Baie-Comeau, QC (August 17, 2018) – Canada had a strong opening day to the third and final round of the UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup on Thursday in Baie-Comeau, Quebec, with athletes winning two gold medals in competition.

World champion Shelley Gautier of Toronto continued her unbroken record for the 2018 World Cup in the women’s T1 time trial, while Charles Moreau of Victoriaville, Quebec, won the men’s H3 category.

“It was a great race, especially winning at home,” said Moreau. “The residents of Baie-Comeau were very supportive, and I wanted to make up for the world championships here. The course was really nice and challenging, with a couple of technical parts and a steep hill; that’s the kind of course I like. I’m looking forward to the road race now, hopefully to be on the podium and get some points for Canada as we prepare for Tokyo [2020 Paralympics].”

In other competition, two Canadian riders joined Moreau in the top-10 for men’s H3, with Alex Hyndman of Morpeth, Ontario, finishing sixth, and Joey Desjardins of Hawkesbury, Ontario, finishing eighth. In the women’s H2 time trial, Holly Dapp of Fort Erie, Ontario, finished second. Marie-Eve Croteau of Quebec City finished fourth in women’s T2, and in women’s H3, Myrian Adam was fifth, while Camille Rene was seventh. In the men’s T2 time trial, Louis-Albert Corriveau Jolin was seventh.

Competition continues on Friday with the time trial events for Tandem and Cycle categories.

Maniago, Italy (August 5, 2018) – Tristen Chernove of Cranbrook, BC, successfully defended his men’s C2 road race world title on Sunday, the final day of competition at the UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in Maniago, Italy. Chernove’s medal was Canada’s fourth gold medal and seventh overall for the Championships, with two silvers and one bronze adding to the total. Canada finished the world championships ranked fifth overall by world titles.

Chernove, who had won a silver medal in the time trial two days earlier, beat 12 other riders in a field sprint at the end of the 68 kilometre race. Alejandro Perea Arango of Colombia won the silver medal and Darren Hicks of Australia the bronze.

“I had a ton of confidence coming in here,” said Chernove. “Although I spent a lot of time on the front, I felt like I was in control. I just wanted to stay safe, pick my line and stay out of hazard’s way. I was surging and keeping control of the pace and making the others hurt. Then it got tactical when I needed to recover for my sprint.”

“I knew I’d be sprinting from a slower speed, so I wanted to be first wheel on the final corner on the cobbles. I pretty much rode to my plan and it came out great. I came to the Worlds really wanting to win the road race.  I was willing to do anything to win and was super happy the way it turned out.”

In other Canadian results, Marie-Claude Molnar of St Hubert, Quebec, finished seventh and Keely Shaw of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, was eighth in the women’s C4 category, while Nicole Clermont of St Denis de Brompton, Quebec, was tenth in women’s C5. In men’s C1, Ross Wilson of Edmonton was 14th and Michael Sametz of Calgary was 14^th in the men’s C3.  Canada’s lone entry in the men’s Tandem, Daniel Chalifour (Mont-Laurier, QC) and his pilot Jean Michel Lachance (Quebec City, QC) finished seventh.

“The international level in Para-cycling is constantly rising,” said Sebastien Travers, Head Para Coach at Cycling Canada. “I’m glad to see we can keep up. Our athletes have achieved key performances which have led to high results both in terms of medals and qualification points. It’s above expectations for the level we are currently at. We come out of this world championships very satisfied with where we are two years from the [Tokyo 2020] Games. Besides the medals, we’re having top-5 and top-8 performances from our newcomers, which shows that our NextGen coaches are doing a great job.”

Maniago, Italy (August 4, 2018) – Team Canada had a strong day on Friday at the UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in Maniago, Italy, winning two gold medals and two silver medals to the bronze won on Thursday. Shelley Gautier (women’s T1) of Toronto and Michael Sametz (men’s C3) of Calgary successfully defended their world titles in the individual time trial event. Silver medals went to Ross Wilson (men’s C1) of Edmonton and Tristen Chernove (men’s C2) of Cranbrook, BC.

Gautier continued her unbroken string of world championship wins, dating back to 2010, with Friday’s victory her 13th gold medal. Gautier’s time for the 13.6 kilometre race was 31 minutes and 9.85 seconds, almost two minutes ahead of Yulia Sibagatova of Russia, with Olga Tsybulskaia of Russia taking the bronze medal.

“I took guidance from my coaches and my training partner and it all went as planned,” said Gautier. “It was a fun race when everything came together perfectly. I’d like to thank all of the Cycling Canada staff who helped Team Shelly win a seventh TT world championships!”

Michael Sametz, who has been unbeatable this season in World Cup competition, took the second title of his career. Sametz won the 27.2 kilometre C3 race with a time of 35 minutes and 20.29 seconds. Matthias Schindler of Germany was second at 1:26.37 and Benjamin Watson of Great Britain third at 1:30.43.

