April 26, 2007 – Canada’s Martin Gilbert and Ryan McKenzie recently finished third overall at Los Seis-Dias de Mexico, revitalizing Canada’s prowess on the international six-day racing scene. Both National Team members raced at the LA Track World Cup, the Burnaby Velodrome 6-day and have been selected to compete for Canada at the upcoming Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro. Here’s a recap of their fabulous efforts in Mexico.
Start List:
1. Marco Arraigada Quinchel (Chl) / Antonio Cabrera Torres (Chl)
2. Guillermo Ferrer (Esp) / Miguel Alzamora (Esp) ‘Spain2’
3. Martin Gilbert (Can) / Ryan McKenzie (Can) ‘Team Canada
4. Rodolfo Avila (Mex) / Cesar Vaquera (Mex)
5. Antonio Miguel Parra (Esp) / David Montaner (Esp) ‘Spain 1’
6. Fabian Reyes (Mex) / Arturo Pena Mata (Mex)
7. Jackie Simes IV (Usa) / Kevin Suhr (Usa) ‘USA 1’
8. Taylor Brown (Usa) / Tucker Brown (Usa) ‘USA 2’
9. Marcos Crespo (Arg) / Juan Gaspari (Arg)
10. Jose Ramon Aguirre (Mex) Alejandro Ruiz (Mex)
11. Fabian de la Cruz (Mex) / Ivan Carbajal (Mex)
12. Diego Yepez (Mex) / Abraham Martinez (Mex)
Officials:
- Alfredo Morales Shaadi, Director Instituto del Delporte del Estado de Aguascalientes (IDEA)
- Luis Armando Reynoso, Gobernador del Estado Manuel Youshimatz, Technical Director
- Javier Vargas, General Director Erika Primera, Reina de Aguascaliente 2007
Day One - Monday, April 16, 2007
Team Canada was off to a good start in Los Seis-Dias de Mexico with a second place finish in the 20km Madison. Ryan McKenzie came in third in the 20-lap Points race and Gilbert/McKenzie took second in the second 20km Madison race. The Canadian National Team racers finished the night in third place with 30 points.
Day One Results
1. Marco Arraigada (Chl) / Antonio Cabrera (Chl) 66 points
2. Miguel Parra (Esp) / David Montaner (Esp) 47 points
3. Martin Gilbert (Can / Ryan McKenzie (Can) 30 points
4. Guillermo Ferrer (Esp) / Miguel Alzamora (Esp) 16 points
5. Juan Gaspari (Arg) / Marcos Crespo (Arg) 18 points 1 lap
6. Cesar Vaquera (Mex) / Rodolfo Avila (Mex) 16 points 1 lap
7. Jackie Simes (Usa) / Kevin Suhr (Usa) 10 points 1 lap
8. Diego Yepez (Mex) / Abraham Martinez (Mex) 1 lap 6 points
9. Taylor Brown (Usa) / Tucker Brown (Usa) 0 points 1 lap
10. Fabian de la Cruz (Mex) / Ivan Carbajal (Mex) 0 points 1 lap
11. Jose Ramon Aguirre (Mex) / Alejandro Ruiz (Mex) 3 laps 10 points
12. Fabian Reyes (Mex) / Arturo Pena (Mex) 4 laps 6 point
Day Two - Tuesday, April 17, 2007
The second night of racing did not start well for the Maple Leaf Team as both riders were struggling. Gilbert and McKenzie came in fifth in the first Madison, and then both racers were eradicated early from the Elimination Race. McKenzie came in third in the Scratch Race while Gilbert scored in the Points Race. The evening finished strong with the Canadian duo taking 2nd place in the 30km Madison. Overall the Canadians were in 4th place, 2 laps behind the Chilean leaders Arriagada/Cabrera.
