OLYMPIC HOPEFULS EARN RED AND WHITE JERSEYS TO KICK OFF CANADIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

Milton hosts Canadian Track Championships with fast speed and intense team pursuits

(Milton, ON – October 07, 2015) The team sprint and team pursuit events, as well as the Para-cycling time trial events, took place on Wednesday to start the 2015 Canadian Track Cycling Championships at the Mattamy National Cycling Center in Milton.

Alberta’s Monique Sullivan and Kate O’Brien, who took the gold medal at the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games, won the Canadian Championships title in the women team sprint events, successfully defending their 2014 title. They posted a time of 34.858s in the Finals. The pair completed the two laps 2.516s faster than their closest rivals, Lizanne Wilmont, and Jamie Gilgen. The sprinting duo will represent Canada at the upcoming UCI World Cup Series, hoping to qualify the country for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games next summer.

In the men’s sprint, the composite team comprised of Evan Carey, Joe Veloce, and Hugo Barrette easily took the gold medal. The trio, who won the Pan-American Games gold medal, posted a time of 45.034s, to capture the title. The team made of Chris Singleton, Joel Archambault, and Misha Partridge came in second place, crossing the finish line just under four seconds after the Pan-Am Gold medallists.

In the Women’s Team Pursuit, Team West Coast coasted to the victory in the women’s race. The team included National Team members Laura Brown Stephanie Roorda, Jasmin Glaesser and ski-cross convert Georgia Simmerling. The four-woman team defeated in the gold medal ride. Team Quebec, formed by Kirsti Lay, Ariane Bonhomme, Catherine Dessureault, and Catherine Ouellette by more than five seconds.

The men’s team pursuit team comprised on Ontario’s, Ed Veal, Ryan Roth, Sean MacKinnon, and Aidan Caves rode to the gold medal with a time of 4:12.446. In second place came Team NBA, comprised of Adam Jamieson, Jack Burke, Jay Lamoureux, and Alexander Cowan.

For the Canadian National Team members, this event marks the launch of the 2016 season highlighted by the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The team will compete in four UCI World Cup events and the 2016 Track World Championships throughout the winter.

In the Para-cycling action, the time trial races were featured for these inspiring athletes. These Championships featured the highest number of registration in the category, with the event held in full integration. Daniel Chalifour and pilot Jean-Michel Lachance took the gold medal in combined tandem racing, reaching 96.64% of the National Team Standards for the gold medal. Alexandre Carrier and pilot Arrousen Laflamme took the second place and silver medal with 95.73% while Lowell Taylor pilot Mark McDonald took third.

In the C class, Marie-Claude Molnar went on to take the top spot in the Women’s race with a time of 43.553s over 500m of racing. Molnar averaged speeds of 41km/h throughout her race. Jaye Milley raced to 94.35 of the standard, earning the title in the men’s race. In second place came newcomer Tristen Chernove, while Braydon McDougall earned the bronze medal with 92.77%.

Thursday, the 2015 Canadian Track Championships will be a full day of racing starting at 8:00 am. The master racers will make their debut with the sprint events. The elite sprinters will also tackle their individual sprint events. The omnium begins with the presentation of the first three races for elite riders, and the para-cyclists will race the individual pursuit.

Full results are available at cyclingcanada.ca.

RESULTS – 2015 CANADIAN TRACK CYCLING CHAMPIONSHIPS

TIME TRIAL – PARA – B

1. Daniel CHALIFOUR (MB) (Equipe du Quebec) 96.64%

2. Alexandre CARRIER (MB) (Equipe du Quebec) 95.73%

3. Lowell TAYLOR (MB) (Independent) 89.18%

TIME TRIAL – PARA – WOMEN C

1. Marie-Claude MOLNAR (WC4) (Equipe du Quebec) 96.20%

2. Michelle SALT (WC2) (Independent) 85.01%

TIME TRIAL – PARA – MEN C

1. Jaye MILLEY (MC1) (Team Alberta) 94.35%

2. Tristen CHERNOVE (MC3) (Cycling BC) 93.66%

3. Brayden MCDOUGALL (MC1) (Team Alberta) 92.77%

TEAM SPRINT – ELITE – MEN

1. COMPOSITE 3 (CAREY, Evan/VELOCE, Joseph/BARRETTE, Hugo) 45.034s

2. COMPOSITE 2 (PARTRIDGE, Mischa/ARCHAMBAULT, Joel/SINGLETON, Chris) 48.865s

3. COMPOSITE 1 (MACDONALD, Eric/CULLINGHAM, Andrew/NESBITT, Daniel) 149.687s

TEAM SPRINT – ELITE – WOMEN

1. TEAM PCL (SULLIVAN, Monique/O’BRIEN, Kate) 34.858s

2. COMPOSITE AWESOME (WILMOT, Lizanne/GILGEN, Jamie) 37.374s

3. COMPOSITE (CORMIER, Natalie/BLAIS, Marie-Soleil) 37.449s

TEAM PURSUIT – ELITE – MEN

1. ONTARIO (VEAL, Ed/ROTH, Ryan/MACKINNON, Sean/CAVES, Aidan) 4:12.446

2. NBA (JAMIESON, Adam/BURKE, Jack/LAMOUREUX, Jay/COWAN, Alexander) 4:18.500

3. QUEBEC (PELLETIER ROY, Remi/SOUCY, Marc-Antoine/JEAN, Emile/DOYLE, Elliott) 4:20.202

TEAM PURSUIT – ELITE – WOMEN

1. WEST COAST (BROWN, Laura/ROORDA, Stephanie/SIMMERLING, Georgia/GLAESSER, Jasmin)

 4:34.372

2. QUEBEC (LAY, Kirsti/BONHOMME, Ariane/DESSUREAULT, Catherine/OUELLETTE, Catherine) 4:41.663

3. OPUS – THE CYCLERY (FOREMAN-MACKEY, Annie/WATTERS, Ellen/FLYNN, Emily/GILLARD, Allyson) 5:08.405