MORE MEDALS FOR CANADA AT TRACK PAN-AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Canada adds four medals on the second day of competition
(Ottawa, ON – September 03, 2015) Canada continued its medal-winning ways at the 2015 UCI Pan-American Championships in Chile, earning four medals on the second day of competition to bring Canada’s tally at eight medals.
In the men’s individual pursuit, two-time Pan-Am Games bronze medallist Sean MacKinnon posted the fastest time of the qualifying round (4:24.579) to secure his spot in the gold medal race, where he faced a Jhonathan Restrepo of Colombia.
MacKinnon gave it all in the ultimate race of the event, but fell short at the end, posting a time of 4:27.183 in the final race.“I was super happy to qualify first as that was my goal stepping out on the track in qualifying. Racing for Gold, I left it all out there and tried to stay even for as long as I could. I really enjoyed racing the final as it was a new experience. I can take a lot away from the ride.”
Canada’s Ed Veal won the bronze medal in the same event, defeating his opponent Victor Moreno of Venezuela with a time of 4:25.781 in the bronze medal race.
In the men’s scratch race, Canada had two riders at the start line in Aidan Caves and Evan Burtnik. Thanks to the relentless support from teammate Burtnik, Aidan Caves went on to finish in second place, grabbing the silver medal.
“I’m feeling awesome. I’m going to have to say that it has been a tough season for me with injuries so far, but to bounce back like this is great. I definitely could not have done it without all the support of my teammates, coaches, staff, and family who are always there for me,” said Caves.
The young rider added: “The race was pretty fast I was not too nervous about it because I had a solid plan in my head going into it. I knew “we” as a team (Evan Burtnik and me) had all the bases covered no matter what was to happen. I saw a couple guys take a lap early on, so I knew that the only chance was for one of us to take a lap too. It ended up being me who attacked and took a lap about halfway into the race and, then we executed our plan perfectly.”
The Women’s Team Pursuit also delivered on the boards, posting the second fastest qualifying time, behind the United States. Without two of its stars, the team raced the 4-km qualifier in 4:24.72, an impressive time. The team was led by Pan-Am Games gold medallist Allison Beveridge and Kirsti Lay, joined by Annie-Foreman MacKay, and Stephanie Roorda.
In the final facing its southern neighbour, riding the same line up, Team Canada started fast, and went out to gain just over a 1-second lead at the 2-km mark. However, a strong finish by the USA (4:21.328) saw them draw even at one lap to go to finish 0.7 seconds ahead of the Canadians (4:22.077).
While disappointed with the final result, Coach Craig Griffin was pleased with the team’s performance. “This is a different team composition than we had in Toronto for the Pan-American Games. While the importance of this event as an Olympic qualifier cannot be ignored, we are definitely looking long term to the World Championships in March for peak performances.”
Beveridge won her second medal of these Championships, taking silver last night in the women’s scratch race. Tomorrow Annie Foreman-Mackey and Kirsti Lay will ride the individual pursuit.
Canada now has collected eight medals in two days of competition.