“I felt ok coming in to the Worlds,” said Sametz. “During the TT I realized how good I was feeling and went from there. It was a good fast course – it had everything. And it was great to have the locals coming out and cheering us on.”

Tristen Chernove, the defending world champion in his C2 category, finished 5.57 seconds behind Arslan Gilmutdinov of Russia, with Alejandro Perea Arango of Colombia taking the bronze medal. Ross Wilson repeated as silver medalist in his 13.6 kilometre C1 race, only 2.12 seconds behind repeating champion Michael Teuber of Germany, with Ricardo Ten Argiles of Spain in third.

“Silver is obviously a bittersweet pill to swallow,” admitted Wilson. “But the objective is Tokyo not Maniago, and I continue to progress towards my goals. Kudos to our whole support team – we’re building towards excellence at the Paralympics.”

Maniago, Italy (July 30, 2018) – Cycling Canada has announced the team of 12 athletes who will represent Canada at the 2018 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in Maniago, Italy, on August 2-5. The team includes multiple Rio Paralympic and world championship medalists. All athletes are scheduled to compete in both Time Trial and Road Race events.

“Although we are sending a smaller team to Road Worlds this year, the expectations do remain high,” said Sebastien Travers, Para Head Coach for Cycling Canada. “The performances that the athletes will deliver are crucial at this time in the Olympic quadrennial; with all top athletes attending this event, we will have a clear understanding of what needs to be done in the next 24 months to shine in Tokyo. We look forward to racing in Maniago and on its challenging courses, as it will showcase what our athletes are capable of.”

The team is led by three defending world champions – Shelley Gautier of Toronto, who is undefeated since 2010 in the Women’s T1 category; Tristen Chernove of Cranbrook, BC, in the Men’s C2; and Michael Sametz of Calgary in the Men’s C3. The team also includes three-time Paralympic tandem competitor Daniel Chalifour, who is returning to competition after breaking his femur last year in a crash during a World Cup in Maniago.

Women
Nicole Clermont – C5 [St Denis de Brompton, QC]
Shelley Gautier – T1 [Toronto, ON]
Marie-Claude Molnar – C4 [St-Hubert, QC]
Keely Shaw – C4 [Saskatoon, SK]

Men
Daniel Chalifour – Tandem [Mont-Laurier, QC]
Jean Michel Lachance – Tandem Pilot [Quebec City, QC]
Tristen Chernove – C2 [Cranbrook, BC]
Joey Desjardins – H3 [Hawksbury, ON]
Alex Hyndman – H3 [Morpeth, ON]
Charles Moreau – H3 [Victoriaville, QC]
Michael Sametz – C3 [Calgary, AB]
Ross Wilson – C1 [Sherwood Park, AB]

Emmen, Netherlands (July 4, 2018) – Canada has selected a team of 13 athletes for the second round of the UCI Para-cycling World Cup, which will take place on July 6-8 in Emmen, Netherlands. This will be the first event during the qualifying period for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, when riders and nations begin to collect ranking points that will determine country quotas for the Games.

The team is led by world champions Shelley Gautier [T1 women] and Michael Sametz [C3 men], and includes a mix of both experienced athletes and newcomers to World Cup competition.

National Para Head Coach Sebastien Travers explains, “From a high performance standpoint, we are bringing a very small team to Emmen, mostly to improve World Cup rankings in hopes of getting some leader jerseys for the next round of the World Cup in Baie-Comeau. Some of our targeted athletes have decided to opt out of the Emmen event, to further prepare for Road World Championships happening in about five weeks. From a program perspective, attending Emmen is key in our long term preparation, as they will be the host site of the 2019 Para-cycling Road World Championships.”

Guillaume Plourde, Para NextGen coach, added, “For the NextGen group, the Emmen World Cup will have two-fold purposes: for some athletes, it’ll be a first international exposure that will allow them to gain experience and assess where they stand compared to the international field. For others who are already active on the World Cup circuit, it’ll be the last chance to qualify for the 2018 Para-cycling Road World Championships.”

Women
Annie Bouchard (Tandem) Baie-St-Paul, QC
Evelyne Gagnon (Tandem Pilot) Quebec City, QC
Nicole Clermont (C5) St Denis de Brompton, QC
Shelley Gautier (T1) Toronto, ON
Keely Shaw (C4) Saskatoon, SK

Men
Matthieu Croteau Daigle (Tandem) Sherbrooke, QC
Benoit Lussier (Tandem Pilot) Montreal, QC
Joey Desjardins (H3) Hawksbury, ON
Charles Moreau (H3) Victoriaville, QC
Michael Sametz (C3) Calgary, AB
Mike Shetler (T2) Montreal, QC
Lowell Taylor (Tandem) Lethbridge, AB
Andrew Davidson (Tandem Pilot) Calgary, AB