April 25, 2012 (Guatemala City, Guatemala) – Day 2 of the Pan Am Junior Track Cycling Championships was a day of highs and lows for Team Canada in Guatemala. The opening event was the men’s sprint competition. Three Canadians were entered in the event; Vincent DeHaitre, Adrian George, and Eric MacDonald.

All three had personal-best performances with DeHaitre stopping the clock in a time of 10.74 seconds, good for 4th in qualifying. MacDonald and Geoge were just outside the qualifying time of the quickest 12 riders with times of 11.4 for MacDonald and 11.5 for George.

In the sprint tournament, the fastest 12 riders were separated by less than four-tenths of a second. In round one, DeHaitre was held against the rail and could not get out to show his speed and had to go through the rep…. then he dispatched his two opponents easily and was back in the hunt for quarterfinal action. He was up against a Colombian rider who seemed to be an experienced sprinter.

DeHaitre was smart in the first heat and won from the front, a position that seemed to be the best on this concrete track at altitude. The Colombian, was the aggressor in heat #2 and the two riders split the first two heats 1-1. In the decider, the advantage went back and forth three times and, ultimately, the Colombian advanced to Wednesday’s semifinals.

DeHaitre took the 5-8 heat with a run from the front and held off his opponents and took home 5th, a very strong result for the young Canadian sprinter.

The Men’s Team Pursuit was the next event of the day and the boys had great preparation leading into the event. The team of Aidan Caves, Adam Reddy, Eric Johnstone and Will Simonds had laid out a plan to attack the Canadian record for juniors and were on schedule for the first half of the race.

In the second half of the race, the strain of the pace was etched on the faces of the team. In the last kilo, the split times were starting to fluctuate and the pace slowed. The finishing time of 4:38 was just behind the Canadian record and placed the boys sixth overall on the day.

Women’s team Sprint was next up with Audrey Labrie and Kristen Sears taking to the start line. The race was one of the best of the day for the Canadians as the girls came home with a personal best, knocking 1.5 seconds off of their training times, and a fifth place just shy of a medal ride at 48.74 seconds.

The women’s individual pursuit was the last event on the day, Ariane Bonhomme and Sarah Mason represented the country very well setting again personal best performances in the 2km race against the clock. Official final finishing positions are still up in the air and will be decided later on Wednesday.

Ariane Bonhomme stopped the clock in 2:36.1 good enough for 4th, Sarah Mason was 5th on the day in a time of 2:38.1.

Wednesday is another huge day for the Canadian team with the Women’s Team Pursuit, Women’s Sprint, Men’s Points race, and Women’s Points race.

Results (brief)

Individual Pursuit
1. Sara Ferrara (MEX) 2:33.214 Oro
2. Miriam Núñez (ECU) 2:42.808 Plata
3. Jessica Parra (COL) 2:37.402 Bronce
4. Arianne Bonhomme (CAN) 2:40.323
5. Sarah Mason (CAN) 2:38.160
6. Javiera Reyes (CHI) 2:38.201
7. Icaria López (MEX) 2:40.345
8. Marlin Contreras (VEN) 2:40.901
9. Valentina Monsalve (CHI) 2:43.218
10. Angie Sanabria (COL) 2:47.672

Men’s Team Pursuit
1. Colombia Oro (Muñoz, Parra, Salina, Molano) 4:23.988
2. México Plata (Aguirre, Covarrubias, Medina, Valero) 4:25.689
3. Chile Bronce (Muñoz, Terro, Rodríguez, Cornejo)
4. Venezuela
5. Argentina
6. Brasil
7. Canada (Adian Caves, Eric Johnstone, Will Simonds, Adam Reddy)
8. Estados Unidos
9. Ecuador

Women’s Team Sprint
1. Trinidad and Tobago 0:37.162
2. Colombia 0:37.203
3. Guatemala 0:38.140
4. México 0:38.310
5. Canadá (Audrey Labrie & Kristen Sears) 0:38.768
6. Brasil 0:38.789
7. Ecuador 0:39.288