CALI, February 20, 2017. – Team Canada had a strong finish on Sunday at Round 3 of the Track World Cup in Cali, Colombia, with a bronze medal in the Women’s Team Pursuit.  The team also recorded three other top-10 results for the day.

After qualifying in second place for the Team Pursuit on Saturday, Canada set the third fastest time in the first ride on Sunday, putting them up against France for the bronze medal race.  The team of Rio bronze medalist Laura Brown (Vancouver, BC), Steph Roorda (Vancouver, BC), Kinley Gibson (Edmonton, AB) and Ariane Bonhomme (Gatineau, QC) were only a few hundredths of a second slower than their previous ride, despite strong breezes gusty across the open air track.

“It was a big day but very exciting,” said Bonhomme.  “It took us a couple of rides to figure out how to manage the first part of the race.  We have never ridden together as a team – Kinley and I have ridden on the NextGen team, but we’ve never trained with Steph and Laura, so the first two rides we started a bit fast and didn’t have so much left for the last kilometre, but we nailed it down in the final.  It was perfect.”

In the Men’s Sprint competition, Hugo Barrette (Iles de la Madeleine, QC) qualified eighth with a time of 9.952 seconds and won both his sixteenth and eighth final rides before finally succumbing to Pavel Yakushevskiy of Russia in the quarter final round.  Yakushevskiy would eventually take the bronze medal.  Barrette finished the event ranked sixth overall.

“I came into the event after a hard day yesterday with the new format Keirin, which took a lot of energy,” said Barrette.  “I still finished sixth, so without the Keirin who knows.  I’m a little rusty; it’s been six months since I’ve ridden at this level.  I had some mismanagement of my legs out there, so I can see myself winning in the future.”

Kate O’Brien (Edmonton, AB) followed up her fifth place in the Women’s Sprint by taking eighth overall in the Women’s Keirin.  After failing to qualify in the first round, she won the Repechage to make it to the second round, before finishing second in the ride-off for 7th to 12th places.

“I wasn’t really sure of what to expect,” said O’Brien.  “I’ve done the Keirin at the Olympics and world championships, but never at a World Cup.  I can’t really complain; it’s my first competition back [since the Olympics], and I had top-10 finishes in everything.

Stefan Ritter (Edmonton, AB) finished eighth overall in the Men’s 1000 metre Time Trial.  Ritter, who just joined the Elite ranks, was the Junior world champion in the event last year and holds the Junior world record for the distance.  He has now moved to the elite ranks.

“It was very exciting, but also very nerve wracking,” admitted Ritter.  “My first goal was to get into the top-8 for the final, and I did.  In the final I wasn’t as good as I expected or wanted, but I can’t really complain about a top-8 at my first World Cup.”

The final Canadian ride of the day was by Team Pursuit rider Ariane Bonhomme, who began the Points Race barely 30 minutes after finishing the Team Pursuit final.  Bonhomme, racing in her first World Cup Points Race, was aggressive early in the race, scoring points, before fading slightly to finish 15th.

Over the course of three days, Canada recorded a bronze medal and nine additional top-10 performances.

CALI, February 18, 2017. – Team Canada recorded three top-10 performances on the opening day of the third round of the Track World Cup on Friday, in Cali, Colombia.

The Women’s Team Sprint squad of Rio Olympian Kate O’Brien (Calgary, AB) and Amelia Walsh (Ayr, Ontario) finished seventh overall, with former BMX athlete Walsh competing in her first ever international competition after only nine weeks in the sport.

“I wasn’t sure how it was going to work out,” admitted O’Brien.  “I was in a new position as the second rider so it was good to test it out with Walsh.  It’s a bit terrifying to be the veteran now, but I have to step up and embrace the role.”

In the Men’s Team Sprint, Rio Olympian Hugo Barrette (Iles de la Madeleine, QC) was joined by two first time World Cup riders, Stefan Ritter (Edmonton, AB) and Patrice St-Louis-Pivin (Sherbrooke, QC).  The trio managed to finish ninth overall, with Barrette recording the fastest split of any rider in qualifying.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve competed so I was nervous,” said Barrette.  “It’s a new team but we pulled it off; we rode in the 44s [seconds], which is pretty amazing for Canada.  Against some world-class teams we were ninth; of course we wanted to qualify for the next round, but I’m really proud of the progress we’ve done since the beginning of the season – it’s only been four months that we have been together.  My ride I felt fast, I had the best second lap against some great sprinters.”

