February 16, 2012 (London, UK) – The Canadian Women’s Team Pursuit squad – Tara Whitten, Jasmin Glaesser and Gillian Carleton – just topped a stellar field in the qualifications in London ahead of home team Great Britain in second followed by Australia in third. Their time of 3:21.370 is a new Canadian record just off the world record (which was set at altitude). This effort likely assures them Olympic qualification.
CCA Release: Canada’s Women Team Pursuit Breaks Canadian Record
Fastest in Qualifications at Olympic Test Event
Whitten, Glaesser and Carleton deliver impressive performance at Olympic test event, and will race for Gold
(London, GBR – February 16, 2012) Excitement was in the air at the brand new velodrome built for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Great Britain, as the best riders from every corners of the world regrouped to compete at the 2012 UCI Track Cycling World Cup, the fourth and last event on the UCI calendar.
Canada’s Women’s Team Pursuit team of Tara Whitten of Edmonton, AB, Jasmine Glaesser of Coquitlam, BC and Gillian Carleton of Victoria, BC rose to the occasion in front of a large crowd gathered in the new facility. The three-women group posted a time of 3:20.785, a new Canadian record and the fastest of the 15 nations entered in the race. The time was just off the pace of the World Record, a record that will be threatened once more tomorrow in the final rounds.
Edmonton’s Tara Whitten, a three-time UCI World Champion and veteran of the team, was pleased with the team’s showing tonight: “You can never be disappointed when you set a new Canadian record. The feeling wasn’t quite as smooth as when we trained a couple of days ago, at the training camp in Wales. We worked hard for every tenth of second we got, and so I am very happy.”
“It’s a really exciting time for our team right now. When we had our trials in LA, we saw that all five of us produced fast times. It makes the decision really hard for the coaches, and pushes us to be at our best every day, which in turn makes the team a lot faster,” adds Whitten.
Jasmine Glaesser, National team rookie who raced tonight her career-third Women’s Team Pursuit race, noted differences from what she expected: “Once we got out there, it was slightly different than what I had envisioned. It was a bit windy, and relays weren’t as smooth as they could have been. The team showed a lot of maturity tonight. We kept controlled and stayed relaxed – no one panicked. We executed as well as we could have, and we can be happy with that ride.”
Tonight, Glaesser was the only member of the Women’s Team Pursuit team that had broken the previous World Record, in Guadalajara, Mexico at the 2011 Pan-American Games.
Gillian Carleton, also a rookie on the National team program, participated tonight in her career-second Women’s Team Pursuit, and is confident of great results to come tomorrow: “It was a very exciting ride. I knew that our team was going really fast heading into this race. We raced the way we were capable. It’s really exciting to set the new Canadian record. Our goal was to qualify, and move on to the medal round. Now that I see what we can do, on a track with conditions that weren’t as good as in training, I feel confident that that we have a chance to win the gold medal tomorrow, and put everything on the line again
New Track Gets Passing Grade from Canadian Riders
The race was held on a brand new track, in a brand new velodrome. Whitten considers the track to be beautiful: “It’s a beautiful track. Feels so good to ride, and to have the atmosphere of the spectators in the stands. The rest of weekend will be crazy. It’s really loud out there, so it’s important to maintain your own bubble. There is a lot of energy, and we know it will just build over the next months.
For her part, Glaesser was thrilled to race in front of great fans hailing from a cycling country: “It’s super exciting to ride in a country where cycling is held in such esteem. You can really tell that the passion is there, that the crowd is behind you. There is an appreciation for the sport, and it makes me feel really motivated to ride.”
The local Great Britain team took the second spot with a time 3:21.370, and will face Canada for the gold medal, tomorrow. The match-up will be even harder for Canada, which will have to race in front of a boisterous, Great Britain crowd cheering their local heroes. In third came Australia, which will face the Netherlands who came fourth, in the bronze medal dual.
The 2012 UCI Track Cycling World Cup continues tomorrow with the final of the women’s team pursuit, the women’s scratch race, the women’s team sprint, the men’s points race, as well as the opening three races of the men’s omnium.
All results from this event can be viewed live with Tissot Live Timing at www.tissottiming.com.
The three-day World Cup event is one of three left on the UCI calendar to qualify teams for the Olympic Games. Full schedule and additional details can be found at www.uci.ch.
Results (brief)
1. Canada 3:20.785
Tara Whitten
Gillian Carleton
Jasmin Glaesser
2. Great Britain 3:21.370
Laura Trott
Wendy Houvenaghel
Joanna Rowsell
3 Australia 3:21.426
Annette Edmondson
Melissa Hoskins
Josephine Tomic
4. Netherlands 3:22.776
Kirsten Wild
Vera Koedooder
Ellen Van Dijk
5. United States 3:23.208
Sarah Hammer
Jennie Reed
Lauren Tamayo