Day Two Results
1. Marco Arraigada (Chl) / Antonio Cabrera (Chl) 115 points
2. Miguel Parra (Esp) / David Montaner (Esp) 74 points 2 laps
3. Juan Gaspari (Arg) / Marcos Crespo (Arg) 66 points 2 laps
4. Martin Gilbert (Can) / Ryan McKenzie (Can) 54 points 2 laps
5. Guillermo Ferrer (Esp) / Miguel Alzamora (Esp) 41 points, 2 laps
6. Jackie Simes (Usa) / Kevin Suhr (Usa) 30 points 2 laps
7. Cesar Vaquera (Mex) / Rodolfo Avila (Mex) 40 points 3 laps
8. Diego Yepez (Mex) / Abraham Martinez (Mex) 14 points 3 laps
9. Taylor Brown (Usa) / Tucker Brown (Usa) 4 points 3 laps
10. Fabian de la Cruz (Mex) / Ivan Carvajal (Mex) 0 points 5 laps
11. Jose Ramon Aguirre (Mex) / Alejandro Ruiz (Mex) 14 points 6 laps
12. Fabian Reyes (Mex) / Arturo Pena (Mex) 6 points 10 laps
Day Three - Wednesday, April 18, 2007
The third night of a six-day race is always decisive as the teams are feeling the intensity of the frantic racing and this is where experience and bike handling skills start to make a difference. Tonight the Canadians took second in both the 20km and 30km Madison Races, and Gilbert came in second in the Scratch Race. The Canadian Team finished a hard night of racing in second place for the evening gaining a lap and moved back into third place overall.
Day Three Results
1. Marco Arraigada (Chl) / Antonio Cabrera (Chl) 140 points
2. Antonio Parra (Esp) / David Montaner (Esp) 132 points
3. Martin Gilbert (Can) / Ryan McKenzie 84 points 1 lap
4. Juan Gaspari (Arg) / Marcos Crespo (Arg) 93 points 2 laps
5. Guillermo Ferrer (Esp) / Miguel Alzamora (Esp) 68 points 2 laps
6. Cesar Vaquera (Mex) / Rodolfo Avila (Mex) 66 points 3 laps
7. Jackie Simes (Usa) / Kevin Suhr (Usa) 42 points 3 laps
8. Diego Yepez (Mex) / Abraham Martinez (Mex) 22 points 3 laps
9. Taylor Brown (Usa) / Tucker Brown (Usa) 10 points 3 laps
10. Fabian de la Cruz (Mex) / Ivan Carbajal (Mex) 0 points 5 laps
11. Jose Ramon Aguirre (Mex) / Alejandro Ruiz (Mex) 20 points 6 laps
12. Fabian Reyes (Mex) / Arturo Pena (Mex) 6 points 10 laps
Day Four - Thursday, April 19, 2007
Canada moves into second at the Seis Dias de Aguascalientes (Six-Days of Aguascalientes, Mexico)
After a long hard fight over the past four days, Team Canada - Martin Gilbert and Ryan McKenzie - moved into second overall at the UCI Six Day race in Aguascalientes, Mexico. The pair came into night four in third place behind the leading teams from Chile and Spain. The Canadian duo were able to capitalize from an attack of both Spanish teams to take a lap in the night’s first Madison and bump the well-marked Chilean team to third in the overall classification.
Gilbert continued Canada’s quest for the podium and flowers with a second-place finish in the Point’s Race where Chile was able to get their revenge and win the race.
McKenzie was able to improve on the team’s performance winning the Scratch Race over Cesar Vaquera of Mexico in a photo finish.
With strong showings already, Team Canada figured they would be marked men and decided to show their top speed during the night’s final 30km Madison. Winning the first three sprints Gilbert and McKenzie established a substantial lead over the rest of the field and took a more defensive approach so as to not be surprised by other teams. Following all the attacks and placing second in four more sprints the pair racked up 27 points, won the race and the night of racing.
