May 10, 2008 (Montevideo, Uruguay) – Zach Bell started and finished his first Omnium on Thursday in the same way – using his explosiveness to overpower the competition he was the fastest in the opening 200m time trial, besting all the sprinters.

A Mexican got away to gain a lap in the 5 km scratch race while riders marked any move Bell attempted. Attacks and counter-attacks ensued with Bell finding himself at the front with one lap to go. The sprinters got the better of him this time as he settled for 5th place.

There were a few surprises in the pursuit as the Columbian and Dominican Republic riders rode the fastest two times. Bell started out a bit too slowly and despite having the fastest last kilometer of the event, his 3 km time saw him finish in 5th again.

At this point Bell was sitting tied for third with the Domincan rider – the Columbian and Argentinean riders sat in the first two spots. The Mexican competitor wasn’t far behind in 4th. Bell had his work cut out for him in the points race. He rode smart race and again the Mexican rider gained a lap on the field. Points were being spread out in a dangerously close fashion but Bell rallied on the last sprint to secure third spot behind the Chilean.

Going into the final test, the Kilometer, the Columbian and Argentinean were tied with 13 points and Bell had 14. It was game on! Bell was the second last pairing and blasted around the track for the fastest time of 1:10.01. The Columbian and Argentinean crossed the line in 1:10.05 and 1:10.07 respectively. The win for Bell was bittersweet. Although he was tied for first with the Columbian on points, the tie breaker went to the fastest accumulative time in the Pursuit and Kilometer. The Columbian’s win in the pursuit gave him the edge.

Bell was content with the silver lining as he felt that he got stronger as the event unfolded and over the course of a few days of racing on the velodrome in Montevideo, he found his track legs.

Results

Men’s Omnium

200m Sprint
1. Carlos Uran (Colombia) 15 points
2. Zachary Bell (Canada) 15
3. Colla Ángel (Argentina) 16

5km Scratch
1. Carlos Uran (Colombia) 15 points
2. Zachary Bell (Canada) 15
3. Colla Ángel (Argentina) 16

Individual Pursuit
1. Carlos Uran (Colombia) 15 points
2. Zachary Bell (Canada) 15
3. Colla Ángel (Argentina) 16

Points Race
1. Carlos Uran (Colombia) 15 points
2. Zachary Bell (Canada) 15
3. Colla Ángel (Argentina) 16

Kilo
1. Carlos Uran (Colombia) 15 points
2. Zachary Bell (Canada) 15
3. Colla Ángel (Argentina) 16

Final Omnium
1. Carlos Uran (Colombia) 15 points
2. Zachary Bell (Canada) 15
3. Colla Ángel (Argentina) 16


Men’s Kilo
1. Marzuki Mejia (Colombia) 1.09.74
2. Azikiwe Kellar (Trinidad and Tobago) 0.00.33
3. Carlos Carrasco (México) 0.00.48
4. Jorge Joly (Argentina) 0.00.60
5. Cristopher Mansilla (Chile) 0.00.64
6. Juan Telmo Fernández (Argentina) 0.01.22
7. Gabriel Pellecer (Guatemala) 0.01.27
8. Ako Kellar (Trinidad and Tobago) 0.01.92
9. Marco Guillen (Costa Rica) 0.02.69
10. Juan Cancino (Chile) 0.02.90
11. Claudio Granizal (Uruguay) 0.03.24
12. Ignacio Olivera (Uruguay) 0.04.49
13. Davi Romeo (Brasil) 0.09.69

Women’s Keirin
1. García Diana (Colombia)
2. Maritza Ceballos (Colombia)
3. Diana Almada (Argentina)
4. María Jiménez (Guatemala)
5. Johanna Bracco (Uruguay)
6. Alejandra Alliegro (Argentina)
7. Estefany Tinajero (México)
8. Cinthia Martínez (Uruguay)

Women’s 10 km Scratch Race
1. Yoanka Gonzalez (Cuba)
2. Paola Muñoz (Chile)
3. Laura Llozano (Colombia)
4. García Diana (Colombia)
5. Jessica Jurado (México)