In individual competition, Stephanie Roorda (Vancouver, BC) had a strong finish in the four event Women’s Omnium to take eighth overall.  In the final Points Race, Roorda won two intermediate sprints to move up from 11th in the standings after three events.

“In the final race I felt that I didn’t have anything to lose, being so far back on points,” said Roorda.  “Physically I’m not feeling 100%; I had a cold last week.  So I just wanted to finish the Omnium off on a good note and get ready for the Team Pursuit on Saturday.”

OTTAWA, February 7, 2017. – Cycling Canada is pleased to announce the teams that will represent Canada at the final two rounds of the UCI Track World Cup in late February. Round 3 of the World Cup will take place in Cali, Colombia on February 17-19, followed one week later by the World Cup final in Los Angeles, California, on February 25-26.
Canada will send a full men’s and women’s sprint squad to both events, led by Rio Olympians Kate O’Brien of Calgary, AB, and Hugo Barrette of Iles de la Madeleine, QC.  O’Brien will be joined by Amelia Walsh of Ayr, ON, who will be attending her first World Cup, and will team up with O’Brien for the Team Sprint.  O’Brien will also compete in the Sprint and Keirin events.

Barrette will be joined on the men’s squad by Stefan Ritter [Edmonton, AB], the 2016 Junior world champion and world record holder for the Kilo, plus Joel Archambault [St-Christine, QC] and Patrice St-Louis-Pivin [Sherbrooke, QC].  The team will compete in the Team Sprint, with Barrette also competing in the Keirin and Sprint, while Ritter will race the Kilo.
On the endurance side, Canada will send a women’s squad to both events, but not the men’s team, who competed in the first two rounds of the World Cup, winning the Team Pursuit in Apeldoorn, Netherlands and finishing third in Glasgow, Scotland.

For Cali, the squad will consist of Rio Olympic bronze medalist Laura Brown [Calgary, AB], plus Steph Roorda [Vancouver, BC], Kinley Gibson [Edmonton, AB] and Ariane Bonhomme [Gatineau, QC].  They will compete in the Team Pursuit, as well as the Scratch Race, Points Race and Omnium.  Selections for the individual events will take place closer to the event dates.

At the final round in Los Angeles, Brown and Roorda will be joined by two more members of the Rio squad – Jasmin Duehring [Vancouver, BC] and Kirsti Lay [Montreal, QC] – plus Rio alternate and current national road champion, Annie Foreman-Mackey [Kingston, ON].  In addition to the Team Pursuit, riders will compete in the Madison, Scratch Race and Individual Pursuit.  Selections for the individual events will take place closer to the event dates.

“The Cali World Cup marks the start of the second part of the World Cup season and the first time our sprint and women’s track endurance programs hit the boards in this level of competition since the Olympic Games,” explained Jacques Landry, Director of High Performance at Cycling Canada.  “This first incursion into higher level of international competition since August will serve as a gauge to see where other countries are in terms of being competitive in this new quadrennial.”

“Our men’s track endurance program, in the first two World Cups, have set the bar with a third place and a win in the Team Pursuit events, and so it will be interesting to see what our sprint and women’s track endurance programs can come up with; keeping in mind of course that Tokyo is still 1,260 days away.”

Women
Sprint
Kate O’Brien – Calgary, AB [Cali, Los Angeles]
Amelia Walsh – Ayr, ON [Cali, Los Angeles]

Endurance
Ariane Bonhomme – Gatineau, QC [Cali]
Laura Brown – Calgary, AB [Cali, Los Angeles]
Jasmin Duehring – Vancouver, BC [Los Angeles]
Annie Foreman-Mackey – Kingston, ON [Los Angeles]
Kinley Gibson – Edmonton, AB [Cali]
Steph Roorda – Vancouver, BC [Cali, Los Angeles]
Kirsti Lay – Montreal, QC [Los Angeles]

