January 06, 2015 (Milton, ON) – Day Three of the Canadian Track Championships featured another full day of racing at the new Mattamy National Cycling Centre velodrome with the elite Time Trials, the Masters Scratch and Points races and final set of Omnium races in the all-important Points race. The TT race is interesting as it’s the only event that pits pure sprinters against endurance riders being both an Omnium and a championship event. The Points race, also a championship event and the final event of the Omnium, crowned the champions in that prestigious competition, while the Para-cycling events also kicked off with the 500m/1000m time trials.

The women were first up with the 500m TT and here the sprinters won outright with three speed specialists landing in the top four: Monique Sullivan (Team PCL), Kate O’Brien (Team PCL) and Sara Byers (Team Ontario) were 1-2-4. Allison Beveridge (Trek Red Truck) was the only endurance rider on the podium with her bronze. Sullivan’s winning time was impressive with a 35.973 in regular drop bars – and it was her third jersey at these championships.

In the men’s 1,000m TT, the top three in the previous day’s sprint tournament chose to opt out to save their legs for Tuesday’s Keirin. Topping the podium was Joakim Albert (Equipe du Québec) narrowly beating Aidan Caves (Team Moose) by a mere 7/1000 of a second. Eric Johnston (Team Alberta) finished third as the top eight riders were all within less than one second of each other.

Next up for the Omnium was the Flying Lap. Beveridge again stamped her authority, averaging over 60km/h for the 250m distance. After the withdrawal of Jasmin Glaesser (Cycling BC), who was leading the Omnium competition after Day 2, the Omnium overall point standings going into the final event  for the night saw Beveridge at 194 and both Steph Roorda (Cycling BC) and Jamie Gilgen (Team Ontario) tied at 180.

The men’s Flying Lap was won by Caves by just under a 10th of a second over Jacob Schwingboth (Cycling BC). Going into the final Omnium race for the men, Ed Veal (Real Deal /Gears) had a very marginal lead over his national team teammate, Remi Pelletier-Roy (Equipe du Québec). With Pelletier-Roy having a strong team to back him, things were looking favourable for the Quebec rider.

Veal had this to say about heading into the final Omnium event with the lead: “I’m just going to treat it like it was just a race and not part of the Omnium.” One of the biggest challenges for the Omnium contenders at nationals is that the final Points race, is also a championship event, so riders who are not in contention to place in the Omnium still have a chance to win a championship jersey.

The Para cycling events started today as well. Kevin Frost and Mark Burger (Independent) won the Tandem 1km TT. Megan Fisher (USA) bested Marie Claude Molnar (Equipe du Québec) in the women’s 500m TT by just under two seconds. Brayden McDougall (Independent) finished on top of the podium in the Para Men’s 1000m TT ahead of Jaye Milley (Team Alberta) in 2nd and Wilson Ross (Juventus CC) in 3rd.

Just before the women’s Points race, Team Ontario’s Gilgen revealed her main goal was “…to defend her second place in the Omnium.” This is Gilgen’s first track nationals and she is getting noticed with her savvy racing.

The women’s Points race had a few bold attacks with Quebec’s Alizee Brien (Equipe du Québec) being the first and only rider to take a lap on the field and Ontario’s Sara Rasmussen (Team Ontario) making a good attempt at doing the same. In the end Beveridge and Roorda were too strong for the rest, finishing 1-2 to claim the same in the overall Omnium standings. Team Ontario’s Gilgen rode conservatively, and by doing so, earned the overall bronze title in the women’s Omnium.

The men’s Points race was extremely aggressive and hard fought with many riders gambling and taking laps. The field was strung out for almost the entire first half of the race with constant attacks. The new Omnium points system for the points race caused a huge change in the overall results by the end of the night. Zayne Heyes (Cycling BC) won himself a championship points jersey as the race winner and moved himself up to second place in the Omnium with his effort. Pelletier-Roy finished second in the Points race and won the overall victory for the men’s Omnium. Sean MacKinnon (Racer Sportif/Matammy) raced to third overall.

Day 4 starts off with the Keirin… stay tuned.

Results below.

Results (Brief)

Women’s 500m TT Final
1. Monique Sullivan (AB) Team PCL 35.973
2. Kate O’Brien (AB) Team PCL 36.732
3. Allison Beveridge (AB) Trek Red-Truck p/b Mosaic Homes 36.847

Men’s 1km TT Final
1. Joakim Albert (QC) Equipe de Québec 1:06.437
2. Aidan Cabes (BC) Cycling BC 1:06.444
3. Eric Johnstone (AB) Team Alberta 1:06.531

Women’s Omnium Final
1. Allison Beveridge (AB) Trek Red-Truck p/b Mosaic Homes 224 pts
2. Stephanie Roorda (BC) Cycling BC 209
3. Jamie Gilgen (ON) Team Ontario 182

Men’s Omnium Final
1. Remi Pelletier-Roy (QC) Equipe de Quebec 231 pts
2. Zayne Heyes (BC) Cycling BC 224
3. Sean MacKinnon (ON) Racer Sportif/Mattammy Homes 214

Master A Men’s Scratch Race Final
1. Mathieu Charruau (QC) Trek-Fiera
2. Chris Reid (ON) The Cyclery -1 lap
3. Mark Palma (ON) Team NCCH p/b DEC Express -1 lap

Master B Men’s Scratch Race Final
1. Chris Firek (ON) Racer Sportif/Mattammy Homes
2. Steve Grundy (ON) Kallisto-FCV
3. Steve McKee (ON) Wheels of Bloor/Gray

Master C Men’s Scratch Race Final
1. Steve Bauer (ON) Independent
2. Garnett Abbey (ON) Erace Cancer
3. Charles Cormier (NB) Mike’s Bike Shop

Master A Men’s Points Race Final
1. Mathieu Charruau (QC) Trek-Fiera 15 pts
2. Chris Reid (ON) The Cyclery 9
3. Mark Palma (ON) Team NCCH p/b DEC Express -14

Master B Men’s Points Race Final
1. Steve McKee (ON) Wheels of Bloor/Gray 50
2. Paul Beit (ON) Team NCCH p/b DEC Express 32
3. Steve Grundy (ON) Kallisto-FCV 26

Master C Men’s Points Race Final
1. Garnett Abbey (ON) Erace Cancer 12
2. Steve Bauer (ON) Independent 11
3. Charles Cormier (NB) Mike’s Bike Shop 11