October 29, 2018 (Milton, ON) – The final day of the Tissot UCI Track Cycling World Cup was highlighted for Team Canada by a stellar 6th-place finish courtesy of Lauriane Genest in the women’s Keirin at her World Cup debut.

The Levis, Quebec rider was Canada’s lone entry and rose to the occasion finishing second in her First Round heat advancing directly to the Second Round where she faced stiff competition from Germany’s Emma Hinze and Australian Stephanie Morton.

Initially she seemed trapped at the bottom of the track but as other legs faded Genest was able to move up and claim third that became second when a Dutch rider was relegated. The young Canuck had made the final.

Genest looked strong as the medal round began but unfortunatly lacked the legs to compete with the top five sprinters at the event and ended up 6th, still a remarkable result at her first World Cup.

“It’s my first World Cup and it was great to make the big final in the Keirin,” said Genest, “To race at home and see the stands full of people was exciting. I was a bit disappointed the day before with my Sprint after a good qualification, so I gave everything I had in the Keirin. During the final I should have gone to the front instead of following Stephanie Morton (Aus) which was a tactical error. Overall I’m happy with my first World Cup.”

Fresh off his silver medal in the men’s Keirin the night before, Hugo Barrette represented Canada in the match Sprint while Joel Archambault competed in Pedal 2 Medal colours. Barrette squeaked into the 1/16 Finals qualifying 28th after hitting a sponge while Archambault failed to qualify, finishing in 33rd.

Barrette re-grouped and nailed his heat against Ethan Mitchell (Nzl) but veteran Theo Bos (Ned) knew Barrette was tired from the Keirin and it was game over for the Iles-de-la-Madeleine, QC rider.

“We started early and I didn’t get much sleep,” said Barrette. “I think it showed and Bos is a veteran rider and could see I was fatigued. I beat the fifth fastest rider and gave it my best but now it’s time to recover and look ahead to the next races.”

Allison Beveridge finished 11th in the four-event women’s Omnium dominated by Laura Kenny (Gbr) with Lizbeth Salazar of Mexico in second and Jennifer Valente of the United States in third.

 

Day 4 results here.