel at the Para-cycling Track World Championships in Los Angeles, with three more medals on Friday, the second day of competition. Tristen Chernove of Cranbrook, BC, and Ross Wilson of Sherwood Park, Alberta each won their second world titles, while Marie-Claude Molnar of St-Hubert, Quebec, won silver. This gives Canada five medals – 4 gold and 1 silver – in two days of competition.

In the C1 Men’s 3000 metre Individual Pursuit, Wilson set a personal best in qualifying, and then caught his opponent in the gold medal final.

Head coach Sebastien Travers commented, “In the qualifying race Ross executed perfectly and surprised us with another personal best. In the finals, we opted for an aggressive pace, which paid off as Ross lapped his opponent, therefore securing the rainbow jersey.”

In the C2 Men’s 3000 metre Individual Pursuit, Chernove had a bit of a scare in the qualifying round after pulling his foot out of his pedal, but came back to make the Final, where he won with a time of three minutes and 47.424 seconds, nearly seven seconds faster than his opponent, Aaron Keith of the United States.

Travers explained, “For Tristen, his qualifier was a race against adversity; after unclipping at the start, Tristen kept going and was enroute for a Personal Best. Going against Mauricio Eckard of Spain, Tristen went for the pass, but the Spaniard sped up, forcing Tristen to stay high for four laps, therefore doing a longer distance. Tristen still managed to get the best time, which was the objective. He came back ready for the finals and executed well to secure the title.”

Molnar finished the day off with a silver medal in the C4 Women’s 500 metre Time Trial, finishing with a time of 42.606 seconds, just over one second behind Shawn Morelli of the United States.

“Marie-Claude’s 500m was very well executed,” said Travers, “with a personal best her opening lap. This is exciting for Marie-Claude, given the [short] amount of time she had to prepare for this event.”

“Overall, Another good day for the nation,” said Travers. Two golds and one silver is pretty awesome! We are looking forward to tomorrow’s events, where Marie-Claude will race the Pursuit and Scratch Race.”

March 4, 2017/by Communications

TWO WORLD TITLES FOR CANADA ON OPENING DAY OF PARA TRACK WORLDS

LOS ANGELES, March 3, 2017 – Canada had a very strong start to the Para-Cycling Track World Championships in Los Angeles on Thursday, with Tristen Chernove of Cranbrook, BC, and Ross Wilson of Sherwood Park, Alberta, each winning world titles in their respective categories.

Chernove successfully defended his Men’s C2 1000 metre Time Trial with a time of one minute and 15.005 seconds, finishing over two and a half seconds ahead of second place Aizono Kentaro of Japan.

In the Men’s C1 1000 metre Time Trial, Wilson’s winning time of one minute and 18.925 seconds shaved half a second off his best time, and was over three seconds faster than silver medalist Darcy Thompson of Australia.

Head coach Sebastien Travers said, “It was a very good day for Canada with two world titles at the Kilo. Ross Wilson rode a PB [Personal Best] by 0.5 seconds and executed his ride perfectly. I have to mention that the work done with his personal coach Cameron Jennings, as well as his Strength and Conditioning coach Dean Sommerset, has paid off.”

“Tristen rode very well also to win his second title at the Kilo. Coming back from a viral infection, he really managed to pull it off, with the help of his personal coach Guillaume Plourde.”

“It is a good opening day and we look forward to tomorrow, where Ross and Tristen will race the Pursuit and Marie-Claude Molnar and newcomer Lachlan Hotchkins will each race the Time Trial.”

March 3, 2017/by Communications

CYCLING CANADA NAMES 5 ATHLETES TO PARA TRACK WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS SQUAD

OTTAWA, February 15, 2017. – Cycling Canada is pleased to announce the team of athletes that will represent Canada at the 2017 Para-Cycling Track World Championships in Los Angeles, California, on March 2nd to 5th.

The Canadian squad will consist of five riders, including three members of Canada’s Rio Paralympic team, plus two prospective NextGen athletes who will be attending their first Championships.

Tristen Chernove of Cranbrook, BC, will lead the team, and the triple Paralympic medalist (gold, silver and bronze) is expected to be a medal contender in the three events he is entered in – 1000m Time Trial, Individual Pursuit and Scratch Race. He will be joined by double Paralympic medalist (2 silver medals) Ross Wilson of Sherwood Park, Alberta, who will race the 1000m Time Trial and Individual Pursuit, and Marie-Claude Molnar of St-Hubert, Quebec, who will compete in the 500m Time Trial, Individual Pursuit and Scratch Race. Molnar won a bronze medal at the 2012 Paralympic Games.

The three team veterans will be joined by two newcomers, Lachlan Hotchkiss of Surrey, BC, and Lianne Gibson of Toronto, Ontario. Both of these athletes will be attending their first international competitions, and are expected to compete in individually timed and mass start events after obtaining category classification.

