January 07, 2015 (Milton, ON) – It was another full day of action on Day 4 of the 2014 Canadian Track Cycling Championships at the new Mattamy National Cycling Centre velodrome that started off with the Para Pursuit races, where Megan Fisher (USA) defeated Olympian Marie Claude Molnar (Equipe du Québec) in the women’s 3,000m race to win gold. In the Men’s C1 4,000m event, Ross Wilson (Juventus CC) topped the podium with Jaye Milley (Team Alberta) taking the silver and Brayden McDougall (Independent) the bronze. The Tandem event was won again by Kevin Frost and Mark Burger (Independent).

Next on tap were the Keirin races for the Elite men and women, broken up into two heats. Heat one had to be restarted, as Kate O’Brien (Team PCL) went down in the first turn while trying to get in her chosen position. “I went for a spot and all of a sudden it wasn’t there,” said O’Brien.

On the way back to the restart, it was obvious that O’Brien wasn’t rattled by the incident and she had her game face on, taking the heat over Sara Byers (Team Ontario) in second and Krista Ruby (Real Deal/Gears p/b Wasp) in third – the top three advanced to the finals.  The big surprise was Lizanne Wilmont (Team NCCH p/b DEC Express), the bronze medalist from the match sprints, who finished last in her heat and did not make the final. Monique Sullivan (Team PCL) placed first in the second heat, followed by Candice Vermeulen (Team Ontario) and Kristen Sears (Real Deal/Gears p/b Wasp).

The men’s qualification rounds were very much controlled by the speed of the winners. Hugo Barrette (Equipe du Québec) took Heat 1 with Guillaume Roussel (Equipe du Québec) and Evan Carey (Cycling BC) in second and third, respectively. Joe Veloce (Team Ontario) won heat two from the front, with Joakim Albert (Equipe du Québec) second and Keith Bruneau (Tinhorn Creek) third.

After the break, the Masters categories took to the track for their Individual Pursuits. The 2,000m women’s race was won by Jane Rinard (Newmarket Eagles). The silver went to Shelly McKee (Novofit Compass 360). Master C was next up and the ‘Comeback Kid’ Steve Bauer (Independent) got a hat-trick with his third jersey of the championships in the 2,000m race. Second place went to Garnett Abbey (Erase Cancer) and third to Charles Cormier (Mikes Bike Shop).

The Master B men’s 3,000m race podium was topped by Steve Mckee (Wheels of Bloor), followed by Chris Firek (Racer Sportif) in second, and Paul Beit (Team NCCH p/b DEC Express) in third. Master A 3,000m men’s competition finished up with Mathieu Charruau (Trek Fiera) winning gold, Chris Reid (The Cyclery) taking silver and Mark Palma (Team NCCH p/b DEC Express) grabbing the bronze.

It was announced in a communiqué early in the morning that the Madison event would be canceled. Many were disappointed that the spectator-friendly race would not be happening and they are looking forward to cheering riders on at the 2015 Championships in October.

The Keirin finals were fantastic. The women were up first and Byers was right on the motorbike, followed by Sears and then Sulivan. O’Brien, Vermeulen and Ruby had to fight it out at the back to get out of the wind. Vermeulen moved up alongside Sullivan, while Byers maintained her position at the front.  Soon after the motorbike dropped off, Sullivan made a stunning acceleration that none of her competitors could counter quickly, and she gained four or five bike lengths on the rest of the field.  After Sullivan’s big move, Byers accelerated and put a small gap on the rest of the pack. Both Sullivan and Byers held their positions to the finish line, while O’Brien fought hard from the back to finish third.

The men’s Keirin had a false start as both of the favourites, Veloce and Barrette, went past the back wheel of the motorbike while fighting for the preferred position. After the restart, it was Veloce who got behind the bike first. Cycling BC’s Carey made a nicely timed first move after the moto dropped off, but Veloce was attentive and countered. With about a lap-and-a-half to go, Veloce fired up the afterburners and didn’t look back. Veloce held off all to win the event with Barrette second and Carey third (the average speed for the last 200m was over 68km/h).  Gord Singleton, who was both competing in the masters sprints and volunteering with the Pan Am Games Organization for this event, expressed how impressed he was with Veloce’s win.

