CANUEL FINISHES 16TH IN WOMEN’S ROAD RACE AT OLYMPIC GAMES
TOKYO (July 25, 2021) – It was another scorcher as the Canadian women raced the 137-kilometre road race that separated Musashinonomori Park and the Fuji International Speedway. The Canadian women fared well in the first half of the race but the peloton quickly became fragmented with Karol-Ann Canuel being the sole Canadian to hang on to the chase group until the very end. After over 4 hours of racing, she finished in 16th position, 2:20 minutes down gold medallist Anna Kiesenhofer of Austria.
“The course was really, really hard,” said Canuel. “The plan was for the three of us to try and conserve our energy until the top of that first long climb and to see after that. I think I was feeling the best at that point so the girls started helping me more by bringing me food and other things. After that, we wanted to see if we had any opportunities but it was hard with no communication and we didn’t know exactly the time gaps. So for me, I tried to play it smart.”
Alison Jackson, who was added to Team Canada’s roster last week, capped off her Olympic schedule racing into 32nd spot, while two-time Olympian Leah Kirchmann finished in 36th.
Both Canuel and Kirchmann will compete in the women’s Individual Time Trial on July 28th, while Hugo Houle will be representing Canada in the men’s race.
Tomorrow, racing moves to the Izu Mountain Bike course where Peter Disera will be competing in the men’s cross-country mountain bike event. The race will be streamed live on CBC Olympics.
