October 17, 2011 (Guadalajara, Mexico) – The Canadian Men’s Team Pursuit squad broke the Canadian record of the event at the 2011 Pan-American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, as the track events kicked off on Monday.

The team, comprised of Jean-Michel Lachance (Quebec, QC), Rob Britton (Victoria, BC), Rémi Pelletier-Roy (Quebec, QC) and Jacob Schwingboth (Cloverdale, BC), rode to a time of 4:14.389, finishing in fifth place to narrowly miss a birth in the medal races.

The feat is specifically special as it comes on their first race as a unit. The team first trained together on Saturday. “It’s fantastic. It was a great efforts by all guys, considering that they never rode a unit before today. It’s a very good accomplishment for the team, for Canada,” said Tanya Dubnicoff, track cycling coach of the Canadian Team currently in Mexico.  “The first day we came to the track and took it very lightly. The following day, we identified the speeds we could reach, and positioned the riders. That’s it before race day.”

“We spend a lot of money to train in Los Angeles. With a velodrome in Canada, we could provide a lot more services to the team, to the athletes. Right now, we have a wealth of talent in Canada, but no world class infrastructures,” added Dubnicoff.

“The guys rode very respectable. They came together as a team today, and they all wanted to win it. Getting the record is the icing on the cake. With 11 months away from the Olympics, the priority is on the teams that are on the cusp of qualifying. We have the talent, certainly.”

The team broke the previous record of 4:16.816 set at the 2010 UCI World Cup in Cali, Colombia. Both Schwingboth and Pelletier-Roy were on the team that had set the previous record.

The Women’s Team Pursuit will be held tomorrow, with the qualifying round in the morning and the final rounds in the afternoon. Laura Brown (Vancouver, BC), who won the bronze medal in the road time trials yesterday, will race alongside Stephanie Roorda (Vancouver, BC) and junior rider Jasmin Glaesser (Coquitlam, BC), who will make her international debut wearing the Canadian uniform.

Results

Men’s Team Pursuit

Qualifications
1. Colombia     4:00.126
2. Chile     4:03.882
3. Argentina     4:08.887
4. Mexico     4:12.402
5. Canada (Britton, Lachance, Pelletier-Roy, Swingboth)     4:14.389
6. Brazil     4:14.634
7. Cuba     4:15:824
8. Ecuador     4:21.800

Men’s Team Sprint

Qualifications
1. Venezuela     43.999
2. USA     44.227
3. Colombia     45.112
4. Argentina     47.058
5. Mexico     47.459
6. Canada (Swingboth, Lachance, Pellitier-Roy)     48.860

Women’s Team Sprint

Qualifications
1. Venezuela     33.854
2. Colombia     34.375
3. Mexico     34.453
4. USA     34.788
5. Cuba     34.907
6. Argentina     36.953
DSQ Brazil