May 12/10 8:08 am - Canadian Medal on First Day of Pan Am Track Competition

Posted by Editor on 05/12/10
 

The first day of competition on the track had Canadians competing in three events.  First up were Joseph Veloce, Travis Smith, and Stephane Cossette in the Men's Team Sprint.  Canada started in the second last heat due to finishing second last year and got off to a strong start, with Joseph setting a 17.8 opening first lap, then Travis took over and halfway into his one lap effort, third rider Stephane blew a rear tire at a very high speed. Stephane managed to maintain control of his bike and did not crash, but the ride was over and a disc wheel destroyed.

About 10 minutes later, with a new rear wheel and a fixed chain, the Canadian trio were in the start blocks again. Veloce posted a respectable 18.1 opening lap but overall the first ride had taken a massive toll on the riders. In the end the team rode a 45.487 to qualify third and go on to race Trinidad and Tobago for the bronze.

In the final, Joseph had a stunning start of 17.6 seconds catching Travis by surprise.  He had to catch up by accelerating in the second half of the lap making Stephane's job harder and the team finished in fourth.

Daniele Defranceschi and Jean-Michel Lachance raced the 40 kilometre Points Race, and Jean-Michel was able to lap the field by the middle of the race, coming fourth in the final sprint to finish 12th overall. Daniele was very active and tried to launch a massive attack, but was unable to recover properly in the hot Velodrome and did not finish.

Monique Sullivan, who had set a personal best in the 500 metre at the World Championships in March, bested her time by 0.6 seconds to finish with a time of 34.76 seconds in second place.  Monique's silver medal is the first for the team on the track at these championships.  "I am really happy with my 500 result. I didn't have any expectations coming into this race but it is a fast track and I am glad that I was able to maximize my effort and beat my personal best by over half a second. Lori-Ann Muenzer's Canadian record is my next goal and I am getting close!  Tomorrow I will race my first team pursuit ever. I will be riding with Steph and Laura who have a lot of experience (Tara Whitten was unable to join them because of her broken elbow)  and I am excited for the challenge. I hope I can add something to the team."

Day 1 results

Racing continues on May 12th with the following Canadian participants:

Men's Individual Pursuit:  Mark MacDonald and Jean-Michel Lachance

Men's Scratch Race: Mark MacDonald and Remi Pelletier-Roy

Men's Keirin: Stephane Cossette and Joseph Veloce

Women's Team Pursuit: Laura Brown, Steph Roorda, Monique Sullivan

Courtesy CCA