February 20, 2004 – They went, they raced and they're all glad to be back in Canada. Five members of the Canadian Track team recently returned from Moscow, Russia where they competed in the first Track World Cup from February 13-15th . The team consisted of Mandy Poitras of British Columbia, Erin Carter of Manitoba, Lars Madsen of Alberta, Glen Rendall of Ontario, and Quebec trackies Martin Gilbert and Alex Cloutier.
For most of these athletes it was their first time in Russia. Only Carter had been to Russia before, in 2000 for a Track World Cup, but said this time was a much different experience. “The last time I was here was in May and I remember our hotel the most. It was five minutes from the track, the front door was duct-taped on, and the first night we were fed cows tongue.”
This trip there are four different memorable experiences from Russia. First, the daily bus rides to and from the track, which could take anywhere from 25 minutes to three hours depending on the route and the unpredictability of these buses, a 3PM scheduled pickup could suddenly become a 7PM pickup. Secondly, the Las Vegas style glittering hotel. The first night Team Canada walked into the hotel via the basement level and found themselves facing a woman clad in a red vinyl outfit and thigh high boots ushering people in – this was definitely not the front desk. Third was taking the Russian metro – Canada's colors were like “Where's Waldo?” in a sea of Russian blacks and greys. Finally, the Velodrome – nothing in the world compares to it.
The track was built in 1980 for the Moscow Olympic Games and is a wooden 333m track. It is unique track because of the incredibly steep transitions at each end. The facility itself is also phenomenal, with large athletic dorms, a bowling alley, a running track, along with numerous shops and amenities.
The first day Team Canada took to the track for training, but they felt like they were riding a roller coaster. Gilbert said he even had to disembark the track after three laps to breath because he had been holding his breath the whole time. That first day of training was a session of adjustment, getting accustomed to the severity of the corners and spinning out the cobwebs from the travel the day before.
The first day was also our first Metro experience. Everyone was a little nervous taking the Metro because only a week earlier 39 people had been killed by a suicide bomber. Five of the six athletes decided they were willing to risk it rather then wait an indefineable time until the next bus arrived. Poitras was the only one who decided she'd rather face the time. It became a contest, a race, to see who would arrive at the Las Vegas glittered hotel first. Despite a few wrong turns, ending up on the wrong side of Moscow, some near door-amputations, the group made it back to the hotel first and won the race.
Team Canada had two spectacular performances on the first day of competition. Gilbert finished sixth in the men's Scratch Race and Poitras finished fourth in the women's Points Race. The Scratch Race was animated from the start with three riders lapping the field early. Then Colby Pierce from the USA attacked, taking Oleg Grishkine of Russia and Canada's Gilbert. “It took us a long time to catch the group – at least fifteen laps. When we finally caught them I didn't know what we had to do.” This comment reflects the continual confusion in the rules of a Scratch Race, whereas, in a Points Race it's easy – the most points wins. Poitras knew she was having a great race and going into the final sprint she had to place well to jump onto the podium. Unfortunately, she was unable to come around and ended up missing third by one point.
The next day, Madsen took to the track in the men's sprint qualification. His time of 10.96 was two tenths of a second off his personal best, and considering his preparation had consisted of training in his Edmonton basement up until two weeks ago, he was content. A few hours later Carter sped around the track in pursuit of Hanka Kupfernagel in the 3km Individual Pursuit. She finished 14th overall with a time of 3:53. Later in the day, Glen Rendall raced in the Men's Points Race and finished 36th.
The final day of racing brought sour, sweet and bittersweet. The Madison team consisting of Cloutier and Gilbert missed qualifying for the finals. They finished 11th in the qualifier and only the top ten teams of each heat make the Madison final. However, they were able to take advantage of their situation by watching the final race, (usually they are racing), and made good observations of different tactics and techniques. Lastly, Poitras felt good about her second, top-ten finish in the Scratch Race placing 7th commenting, “I'm happy, but I know I had the legs to finish better.”
Poitras will get another chance to finish better because in four weeks she is traveling to Agualientes, Mexico with the Canadian Team for the second World Cup.
Results:
Women's Scratch Race
1. Olga Slyusareva (RUS)
2. Lyudmyla Vypyraylo (UKR)
3. Giorgia Bronzini (ITA)
7. Mandy Poitras (CAN)
28. Erin Carter (CAN)
Men's Sprint
1. Jens Fielder
2. Rene Wolff
3. Theo Bos
36. Lars Madsen (CAN)
Women's Individual Pursuit
1. Karin Thurig (SUI)
2. Olga Slyusareva (RUS)
3. Hanka Kupfernagel (GER)
14. Erin Carter (CAN)
Men's Points Race
1. Marco Antonio Arriagada (CHI)
2. Milton Ariel Wynants Vasquez (URU)
3. Juan Esteban Curuchet (ARG)
36. Glen Rendall (CAN)
Men's Individual Pursuit
1. Robert Bartko (GER)
2. Volodymyr Dyudya (UKR)
3. Sergi Escobar Roure (SPA)
19. Alexandre Cloutier (CAN)
Men's Scratch Race
1. Walter Perez (ARG)
2. Volodymyr Rybin (UKR)
3. Christopher Newton (GRB)
6. Martin Gilbert (CAN)
Women's Points Race
1. Olga Slyusareva (RUS)
2. Belem Guerrero (MEX)
3. Yoanka Bonzalez Perez (CUBA)
4. Mandy Poitras (CAN)