Men
Joel Archambault – St-Christine, QC [Cali, Los Angeles]
Hugo Barrette – Iles de la Madeleine, QC [Cali, Los Angeles]
Stefan Ritter – Edmonton, AB [Cali, Los Angeles]
Patrice St-Louis-Pivin – Sherbrooke, QC [Cali, Los Angeles]

BERLIN, Jan. 26, 2017. – Two members of Canada’s world-class women’s track endurance program had a strong start to the 2017 season with multiple podium results at the Berlin 6 Day competition over January 22-24.  Steph Roorda of Vancouver finished fourth overall, while Laura Brown of Calgary won the Scratch Race on the second day of competition.

According to national coach Craig Griffin, the goal of the trip was, “To provide a condensed program of races that will enhance athlete fitness in front of the Cali and LA World Cups in the last two weekends of February.”

Each day of racing included a variety of mass-start competitions, such as Elimination Race, Points Race and Scratch Race, with riders accumulating points based on their results in each event.  The field included both Olympic and world champions.

Roorda got off to a strong start with a third place in the opening day Scratch Race, and followed that up on Day 2 with second places in both the Points and Scratch Races and third in the Elimination.  On the final day she did not achieve any podiums, but still finished fourth in the overall standings, just five points out of third.

Brown struggled on the first day, but in the Day 2 Scratch Race, a well-timed counterattack saw her take a lap on a pack that got caught by surprise. Immediately after Brown made contact with the field, Roorda countered with a move of her own, taking a lap by herself. With both Canadians a lap up on the field, Brown covered a last ditch attack in the final laps to secure the win, for a Canadian 1-2.

“It is hard out there when you are alone,” commented Brown, “but the crowd cheering kept me inspired and going.”

“The girls enjoyed a solid second night of racing,” said Griffin, “overcoming some jet lag and ‘knocking the rust off’ their racing legs. It’s been a while since they’ve raced and it showed the first night. Hopefully they can continue to improve and we will see more podiums as we move into the final World Cups in the lead up to the world championships in April.”

Team Canada took the gold medal on Saturday in the Men’s Team Pursuit at Round 2 of the Track World Cup in Apeldoorn, Netherlands.  This is the first-ever World Cup win for Canada in the Men’s Team Pursuit.  Canada also moves into the overall lead in the World Cup standings, after finishing third in the first round.

Our plan for the first two World Cups was to have a clean run,” explained Ian Melvin, National Men’s Endurance Coach.  “We wanted to get the points to qualify for Worlds so we didn’t have to depend on Cali (World Cup #3).”

In the final against Belgium, the Canadian team of Aidan Caves, Adam Jamieson, Jay Lamoureux and Bayley Simpson trailed the Belgians over the first 3000 metres, after their rivals got off to a very strong start.  However, the Canadian team came back steadily, cutting the gap from over a second after the first 1000 metres to less than eight-tenths of a second at the halfway mark, then less than three tenths with 1000 metres to go.  In the final 1000 metres, the Belgian team slowed dramatically, while Canada had its fastest split of the race, to win with a time of four minutes and 2.144 seconds, over four seconds ahead of Belgium.  France won the bronze medal.

“It’s a pretty crazy day,” said Aidan Caves, “it’s actually been a pretty crazy month since Nationals, probably one of the best ever.  We were aware that they [Belgium] were probably going to go out hot, but we didn’t panic, because we all knew that we were the stronger team.  We knew that if we stayed strong that we have consistently had a faster final Kilo than most of the other teams, so that’s what we focussed on; to come back from the little bit they were up on us.  It worked out pretty well to plan.”

Bayley Simpson said, “We’ve got five guys here who can execute, so we are using everyone to have some fresh legs for each ride.  This was my first trip with the team, and the first ride I got to do was in Glasgow for the bronze medal.  It was nerve-wracking but we executed it that day and then we were able to come here and do it again.  I can’t even put it into words, really.  The time was good; we looked at the past times here when the world championships were here in 2011 and the winning team was a high 4:01, so we are pretty happy with our time.”

Canada now leads the overall standings with 1800 points, followed by Round 1 winner Great Britain at 1700 and France, also with 1700 points.