DUEHRING WINS SILVER ON OPENING DAY OF MILTON WORLD CUP
Milton, December 1, 2017 – Team Canada had a strong start to the third round of the Tissot UCI Track World Cup on Friday, in Milton, Ontario, with Jasmin Duehring winning a silver medal in the women’s Points Race. The third round of the 2017-2018 series is the only North American stop, and is the first Track World Cup to take place in Canada since 1998.
Duehring, who has taken some time off from racing this year while completing her degree in mathematics, scored points in five out of eight intermediate sprints, plus was one of four riders to take a lap on the field. The two-time Olympic bronze medalist finished with 38 points, nine behind winner Katie Archibald of Great Britain.
“It’s the first ever World Cup for me in Canada, and it’s amazing to start things off with a medal,” said Duehring. “It’s amazing to see all the other countries here, and I feel so much pride in welcoming them to our facility, and racing in front of a home crowd. I had to adjust my tactics on the fly; I’ve been taking a break from racing and training while finishing my degree, so I had a few less cards to play out there. I think I raced strategically pretty well but, unfortunately, wasn’t able to really give Katie a run for the gold medal.”
In other competitions, the Canadian women’s and men’s Team Pursuit squads also rode well, with the women qualifying first and the men qualifying second. Both will move on to the next round, where they will attempt to qualify for the medal finals.
“The ride was quite positive,” said Craig Griffin, Women’s Endurance Coach. “It was a good effort and was the time we were hoping for [4:22.310]. We can always improve on a few things technically, but the girls delivered really well, and are a couple of seconds quicker than we rode in Poland [Round 1] with the same lineup a month ago. It’s nice to race in front of the home crowd, and I’m sure that motivated the girls. I’m sure we’ll just get faster.”
The Canadian women’s Team Sprint squad of Amelia Walsh and Tegan Cochrane did not fare as well, finishing 12th in qualifying and not advancing to the next round.