If you missed out on the action and are interested in seeing some racing on the boards, tickets are available for the Milton International Challenge this coming Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Riders from the US, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Germany, Columbia, Australia, Afghanistan, Uganda, The Netherlands, Great Britain, Norway and Canada will be in attendance.

Results below.

Women’s Keirin

Round 1

Heat 1
1. Kate O’Brien (AB) Team PCL
2. Sara Byers (ON) Team Ontario
3. Krista Ruby (ON) RealDeal/Gears p/b WASPcam
4. Meghan Grant (BC) Cycling BC
5. Lizanne Wilmot (ON) Team NCCH p/b DEC Express

Heat 2
1. Monique Sullivan (AB) Team PCL
2. Candice Vermeulen (ON) Team Ontario
3. Kristen Sears (ON) RealDeal/Gears p/b WASPcam
4. Natalie Cormier (NB) Atlantic Cycling Group

Top 3 to Final 1-6 – rest to Final 7-9

Final 1-6
1. Monique Sullivan (AB) Team PCL
2. Sara Byers (ON) Team Ontario
3. Kate O’Brien (AB) Team PCL
4. Krista Ruby (ON) RealDeal/Gears p/b WASPcam
5. Kristen Sears (ON) RealDeal/Gears p/b WASPcam
6. Candice Vermeulen (ON) Team Ontario

Final 7-9
7. Lizanne Wilmot (ON) Team NCCH p/b DEC Express
8. Natalie Cormier (NB) Atlantic Cycling Group
9. Meghan Grant (BC) Cycling BC

Men’s Keirin

Round 1

Heat 1
1. Hugo Barrette (QC) Equipe de Quebec
2. Guillaume Roussel (QC) Equipe de Quebec
3. Evan Carey (BC) Cycling BC
4. Chris Singleton (ON) Team NCCH p/b DEC Express
5. Eric MacDonald (ON) CoachChris.ca/Ted Velikonja/Trudell Medical
6. Khyl Orser (BC) Tin Horn Creek
7. Robert McCarty (ON) Independent

Heat 2
1. Joseph Veloce (ON) Team Ontario
2. Joakim Albert (QC) Equipe de Quebec
3. Keith Bruneau (BC) Tin Horn Creek
4. Joel Archambault (QC) Equipe de Quebec
5. Andrew Cullingham (AB) Synergy Racing
6. Daniel Nesbitt (ON) Team NCCH p/b DEC Express
7. James Orton (ON) Team NCCH p/b DEC Express

Top 3 to Final 1-6 – rest to Final 7-9

Final 1-6
1. Joseph Veloce (ON) Team Ontario
2. Hugo Barrette (QC) Equipe de Quebec
3. Evan Carey (BC) Cycling BC
4. Joakim Albert (QC) Equipe de Quebec
5. Guillaume Roussel (QC) Equipe de Quebec
6. Keith Bruneau (BC) Tin Horn Creek

Final 7-12
7. Joel Archambault (QC) Equipe de Quebec
8. Eric MacDonald (ON) CoachChris.ca/Ted Velikonja/Trudell Medical
9. Chris Singleton (ON) Team NCCH p/b DEC Express
10. Khyl Orser (BC) Tin Horn Creek
11. Andrew Cullingham (AB) Synergy Racing
12. Daniel Nesbitt (ON) Team NCCH p/b DEC Express
13. Robert McCarty (ON) Independent
13. James Orton (ON) Team NCCH p/b DEC Express

Masters (brief)

Keirin

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

Individual Pursuit

Master Women’s Final
1. Jane Rinard (ON) Newmarket Eagles Cycling Club 2:48.994
2. Shelly McKee (ON) Novofit-Compass 360 Racing Team 2:53.330

Master A Men’s Final
1. Mathieu Charruau (QC) Trek-Fiera 3:38.082
2. Chris Reid (ON) The Cyclery 3:50.127
3. Mark Palma (ON) Team NCCH p/b DEC Express 4:05.383

Master B Men’s Final
1. Steve McKee (ON) Wheels of Bloor/Gray 3:48.888
2. Chris Firek (ON) Racer Sportif/Mattamy Homes 3:52.546
3. Paul Biet (ON) Team NCCH p/b DEC Express 3:56.074

Master C Men’s Final
1. Steve Bauer (ON) Independent 2:29.441
2. Garnett Abbey (ON) Erace Cancer 2:31.692
3. Charles Cormier (NB) Mike’s Bike Shop 2:34.466