“This will be the first event since the Paralympics for our athletes,” explains Sebastien Travers, Para-Cycling National Head Coach. “Given that they had a long transition after the Games and that we only had seven weeks to prepare for this World Championships, we cannot expect our athletes to be at 100% for this event. We do expect good performances and will use this event to set benchmarks for this coming quadrennial.”

Tristen Chernove – Cranbrook, BC [C2 – 1000m Time Trial, Individual Pursuit and Scratch Race]
Lianne Gibson – Toronto, Ontario [C5 (TBC) – 1000m Time Trial, Individual Pursuit and Scratch Race]
Lachlan Hotchkiss – Surrey, BC [C3 (TBC) – 500m Time Trial, Individual Pursuit and Scratch Race]
Marie-Claude Molnar – St-Hubert, Quebec [C4 – 500m Time Trial, Individual Pursuit and Scratch Race]
Ross Wilson – Sherwood Park, Alberta [C1 – 1000m Time Trial, Individual Pursuit]

February 15, 2017/by Communications

VAN DEN EYNDE COMPLETES NATIONAL COACH TERM

Ottawa, Sept. 30, 2016 – After two quadrennials through the London and recent Rio de Janeiro Paralympic Games as national coach, Eric Van den Eynde is leaving his role at Cycling Canada at the end of this month.

With the next four years leading to Tokyo 2020 demanding a greater focus on talent identification and development nationwide, the need for broader based coaching support has become necessary.

This reflects the rapid evolution of para-cycling and the goal of Cycling Canada to find and nurture more talent outside the traditional stream which will allow for success in four years’ time.

Over the last eight years in the role of para-cycling coach for Cycling Canada, Van den Eynde has been a great contributor to the success of the program, as many athletes owe their success to his vast experience in coaching.

“I want to thank Cycling Canada for giving me the opportunity to be an important contributor in the development and the success of our para-cycling athletes over the course of my 8-year tenure as national para-cycling coach” stated Eric Van den Eynde. “It has been a privilege to work alongside exceptional athletes that have helped me grow as a coach and as a person.”

Cycling Canada wishes Eric all the best as he sets his sights on other projects.

September 30, 2016/by Communications

CANADIAN PARA-CYCLISTS FINISH RIO WITH NINE MEDALS

(Rio, BRA – September 17, 2016) Robbi Weldon of Thunder Bay, Ontario, and her pilot Audrey Lemieux of Alma, Quebec, were the top finishers for Canada on Saturday, the final day of para-cycling competition at the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Weldon and Lemieux finished fifth in the Women’s Tandem road race.

The 69-kilometre race was won by Iwona Podkoscielna and Aleksandra Teclaw of Poland, in a time of one hour, 58 minutes and two seconds. Weldon and Lemieux finished three minutes and 14 seconds back in a sprint, with the second Canadian team of Shawna Ryan (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) and Joanie Caron (Rimouski, Quebec) finishing 12th, 13 minutes and 38 behind the winners.

“It was a very good race, we were both super pleased,” said Weldon. “After all our hill training the hills felt much easier and we were able to stay with the climbers, which was one of our goals. To finish top five … we are super happy with that.”

“It was an extremely challenging course,” admitted Ryan. “It was probably one of the most challenging courses we have done together. We just tried to stay mentally in sync and positive. We accomplished that, which I’m really proud of.”

In the 99-kilometre Men’s Tandem road race, the Canadian team of Daniel Chailfour (St-Therese, Quebec) and pilot Jean-Michel Lachance (Quebec City, Quebec) did not finish after a crash. Vincent ter Schure and Timo Fransen of the Netherlands won the gold medal.

“We had four laps of the 15-kilometre time trial course and then two 20-kilometre laps,” said Lachance. “The first part was pretty technical, so our goal was not to miss any moves at the front. We were in the top five or six after the first big climb, but then on the descent our front wheel exploded. We were both a bit injured in the crash, so we decided that we could not finish the race.”

The 72-kilometre Women’s C4-C5 road race had two Canadian entrants, with C4 rider Marie-Claude Molnar (Lemoyne, Quebec) finishing 16th after riding in a break for the first hour of the race. Nicole Clermont (St-Denis-de-Brompton, Quebec) did not finish after crashing on a descent.

“I was hoping for that [to be at the front], but it came as a surprise,” said Molnar. “After the race started I looked behind me and it was like the pack didn’t want to go. So I went on a break and a girl from Estonia joined me. The pack caught us but then I went again, and a girl from China joined me. We had as much as a minute and a half on the pack, but then on the climb we got caught and I didn’t have much energy left, but I’m really proud of my race.”

“Two thirds of my race went as planned,” said Clermont. “On the flat part I was exactly where I wanted to be and I felt great. After the second really steep section of climbing I was third, so I took a chance on the descent, and on the second last corner I fell and slid. Not enough to hurt too much, but my brakes were sticking. I got going again but I couldn’t stay with the riders anymore and after a while my coaches told me ‘that’s it, let’s stop it here’. But I’m really proud of what I did today; I was right there. It’s part of the game, you take risks; it could have paid off but it didn’t today.”

