September 14 (Aigle, Switzerland) – The 2006 IPC World Championships opened at the World Cycling Centre in Aigle, Switzerland, with the track events taking place from September 11-13. Canada’s best paralympic racers set new Canadian records and personal bests at the track competitions.

The IPC Worlds road events will be held September 15-18. Every race that Canada has participated in so far had at least one world record broken. “I feel that this was a great way for the team to start the championships,” commented Brian Cowie, a veteran on this team.

Men’s and Women’s Individual Pursuit

Mark Breton (Charlesbourg, Qc) had a personal best time of 5:03.9 in the 4km pursuit (Division LC1), finishing 9th out of 22 in a very competitive category.

Eric Bourgault (Orford, QC) also set a personal best time of 5:21.995 in the men’s LC 2 4km pursuit, to finish 11th at his first event at a track World Championships.

Alberta’s Lisa Stowe (LC1 women), who also raced at her first Worlds, had a personal best time of 4:24.806 in the 3km qualification pursuit. Stowe, who missed the qualification for the women’s LC1 3km pursuit finals on Tuesday, finished 7th in a race that had the world record broken three times.

Men’s 1,000m Time Trial

In the men’s tandem’s 1,000m time trial, Gene Della Siega (Surrey, BC ) and Craig Deveer (Ottawa, ON) had a spectacular crash at the 700m mark of their kilo and were given a re-ride where they had a time of 1:09.249. Stéphane Côté (Charlesbourg, QC) and Pierre-Olivier Boily (Sherbrooke, QC) had a time of 1:08.610, which placed them 10th. “They were satisfied with that time considering Pierre-Olivier’s comeback from his car accident last January,” said Team Manager Larry MacDougall.

Brian Cowie (Burnaby, BC) and his new pilot Alberta’s Devon Smibert, who rode their very first kilo together, placed 7th in a field of 32 teams in the men’s tandem kilo, recording at time of 1-08.150.

Brayden McDougall (Calgary, AB) set a new personal best time of 1:24.683 to finish 6th in the men’s CP 3 kilometre time trial. Jean Quévillon (Ste-Adèle, QC) had a mishap in his first start placing 8th and in his second attempt had a time of 1:25.526. The event was won by Great Britain’s European and Paralympic Champion Darren Kenny setting a new World Record of 1-13.109.

Tandem Individual Pursuit: New Canadian Record

The Tandem men had their 4km pursuit Tuesday, September 12 and Brian Cowie (Burnaby, BC) and Alberta’s Devon Smibert set a new Canadian tandem record with a time of 4:34.376 in the qualifying round. This time was 3rd overall and it gained them entry into the medal round, where they narrowly lost the bronze against Australia and finished 4th. Stéphane Côté (Charlesbourg, QC) and Pierre-Olivier Boily (Sherbrooke, QC) finished 9th, with a time of 4:39.837. The team of Gene Della Seiga (Surrey, BC ) and Craig Deveer (Ottawa, ON ) finished 11th, with a time of 4:42.393.

The ladies tandem duo of Shawn Marsolais (Burnaby, BC) and Clare Cameron (Delta, BC) were competing for the first time and had very good results. They finished 8th in their kilo with a personal best time of 1:18.457.

Québec’s Mark Breton (LC1) and Eric Bourgault (LC2) also competed in the time trial event. Breton finished 16th with a time of 1:16.942, while Bourgault had a personal best time of 1:17.761, to finish 13th.

Brayden McDougall (Calgary, AB) and Jean Quévillon (Ste-Adèle, QC) participated in the CP3-3K Pursuit, with Quévillon finishing 5th in a time of 4:13.016. McDougall was 8th with a personal best time of 4:20.614.

Men Team Sprint: Canada 6th

Team Canada — including Québec’s Mark Breton, Éric Bourgault and Jean Quévillon, ranked sixth in the men’s team sprint on Wednesday, September 13. Team Germany was the fastest with a time of 44.747 seconds. The Canadian sprinters set a time of 48.976 seconds. “We were four teams within the same second,” said Mark Breton of Charlesbourg, Qué. “It is only about getting in ahead by a wheel length and you make it for third. Quite honestly, we’re really happy about today’s result.”

In the tandem sprint, an event they have not really mastered yet, Stéphane Côté and Pierre-Olivier Boily finished 11th. The duo needs to train for this discipline considering the upcoming Beijing Paralympic Games, where “medals in the track competitions will be granted overall as an omnium event. It explains why we need to take part in all the events,” commented Côté.

Great Britain’s Anthony Kappes and Richard Storey were the fastest riders, following their gold medal in the time trial event kilo earlier this week.

Schedule

September 14 (Thursday)
– Rest day at IPC Worlds.

September 15 (Friday) and 16 (Saturday)
– 2006 IPC World Championships Road Individual Time Trials (men and women)

September 17 (Sunday) and 18 (Monday)
– 2006 IPC World Championships Men and Women Road Race

For more reports on the track IPC Worlds click here.