TRACK CYCLING BEGINS WITH GOLD AND BRONZE AT SANTIAGO 2023 PAN AMERICAN GAMES
Santiago, CHE (Oct. 24, 2023) – Team Canada’s track cyclists set a high bar with two medals on the first of four days of racing at Velódromo Parque Peñalolén at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games on Oct. 24 in Chile.
The gold medal men’s sprint team from June’s San Juan 2023 Pan American Track Cycling Championships reunited to take on the event once again in Santiago. Comprised of Nick Wammes, 24, of Bothwell, ON, James Hedgcock, 21, of Ancaster, ON, and Tyler Rorke, 20, of Baden, ON, the squad set the pace in qualifying with a winning time of 43.829s. Next, they faced Colombia in an exciting gold medal final, where their time of 43.396s edged out Colombia’s 43.421s. The remaining bronze medal was captured by Mexico (43.396s)
Nick Wammes, James Hedgcock, Tyler Rorke
Photo Credit: Dave Holland/CSI Calgary
“We wanted this one so bad, it’s been a long season and this kind of feels like we’re putting icing on the cake,” said Tokyo 2020 Olympian Wammes. “It seems like honestly, whenever we race together we keep getting faster and faster, just better as a team. We’ve kind of matched our best time all season right now and we’re in a very heavily trained state so I think we’re getting stronger and looking forward to next season – Olympics are in 10 months!”
Playing off the energy from their teammates’ win and the intensity of the crowed, the women’s sprint team also rose to the occasion to capture bronze. Jackie Boyle, 26, of Toronto, ON, Sarah Orban, 28, of Calgary, AB, and Emy Savard, 20, of Saguenay, QC, mimicked the men’s result by beating Colombia by less than a second: Canada’s time was 48.498s while Colombia stopped the clock at 48.836s. They were joined on the podium by Mexico with gold (47.134s) and the United States with silver (48.001).
Emy Savard, Jackie Boyle, Sarah Orban
Photo Credit: Dave Holland/CSI Calgary
The women’s sprint team was recently formed due to the late addition of Savard. Speaking to how the impressive team dynamic has come together so quickly, Boyle commented, “When [National Team Coach Franck Durivaux] said at the beginning, ‘Control what you can control’, I think all of us did that. We’ve only done three or four team sprints together so every time we improved and when it actually mattered, we took off like half a second so that’s great.”
Representing the red and white in the men’s omnium was 24-year-old Michael Foley. The Tokyo 2020 Olympian from Milton, ON, placed fourth in the scratch race; eighth in the tempo race; second in the elimination race; and placed fifth overall after a hard-fought points race. Gold was awarded to Hugo Nestor Emiliano Ruiz Calle (PER); silver went to Ricardo Peña Salas (MEX); and bronze was won by Jacob Thomas Decar Zúñiga (CHI).
Finally, the women’s team pursuit got underway featuring a Canadian contingent of Devaney Collier, 25, of Edmonton, AB, Kiara Lylyk, 19, of Guelph, ON, Fiona Majendie, 25, of Vancouver, BC, and Ruby West, 24, of Dundas, ON. With a leading time of 4:28.520m in qualifying and an even stronger 4:22.246m in their heat against the United States (4:26.425m), the quartet is well positioned for tomorrow’s gold medal final.
More information, including results and the full schedule of events, can be found at www.santiago2023.org. Competition for Team Canada’s cyclists continues Oct. 25 with track competition for the individual sprint, keirin and team pursuit.
