March 27, 2005 — The last day of the UCI World Track Championships was bittersweet for Canadian rider Mandy Poitras of British Columbia. “One minute I was riding forward, the next minute I was looking up at the ceiling,” said Poitras from the Track Worlds in Carson, California. Poitras was caught in a crash rounding the last bend for the final sprint. She was unable to provide details as the crash happened just behind her but the CCA’s Sean O’Donnell was able to fill in the gaps.

“She was sitting in good position, fourth or fifth on the last lap, but in the last bend the French rider behind her went down taking Mandy’s wheel out. Mandy hit her head pretty hard and cracked her helmet in half but Rebecca Quinn of the US is in worse condition,” said O’Donnell. Apparently Quinn suffered two broken ribs, a broken collar bone, a concussion, and she bit through her tongue.

Poitras is disappointed and frustrated with how the Championships ended, she had hoped for better. “I raced better today but the results don’t show it, yet in the Points Race I felt I didn’t race as well and I had a good result.” She laughed and summed it up with “its just a part of racing.”