Day Four Results:
1. Antonio Parra (Esp) / David Montaner (Esp) 151 points
2. Martin Gilbert (Can) / Ryan McKenzie (Can) 132 points
3. Marco Arriagada (Chl) / Antonio Cabrera (Chl) 174 points 1 lap
4. Guillermo Ferrer (Esp) / Miguel Alzamora (Esp) 112 points 1 lap
5. Juan Gaspari (Arg) / Marcos Crespo (Arg) 121 points 2 laps
6. Cesar Vaquera (Mex) / Rodolfo Avila (Mex) 92 points 4 laps
7. Jackie Simes IV (Usa) / Kevin Sur (Usa) 42 points 4 laps
8. Diego Yepez (Mex) / Abraham Martinez (Mex) 32 points 4 laps
9. Taylor Brown (Usa) / Tucker Brown (Usa) 10 points 5 laps
10. Fabian de la Cruz (Mex) / Ivan Carbajal (Mex) 0 points 6 laps
11. Jose Ramon Aguirre (Mex) / Alejandro Ruiz (Mex) 20 points 7 laps
12. Fabian Reyes (Mex) / Arturo Pena (Mex) 14 points 11 laps
Day Five - Friday, April 20, 2007
The fifth night of racing was tough as the fatigue of the previous nights hard racing was taking its toll. In the 20km Madison Race Team Canada was 3rd and in the 30km Madison the Canadians were 5th. The Canadians finished in 5th place for the night, only gathering 18 points. Overall the Canadians dropped to 3rd place with 150 points, 1 lap behind the Chilean leaders.
Day Five Results:
1. Antonio Cabrera (Chl) / Marco Arriagada (Chl) 229 points
2. Miguel Antonio Parra (Esp) / David Montaner (Esp) 189 points 1 lap
3. Martin Gilbert (Can) / Ryan McKenzie (Can) 150 points 1 lap
4. Guillermo Ferrer (Esp) / Miguel Alzamora (Esp) 122 points, 2 laps
5. Juan Gaspari (Arg) / Marcos Crespo (Arg) 149 points, 3 laps
6. Cesar Vaquera (Mex) / Rodolfo Avila (Mex) 125 points 4 laps
7. Diego Yepez (Mex) / Abraham Martinez (Mex) 48 points 5 laps
8. Jackie Simes IV (Usa) / Kevin Suhr (Usa) 44 points 5 laps
9. Taylor Brown (Usa) / Tucker Brown (Usa) 10 points 7 laps
10. Fabian de la Cruz (Mex) / Ivan Carbajal (Mex) 0 points 7 laps
11. Jose Ramon Aguirre (Mex) / Alejandro Ruiz (Mex) 37 points 8 laps
12. Fabian Reyes (Mex) / Arturo Pena (Mex) 22 points 12 laps
Day Six - Saturday, April 21, 2007
Team Canada did it! Winning the opening 20km Madison Race of the night and holding on to fast-charging local racers Cesar Vaquera/Rodolfo Avila and Diego Yepez/Abraham Martinez. For the first time in nearly 60 years, Canadians were on the podium again at an international six-day race with a third place finish.
Day Six Results
1. Marco Arriagada (Chl) / Antonio Cabrera (Chl) 280 points
2. Antonio Miguel Parra (Esp) / David Montaner (Esp) 217 points
3. Martin Gilbert (Can) / Ryan McKenzie (Can) 169 points 1 lap
4. Guillermo Ferrer (Esp) / Miguel Alzamora (Esp) 136 points 2 laps
5. Marcos Crespo (Arg) / Juan Gaspari (Arg) 164 points 3 laps
6. Rodolfo Avila (Mex) / Cesar Vaquera (Mex) 161 points 4 laps
7. Diego Yepez (Mex) / Abraham Martinez (Mex) 84 points 5 laps
8. Jackie Simes (Usa) / Kevin Suhr (Usa) 52 points 5 laps
9. Taylor Brown (Usa) / Tucker Brown (Usa) 20 points 7 laps
10. Fabian de la Cruz (Mex) / Ivan Carbajal (Mex) 2 points 7 laps
11. Jose Ramon Aguirre (Mex) / Alejandro Ruiz (Mex) 54 points 8 laps
12. Fabian Reyes (Mex) Arturo Pena (Mex) 28 points 12 laps
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Photo: courtesy of Team Canada
Gilbert (l) and Mackenzie take third overall in Mexico.
Photo: courtesy of Team Canada
Photo: courtesy of Team Canada
Team Canada ready for action - (l) Martin Gilbert (Can) / Ryan McKenzie (Can)
Photo: courtesy of Team Canada
Photo: courtesy of Team Canada
Martin Gilbert (Can) taking in the sites...
Photo: courtesy of Team Canada
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