December 3, 2007 – Zach Bell of Watson Lake, Yukon won the silver medal in the scratch race this weekend at the opening stop on the track cycling World Cup circuit in Sydney, Australia. Roger Kluge of Germany won the 60-lap final followed by Bell and Milan Kadlec of the Czech Republic.

Bell also gained a berth in the points race final finishing seventh earning 11 points in the 12 sprints. Greg Henderson of New Zealand won the gold medal with 31 points.

In women’s competition, two Canadians were in the finals. Gina Grain of Vancouver was ninth in the scratch race won by Cuba’s Yumari Gonzalez Valdivieso. Mandy Poitras of B.C., placed 21st in the points race final. She was not able to earn points in the four sprints during the 10km race. Grain didn’t crack the top-eight in her qualifying heat and did not advance to that final.

Gilbert and Mckenzie Just Miss Finals

In the Madison race, Quebec’s Martin Gilbert and Alberta’s Ryan Mckenzie just fell short of a berth in the final. They were 11th and needed just one additional point to crack the top nine teams and reach the final. In qualifying they had earned a point in the four sprints held in the 20km race.

”The race was O.K., but could have been better,” said Gilbert. ”It’s disappointing to miss the final. We’ll try and do better next week.”

Travis Smith of Calgary didn’t reach finals in his two events this weekend. In the 200-metre sprint, he needed a top-16 finish and was 28th while in the Keirin he was third in his qualifying heat and did not advance. Tara Whitten of Edmonton was 12th in the 3,000 metre individual pursuit.

The Canadian riders now head to Beijing for the second track World Cup stop which gets underway this Friday.