July 24/09 23:05 pm - Pan am Championships: Road Race report, photos and full results

Posted by Editoress on 07/24/09
 

The Canadian National Cycling Team scored gold, silver and bronze medals at the 2009 Pan American Continental Championships in Tlaxcala, Mexico.

Photos

The Individual Time Trial on July 23rd was successful for both the men and women. Tara Whitten placed second picking up a silver medal and 11 UCI points on the 19.8 kilometre course that featured a double switchback decent. Moriah Jo MacGregor followed that up with a fifth place and 4 UCI points.

The Elite and U23 men used the same course as the women but with an additional lap for 39.6 kilometres. David Veilleux was fifth overall and third in the U23 category and picked up a bronze medal and 6 America Tour UCI points. Ryan Roth was right there in sixth place, picking up 5 points. The competition was fierce with the top seven separated by less then 60 seconds.

The road race was run the following day. The men faced an epic climb at altitude that topped out over 3000 metres followed by a long decent into a lively Mexican town called Huamantla where the race finished with 7 laps on a 9 kilometre loop. David Veilleux and David Boily put in strong rides and finished ninth and tenth respectively in the U23 category.

The women’s race used only the Huamantla circuit, that favoured sprinters over climbers. Laura Brown and Moriah Jo MacGregor helped cover early attacks that lead to a 12 rider break with Tara Whitten and Joelle Numainville. Tara and Joelle were outnumbered by three riders each from Mexico and Colombia, but drove a hard pace and didn’t let any solo attacks get away.

The break stayed together right into the final corner with Tara and Joelle positioned at the front. With a strong lead out Joelle was able to take the sprint and win the Continental Champions jersey, the gold medal and 80 UCI points. After the podium ceremony Joelle was mobbed by the friendly crowd seeking photos and autographs. Tara Whitten finished in sixth, scoring 16 more UCI points.

Report Courtesy CCA