Jacques Landry, Director of High Performance for Cycling Canada, summarized Canada’s results at the end of the most successful Paralympic Games ever for cycling, with nine medals – one gold, three silver and five bronze.

“It has been a really good Games, obviously,” said Landry. “We finished off with nine medals, and we could have potentially had another one with Tristen [Chernove] in the road race, and we came close with Robbi [Weldon] in the road race today. All in all, we started off with a goal of three medals when we started the quad after London [2012] and we tripled that goal. Midway through the quad we upped our goals, but we never thought that nine medals would have been possible.”

“It all came from looking at the process; we enhanced our daily training environment, the time the coaches spend with the athletes, the training and recovery and proper monitoring of the athletes, we brought in our sports psychologist, and that helped a lot with our athletes. We were able to arrive at these Games with a better mindset and better preparation.”

September 17, 2016/by Communications

CROTEAU FOURTH IN T1-T2 ROAD RACE

(Rio, BRA – September 16, 2016) Four Canadian para-cyclists competed on Friday at the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, with Marie-Eve Croteau of Quebec City, Quebec, the top finisher, in fourth place in the Women’s combined T1-T2 road race.

Croteau and Shelley Gautier of Toronto raced in the combined category 30 kilometre T1-T2 road race. Carol Cooke of Australia took the gold medal, finishing 51 seconds in front of Croteau, with Gautier finishing sixth, three minutes and 46 seconds back. Gautier was the only competitor in the more severely disabled T1 category.

“I am very proud of my race,” said Croteau, “I didn’t miss it [podium] by very much, and honestly it had been a while since I last rode in a pack. So the idea was to place myself at the back and look at how they were taking the corners, so that was about learning that. Afterward I took the wheel of the World Champion Carol Cook, the Australian, she is the strongest rider so the fact that I was on her wheel was good, I was protecting myself well.

“In one of the last corners, the German took a wide turn and hit my back wheel and made my wheel pop up a little and that got my prosthetic unclipped at the same time, so I found myself after the turn with my strong arm on the bar and using my weak arm and there was another turn that was coming up, so unfortunately I couldn’t take that turn correctly [and] I went more cautiously. So for sure I lost a few second there but I fought until the end, so that’s a good thing, I really rode well. I’m really happy, didn’t miss by much but I came here wanting to fight like a lion and that’s what I did. The fact that I started and finished my race well [means] for me I have my podium.”

“I won’t hide it,” Croteau admitted, “for sure I was aiming for a podium, I understand that it was very close, that’s really unfortunate but with everything that happened in the last four years … I fought a lot, a lot, and the fact is that I had health issues [so] just the fact of being here, I can’t be disappointed.”

“I think it went pretty good,” said Gautier, who won a bronze medal in the time trial a day earlier. “I was the only T1 out there. I was able to stay with them [T2 riders] for a short while and then I was coming back, but the race ended before I could get to them. It was windy and a tough course, but I just went with it. I was time trialling it alone, which was hard, but I’m happy with my Games.”

In the 71.1-kilometre road race for the combined Men’s C1, C2 and C3 categories, Tristen Chernove of Cranbrook, BC, finished 15th overall, the third C2 finisher, despite a first lap crash that damaged his bike and separated his shoulder. Steffen Warias of Germany, a C3 rider, took the gold medal. Ross Wilson of Edmonton, a C1 athlete, and Michael Sametz of Calgary, a C3 rider, did not finish.

“It was pretty tight in the group, and wheels touched, and I crashed,” explained Chernove, who has already won gold, silver and bronze medals. “It’s just the nature of racing; it was early in the race in the first lap, when a lot of attacks were starting, and from the right side a bike came across and clipped my front wheel. I felt really good and I was moving with the top contenders and feeling really strong. Absolutely I was expecting to be in a medal contender.”

“But I’m extremely happy of my efforts; both my [brake] levers were bent and I banged them back out. My front derailleur cable was broken and I had no front shifting, so I only had my small chainring for the whole race and had to spin at a really high rate the whole time. But I fought my way back to 15th, so I’m really proud of my effort and had to dig deep. It’s been a wonderful Games, but right now I’m disappointed that I was taken out of contention for this race. I really wanted to win here today and I felt that I had a good shot at being on the podium.”

Wilson admitted afterwards, “It was insanely tough out there today. If you look at the wind and the nature of the course with the hills, it was tough right from the start. We knew it was going to be a hard race with lots of attacks, so I made a team sacrifice by going away [on a breakaway] right from the start, but that was all the matches in my matchbook, and I burned them pretty good. I was just happy to play my role in the team effort.”

“Unfortunately, we didn’t get a result today, but we saw a lot of grit from Tristen, and I think if you look to the future, our team is going to be a force to be reckoned with over the next few years. We are taking home a record breaking performance, this is the most medals that Cycling Canada has earned in a Paralympic Games; it’s a new benchmark. I think we are taking home possibility and opportunity for the future, and I think we have a bright future.”

September 16, 2016/by Communications