May 6, 2011 (Sydney, AUS) The Canadian Para-Cycling Team ended the opening UCI Para-Cycling Road World Cup of the 2011 campaign with five medals in the individual time trials on Friday in Sydney, Australia. The tandem of Daniel Chalifour of St-Jérôme, QC and pilot Alexandre Cloutier of St-Antoine-de-Tilly, QC posted Canada’s best result of the day, claiming the silver medal in the men’s visually impaired category with a time of 28:03.88, just 2.07 seconds behind the winning time made by the Italian brothers Ivano and Luca Pizzi.

Alexandre Cloutier is somewhat disappointed with the results: “It was a very technical course, and this suits our racing abilities quite well. We are however a bit disappointed to have lost this race by just 2 seconds.”

Robert Labbé of Québec, QC, Mark Ledo of Maple, ON, Jaye Milley of Calgary, AB and the tandem formed by Robbi Weldon of Thurder Bay, ON and pilot Lyne Bessette of Knowlton, QC, all took the bronze medals in their respective categories.

Mark Ledo sees some positives and room to grow in his bronze medal: “I am happy with my results – but there is certainly room for improvement on my time trials. I am looking forward to the next World Cup in Spain.”

Robert Labbé, who won the silver medal in a sprint to the finish line in the road race, grabs his second medal of the event. “The race started really well for me, but in the second lap I felt I was losing energy and strength. I gave it all, but still happy with result as I had apprehension considering the jetlag.”

Canada picked up 10 medals at this first World Cup event of 2011: two gold medals, three silver medals and five bronze medals.

The next UCI Para-Cycling Road World Cup will be held in Segovia, Spain, from June 10 to June 12, 2011.

Results – 2011 UCI Para-Cycling Road World Cup

Men – Individual Time Trial – H1 [11.0 Km]
1. Rohan, Mark (Irl) 22:17.29
2. Schattauer, Wolfgang (Aut) 22:43.99 +0:26.70
3. Labbe, Robert (Can) 22:59.14 +0:41.85

Men – Individual Time Trial – H2 [11.0 Km]
1. Weber, Lukas (Sui) 17:39.25
2. Podesta, Vittorio (Ita) 17:40.06 +0:00.81
3. Cecchetto, Paolo (Ita) 17:56.96 +0:17.71
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7. Morneau, Rico (Can) 18:47.54 +1:08.29
10. Beggs, Mark (Can) 19:11.68 +1:32.43

Men – Individual Time Trial – H3 [16.5 Km]
1. Jeannot, Joël (Fra) 26:15.88
2. Barley, Nigel (Aus) 26:32.46 +0:16.58
3. Ledo, Mark (Can) 26:37.00 +0:21.12

Men – Individual Time Trial – C1 [22.0 Km]
1. Zahn, Anthony (Usa) 37:24.16
2. Zirkl, Andreas (Aut) 37:52.91 +0:28.75
3. Milley, Jaye (Can) 38:03.38 +0:39.22

Men – Individual Time Trial – C2 [22.0 Km]
1. Lynch, Colin (Irl) 33:32.79
2. Macchi, Fabrizio (Ita) 33:36.78 +0:03.99
3. Panazzolo, Andrew (Aus) 35:42.64 +2:09.85
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4. Parent, Matthieu (Can) 36:41.28 +3:08.49

Men – Individual Time Trial – C4 [22.0 Km]
1. Bouska, Jiri (Cze) 30:21.40
2. Gattringer, Manfred (Aut) 30:37.55 +0:16.15
3. Pittacolo, Michele (Ita) 31:08.71 +0:47.31
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10. Bourgault, Eric (Can) 34:05.00 +3:43.60

Women – Individual Time Trial – B [22.0 Km]
1. Parsons, Jayne / Waddell, Sonia (Nzl) 31:27.22
2. Turnham, Lora / Duncan, Fiona (Gbr) 32:39.97 +1:12.75
3. Weldon, Robbi / Bessette, Lyne (Can) 32:40.22 +1:13.00

Men – Individual Time Trial – B [22.0 Km]
1. Pizzi, Ivano / Pizzi, Luca (Ita) 28:01.81
2. Chalifour, Daniel / Cloutier, Alexandre (Can) 28:03.88 +0:02.07
3. Rachfal, Clark / Swanson, David (Usa) 28:38.08 +0:36.27