July 4, 2010 (Saint-Georges de Beauce, QC) – The 2010 Canadian Para-Cycling Road Championships came to an end on Sunday in Saint-Georges de Beauce, QC, as Arnold Boldt (Moose Jaw, SK) and Mark Ledo (Maple, ON) took their second titles in as many days.

In the C1-3 category (cycle), Boldt completed the gruelling course in one hour 21 minutes 11 seconds, just four seconds in front of his closest competitor, youngster Jaye Milley (Calgary, AB/ Bicisport).

“We had some cloud cover, which kept things a little cooler. The group separated after the first lap, and three of us pulled it through the end. The race was decided in the final sprint, and we had to ride a pretty steep finish. We were close until the last corner, and one of the guys decided to attack. I jumped on his tail and took him halfway up to the finish,” said Boldt, a prolific paralympian, after winning his second title.

“From my perspective, the Federation Québécoise des Sports Cyclistes have done a wonderful job. Everything was smooth and very professional. I can’t say enough for the people who volunteered and gave their time and energy for us. It made for a really good week. Because everything went so flawlessly, people don’t typically recognize the hard work that is put in behind the scene.”

Mark Breton (QC, Team Québec) won the C4-5 category by crossing the finish line with a time of 2 hours 07 minutes 43 seconds, posting a seven minutes lead over second place, Roland Rabien (Vancouver, BC/ Team Triple Shot-Spinnakers Cycle).

HAND CYCLING
In the hand cycle category, Rico Morneau (Team Quebec) won his sixth title in as many seasons in the C1 category. The 48 years-old para-cyclist is pleased with the Canadian title.

“I am very satisfied. Initially, I wondered how things were going to happen because the all categories took the same start (H3, 2, 1). For me the Canadian championships are part of the circuit. To win the title is good, but I used this event as an opportunity to prepare myself for Baie-Comeau since this course resembles what we will see at the World Championships,” said Morneau.

Mark Ledo (Maple, ON/Independant), who took the Canadian title in hand cycling at the Individual Time Trial held Friday, won the H3-4 race, while Robert Labbé (QC, Team Québec) took the honours in the H1 category.

TANDEM CYCLING
In the Tandem category, it took a final sprint to the finish line to determine the winner. Robbi Weldon of Ontario and her new pilot Lyne Bessette, a successful, high-profile cyclist in able-body competition, crossed the finish line first with a marginal lead of just 8 seconds over their main rival, the duo of Geneviève Ouellet and Emilie Roy.

In the Men’s tandem, Daniel Chalifour (QC, Team Québec) and his pilot Alexandre Cloutier completed the 36.5km race with a time of 2 hours 14 minutes 08 seconds, easily winning by over 3 minutes over their closest competitor.

TRICYCLE CYCLING
In the tricycle category, Louis-Albert Corriveau-Jolin (QC, Indépendant) posted the fastest time of 1 hour 03 minutes 43 seconds to conclude the 20.4km course and win the title. Shelley Gauthier (ON/Team Lap Dogs), who won the Time Trials on Saturday, came in second position with a deficit of 14 minutes behind Corriveau-Jolin.

All the races took place in a loop course of 5.1km. An impressive 1.5km climb to the finish line made it challenging for the competing Para-cyclists. Each category had a different number of laps assigned.

“A climb of 1.5km each loop, eight times, it is hard. Every time I was finishing up a climb, I said to myself, ‘one less to go’”, Morneau added with a laugh. “If at 48 years old I am able to move like I do, it’s a word of encouragement for those who think that at thirty years old, it’s over.”

PERSPECTIVES FROM HEAD COACH ÉRIC VAN DEN EYNDE
“Arnold contacted us last year and demonstrated his interest for Para-cycling. We sent him some tests to accomplish, and when the results came back, we immediately asked him to jump in a plane to meet us. He thought he had a handicap with his age, but we quickly corrected that age was not a handicap if he rode fast on a bike! His progression has been stellar and he has been working really hard to improve.”

