DEREK GEE 14TH AT TRACK WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Apeldoorn, Netherlands, March 3, 2018 – Team Canada had a tough day on Friday at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Apeldoorn, Netherlands.  Derek Gee of Ottawa was the top Canadian finisher, in 14th place in the men’s Individual Pursuit.

The men’s Sprint had a promising start for Canada, with Stefan Ritter qualifying 12th at 9.828 for the 200 metre time trial, and Hugo Barrette 18th at 9.934 .  However, both riders lost their 1/16th rides and were knocked out of the competition.

“It just wasn’t my day,” said Barrette. “Unfortunately, as per usual, if I have a great day in the Keirin, it bleeds into the Sprint.  It’s something I have to work on, we know it’s a problem and we’ll try to solve it. It’s definitely a disappointment; two days ago I was going for the times of my life, but today I just didn’t have any juice.  But overall, I’m proud of my Worlds; I showed I can be good in the Keirin, so onward and upward.”

In the Individual Pursuit, Gee recorded a time of four minutes and 26.119 seconds for 14th place among 21 starters. Only the top four moved on to the medal round, with Italy’s Filippo Ganna winning the title in a time of four minutes and 13.607 seconds.

“It was good experience,” said Gee, “but about a tenth [of a second] slower than my personal best. It was a slow track and not a lot of preparation going into it, with the focus being on the Team Pursuit.”

Canada had strong hopes for the four event women’s Omnium, with Allison Beveridge representing Canada.  Beveridge finished tenth in the Scratch Race and ninth in the Tempo Race, putting her within reach of the medals going into the final two events. However, a massive crash in the Elimination Race took her out of the competition.