July 11, 2004 – For the past two days the Juan de Fuca Velodrome in Victoria, British Columbia has been a flurry of activity as athletes from around the globe gather to compete for money and recognition. Race organizer Keith Bruneau who is also competing this weekend is thrilled with the turnout. The total numbers of riders almost doubled this year and it is a much improved international field.

The first day of racing focused on individual qualifying events with intermittent scratch races and miss and out events. “It has been fast racing and each event is strung out,” said Bruneau. ” I’m most impressed with the caliber and depth of the women’s fields.” There are approximately twenty women (both senior and junior) competing. Among them are Mandy Poitras of British Columbia who was second in the Scratch Race at the World Championships in Melbourne, Australia earlier in the year and Lori-Anne Muenzer of Alberta, who medaled at the World Championships for the sprint event and qualified for the Olympics in Athens, Greece mid August.

Muenzer decided to test her speed against the men and signed up to sprint against the men. She not only was competitive but she broke records. Muenzer bettered the women’s flying 200 meter track record set by Tanya Dubnicoff of Alberta at the Commonwealth Games in 1994 with a time of 11.7 seconds. She later went up against a strong contingent of male sprinters in a five-up sprint for fourth-ninth place. She caught the guys by surprise and sprinted from the gun. Her tactic worked and no-one was able to catch her. She finished an impressive fourth place.

In the endurance events Richard Bowker of New Zealand showed his strength by being a constant threat. In the Madison event, his team tied in points with the Madison team of Scott Liberte of British Columbia and Zach Bell of Alberta but Liberte and Bell came out victorious due to more first place sprints.

Today, on the second day of racing, the weather was a “mixed bag” of conditions making it hard for athletes to predict what gears to ride and what clothes to wear. However Kim Web and Dan Proux kept everyone entertained with their comical remarks and up-beat commentating. Muenzer showed that her speed extended past 200 meters when she broke another track record. This time she bettered the 500 meter track record set by Michelle Ferris of Australia set at the World Cup in Victoria in 1998.

While other sprinters weren’t breaking records they were rocking past the finish line. Loster won the Senior Women’s Keirin in a nail-bitting finish with Poitras. “It was one of the best rides of the day, Loster demonstrated pure guts” said Bruneau. The favored Poitras attacked with one lap to go but Loster was able to close the gap and it was a grueling drag race to the finish. There is one more day of racing and there are sure to be more stellar performances (maybe even more broken records’?) Stay tuned!