“The course was top quality. Athletes have shown tremendous improvements. We saw some performances at the level we were hoping for. The new women’s tandem that came in this weekend has helped to step up the field of play. We now have two tandems with strong potential.”

“The development program put in place by the Canadian Cycling Association has proven over the weekend that it worked. These Championships saw more participant than ever, coming from all over Canada. Another progress note is with coaching, where more and more coaches at the grassroots stage are getting involved with para-cyling.”

“We saw some young riders who had shown good potential last year, and came at these Canadian Championships with surprising improvements. These are young riders that we could select for the World Championships and be competitive.”

NEXT UP IN PARA-CYCLING
The 2010 Canadian Para-Cylcing Championships track events will start on Wednesday July 7th in Bromont, QC, at the newly renovated outside velodrome.

Results

T1-2 – 20.4km
1. Louis-Albert Corriveau-Jolin, T2H (QC) Indépendant 1:03:43
2. Shelley Gauthier, T1F (ON) Lap Dogs 14:04
DNF Dominik Maslanka, T1H (AB) Bicisport

C4H-C5H-C3H-C4F – 71.4km
1. Mark Breton, C5H (QC) Équipe du Québec 2:07:43
2. Roland Rabien, C5H (BC) TripleShot-Spinnakers 5:46
3. Eric Bourgault, C4H (QC) Équipe du Québec 7:21
4. Peter King, C4H (BC) Blizzard 12:03

C1H-C2H-C3H-C4F – 40.8km
1. Arnold Boldt, C2H (SK) Saskatchewan 1:21:11
2. Jaye Milley, C1H (AB) Bicisport 0:04
3. Matthieu Parent, C2H (QC) Équipe du Québec 0:14
4. Brayden McDougall, C1H (AB) Bicisport 4:15
5. Marie-Claude Molnar, C4F (QC) Équipe du Québec 7:37
6. Doug Sims, C3H (BC) Oak Bay Bicycles, Wheeler 9:24
7. John-Paul Austring, C2H (AB) Bicisport -2 laps

H3H-H4H – 40.8km
1. Mark Ledo, H3H (ON) Indépendant 1:28:59
2. Brian Martin, H4H (AB) Bicisport -4laps
DNF Loren Pearson, H3H (BC) Indépendant
DNF Marc David, H3H (QC) Équipe du Québec

H2H – 40.8km
1. Rico Morneau, H2H (QC) Équipe du Québec 1:38:56
2. Mark Beggs, H2H (QC) Équipe du Québec -1lap
3. Charles Moreau, H2H (QC) Équipe du Québec -2laps
4. Pierre Ouellet, H2H (QC) Indépendant, 2laps
5. Richard Dufour, H2H (QC) Indépendant, 3laps
DNS Louis-Pierre Dubé, H2H (QC) Indépendant

H1H-H1F-H2F – 20.4km
1. Robert Labbé, H1H (QC) Équipe du Québec 0:58:42
2. Myriam Adam, H2F (QC) Équipe du Québec 10:33
DNF Karen March, H1F (BC) TripleShot-Spinnakers

Tandem Women – 71.4km
1. Robbi Weldon, BF/Lyne Bessette, P (QC) Équipe du Québec 2:14:22
2. Geneviève Ouellet, BF/Émilie Roy, P (QC) Équipe du Québec 0:08
3. Carly Grigg, BF/Jen Erlendson, P (BC) TripleShot-Spinnakers Cycle -3 laps

Tandem Men – 81.6km
1. Daniel Chalifour, BH/Alexandre Cloutier, P (QC) Équipe du Québec 2:14:08
2. Stéphane Côté, BH/Pierre-Olivier Boily, P (QC) Équipe du Québec 03:41.0
3. Alexandre Carrier, BH/Luc Dionne, P (QC) Équipe du Québec 07:12.0