The Men’s tandem of Daniel Chalifour of St-Jérome, QC and pilot Alexandre Cloutier of St-Antoine-de-Tilly, QC, grabbed the bronze medal in the 4-kilometer Individual Pursuit, overlapping their Spanish competitors in the bronze medal dual. The tandem qualified in third spot with a time of 4:27.837, just one second shy of qualifying for the gold medal race.
“It was a super nice day for us. We are very proud of what we accomplished. We had really good training before coming here to Los Angeles. We trained in San Diego for about three weeks, and we have been constantly training for the last 15 months or so without big breaks. Managing fatigue and energy is critical, and today we had to deliver two big performances to get this result. Two pursuits in the same day, it can tear you apart. You really have to manage the efforts and the energy as the pursuit is a very technical race. This result is an excellent preparation for the Paralympic Games in London,” said Daniel Chalifour, moments after receiving his medal.
At the 2011 edition of these World Championships, the Chalifour/Cloutier tandem finished in fifth position.
The men’s tandem of Brian Cowie of Burnaby and Ed Veal of Toronto, ON came in ninth, surpassing their Top 10 objective.
In the Women C4 500m Time Trials, Marie-Claude Molnar of Sainte-Adèle, QC, posted the 3rd fastest time, a personal best time of 42.998 seconds to win the bronze medal. Molnar was riding for the first time in competition her new Cervélo T3 Track bike. In the same race, Chinese rider Jianping Ruan went on to brake the previous World Record with a time of 38.974 seconds.
“I am really happy with these results. My coach Eric Van Den Eyde has been instrumental in my improvements for the 500m TT, which has never been my strong discipline. The support from the entire staff here is exceptional. I rode my new Cervélo T3 bike today, and it really helped me to improve my times,” said Molnar after the race, who improved by two spots her 2011 results.
In the Women’s tandem, the Pan-American gold medallist tandem of Robbi Weldon of Thunder Bay, ON and Lyne Bessette of Knowlton, QC, finished eighth of the qualifying round with a time of 3:50.194.
In this first day of competition, Canada equalled the total number of medals won at the 2011 edition of this event, showing significant improvements made by the team over the last year, within a few months of the Paralympic Games in London this summer.
Results below…
Canadian cycling leaders amongst key personnel at biggest Para-cycling track event
In addition to the strong presence of Canadian athletes competing at the 2012 UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships in Los Angeles, California beginning today, many Canadians are holding key roles at this major track cycling event for cyclists with physical disabilities.
Louis Barbeau, Director General of the Fédération québécoise des sports cyclistes and President of the International Cycling Union (UCI) Para-Cycling Commission is the key mastermind behind the event. Barbeau has been a long-time and strong advocate of para-cycling in Québec and in Canada, and has played an active leadership role in the growth of para-cycling on the international scene.
The President of Commissaires Panel, or head official, for the event is Louise Lalonde, a UCI and National commissaire in Canada. She is leading the crew of commissaires regulating this World Championship event. Lalonde is one of two Canadian UCI International Para-cycling commissaire. Commissaires hold a similar role as judges or referees, ensuring that all the international rules are followed by the competitors, and that the race is fair and safe.
On the timing front, Sylvain Richard of Richard Sports Services Timing, a Quebec-based firm, is the key timing consultant overseeing the accuracy and integrity of the results posted by the athletes in the competition. Richard has been the main timing consultant for the UCI Para-Cycling World Cup last season, and will continue his timing duties this upcoming season. Richar
Hélène Soulard is also present as the head of the UCI Anti-doping procedures, and Dr. Pierre Blanchard is serving as the Official UCI Doctor. Terrie Moore is the Chief Classifier.
Finally but not least, Randy Ferguson is the voice of these World Championships, acting as the main public announcer and entertainer. Ferguson, a well-recognized voice in Canadian cycling, is also known as the voice of the Canadian Cycling Championships, the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Mont-Sainte-Anne, the UCI Para-cycling World Cup in Baie-Comeau, the Mardis Cycliste Lachine and many more international sporting events in Canada.
Results (brief)
Women’s B 3km Pursuit
Qualifications
1. Ireland (Catherine Walsh, Francine Meehan) 03:37.4
2. Great Britain (Aileen McGlynn, Helen Scott) 03:38.0
3. New Zealand (Phillipa Gray, Laura Thompson) 03:38.6
4. Great Britain (Lora Turnham, Fiona Duncan) 03:39.7
5. Australia (Brandie O’Connor, Kerry Knowler) 03:44.0
6. Netherlands (Kathrin Goeken, Kim Van Dijk) 03:44.3
7. Ireland (Katie-George Dunlevy, Sandra Fitzgerald) 03:48.8
8. Canada (Robbi Weldon, Lyne Bessette) 03:50.2
9. USA (Karissa Whitsell, Lisa Turnbull) 03:50.6
10. Germany (Henrike Handrup, Ellen Heiny) 03:52.3
11. Greece (Adamantia Chalkiadaki, Argyro Milaki) 04:02.0
Final for Gold
1. Ireland (Catherine Walsh, Francine Meehan) 03:41.2
2. Great Britain (Aileen McGlynn, Helen Scott) 03:43.4
Final for Bronze
3. New Zealand (Phillipa Gray, Laura Thompson) 03:39.3
4. Great Britain (Lora Turnham, Fiona Duncan) 03:42.1
Men’s B 4km Pursuit
Qualifictions
1. Australia (Bryce Lindores, Scott Mcphee) 04:26.3
2. Ireland (James Brown, Damien Shaw) 04:26.8
3. Canada (Daniel Chalifour, Alexandre Cloutier) 04:27.8
4. Spain (Miguel Angel Clemente Solano, Diego Javier Muñoz Sanchez) 04:31.8
5. Spain (Christian Venge Balboa, David Llaurado Caldero) 04:32.2
6. Ireland (Andrew Fitzgerald, Con Collis) 04:33.3
7. USA (Clark Rachfal, Dave Swanson) 04:37.5
8. Colombia (Nelson Serna, Sebastian Durango) 04:38.5
9. Canada (Brian Cowie, Ed Veal) 04:39.3
10. Switzerland (Laurent Delez, Christophe Grenard) 04:40.7
11. Korea (Jong Giu Kim, Kong Min Woo) 04:49.3
DNS USA (Chester Triplett, Pete Billington)
Final for Gold
1. Australia (Bryce Lindores, Scott Mcphee) 04:27.3
2. Ireland (James Brown, Damien Shaw) 04:30.9
Final for Bronze
3. Canada (Daniel Chalifour, Alexandre Cloutier) 04:27.8
4. Spain (Miguel Angel Clemente Solano, Diego Javier Muñoz Sanchez) caught
Women’s C4 500m Time Trial
Final
1. Jianping Ruan (China) 38.974
2. Susan Powell (Australia) 40.308
3. Marie-Claude Molnar (Canada) 42.998
4. Alexandra Green (Australia) 43.267
5. Roxy Burns (South Africa) 43.803