May 5, 2011 (Sydney, Australia) – Robert Labbé of Québec City and Mark Ledo of Maple, Ontario won silver medals for Canada in hand cycling the H3 category, respectively, as the 2011 UCI Para-Cycling World Cup season kicked off in Sydney, Australia on Wednesday.

In hand cycling, Robert Labbé (H1 category) completed the course on the Eastern Creek race track in Sydney with a time of 1:26.45, trailing the winner, World Champion Mark Rohan of Ireland, by a just ten seconds. Labbe was forced out of the course and lost some valuable time in regaining access to track. Without the misfortune, Labbé would have been a contender for the first place in the final sprint to the line.

In the H3 category, Mark Ledo took the second place in a dramatic finish. Ledo broke away from the peloton right from the start, and the break held on until the very end. In the final sprint, winner Joel Jeannot narrowly edged Ledo by just half a wheel in a photo finish.

“Overall, we had good performances on this opening day. Everyone collected the precious UCI points that are needed for Paralympic selection, which is our primary objective here in Sydney,” said Sebastien Travers, development coach for the Canadian Para-Cyling Team.

Rico Morneau of Sainte-Martine, Québec and Mark Beggs of Montréal, Québec, both racing in the H2 category, finished fifth and ninth respectively.

In the cycle category, Eric Bourgeault of Orford, Québec fell and was relegated to the 10th place, trailing the winner by a lap.

Arnold Boldt of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, did not take part in the race. Boldt crashed hard during training and suffered a broken arm, which required surgery. Boldt received immediate medical attention in Autralia and has now started the healing and rehabilitation process.

The 2011 UCI Para-Cycling World Cup in Sydney, Australia, continues tomorrow with the presentation of the second wave of road races.

Results
Men – Road Race – H1 [37.1 km]
1. Mark Rohan (Irl) (H1) 1:26:35 25.78 km/h
2. Robert Labbe (Can) (H1) 0:10
3. Wolfgang Schattauer (Aut) (H1) 2:50

Men – Road Race – H2 [45.4 km]
1. Lukas Weber (Sui) (H2) 1:21:20
2. Paolo Ceccetto (Ita) (H2) 0:21
3. Vittorio Podesto (Ita) (H2) 1:06

5. Rico Morneau (Can) (H2) 02:32
9. Mark Beggs (Can) (H2) 9:44

Men – Road Race – H3 [53.7 km]
1. Joël Jeannot (INDE) (H3) 1:37:01
2. Mark Ledo (Can) (H3) s.t.
3. Nigel Barley (Aus) (H3) 0:27

Men – Road Race – C4 [73.5 km]
1. Michele Pittacolo (Ita) C4 1:50:33
2. Jiri Bouska (Cze) C4 s.t.
3. Ryan Hughes (Aus) C4 3:59

10. Eric Bourgault (Can) (C4) -1 lap

Full results here.