May 10/14 12:09 pm - Para World Cup: ITT report and results

Posted by Editoress on 05/10/14
 

Four Canadian Medals on First Day of Para World Cup

Canadian para-cyclists Shelley Gautier of Toronto and Marie-Ève Croteau of Québec City opened the 2014 UCI Para-Cycling Road World Cup on an excellent note, riding to the top of the podium in Castiglione Della Pescaia, Italy.

In total, four Canadian athletes stepped on the podium at the end of the day, with Marie-Claude Molnar winning silver and Nicole Clermont taking a bronze medal.

Croteau, two-time silver medallist from the 2013 Worlds and previous World Champion, is continuing her return to full performance readiness after a crash that occurred prior to the Paralympic Games in 2012. She rode her first time trial race of the 2014 World Cup tour to a time of 28:05.95, a 1:22 lead over her closest competitor in the women's T2 category.

"This was by far the best time trial of my life; certainly the best managed one. I was feeling really good before the start. My right leg is performing really well, producing lots of power and velocity that ensure my pedalling is good," said Marie-Ève Croteau, after the race. "I am still in catch-up mode, but this result means I am finding back my ways and performance from before my crash prior to the London 2012 Paralympic Games. I still have lots of work to accomplish, but it certainly bodes well."

In the women's T1 race, Gautier continued the World Cup success in this opening race of 2014. The 2013 World Cup Champion stopped the clock at 35:09.18 to take the win. Gautier dominated the race, finishing the race with an astonishing seven-minute gap over the silver medallist.

"I have trained hard and mentally prepared for this race. I am learning how to ride faster for longer periods of time," said Gautier after the race. "I am proud to be riding faster than last year. Thanks to my coaches and the members of my team who helped me prepare for this World Cup race."
 
Marie-Claude Molnar of St-Hubert posted the second fastest time in the women's C4 category. Molnar crossed the finishing line with a time of 23:51.59, a 1:21 deficit to winner Shawn Morelli of the United States of America. The result is an encouraging sign for Molnar, who has battled illness for most of April, which hindered her preparations.

In the women C5 time trial, Nicole Clermont of St-Denis-de-Brompton finished in third place, crossing the finish line 1:31 behind winner Anna Harkowska of Poland. The strong result for Clermont is her second career podium and her career best time trial performance.

Robert Labbé of Québec raced to the fastest time of the H1 category, but a decision was taken to reclassify Labbé to the H2 category. The reclassification led to his result being transferred to the H2 standings, where he was ranked ninth in his new category.

The competition continues Saturday and Sunday with the road races and Team Relay for all categories.

Courtesy Cycling Canada

Results from Day 1 (May 9th) in Italy