July 25/00 6:42 am - Columbia Reports Days 1 & 2

Posted by Editor on 07/25/00
 

Reports From Columbia

First Doug Baron:

Back online again!
This computer in the hotel is perhaps the slowest on earth!! Anyhow, results from day 2 in Bucaramanga, Colombia. I raced against a young fellow from Colombia in the match sprint 1/8 final. He was trying to perform for his home crowd and almost put me in the grass when I made a move underneath him. I had to back off but had no trouble coming by him in the back straight enroute to the win. In the next round (1/4 final) I once again met my teammate Jim Fisher but he was very tired from the 1 km time trial and I was able to beat him in two straight rides. Tonight I go up against Barry Forde from Barbados in the semi final. From now on I have to be very sharp because one small mistake can cost you a win on the small track. Talk to you all soon,

Doug Baron
Canadian Track Cycling Team/Team Shaklee


and from coach Kurt Innes:

Here is a brief run down on our first day of competition at the Pan American Cycling Championships in Bucamarunga, Colombia.

Team composition
Doug Baron (Calgary)
Erin Carter (Winnipeg)
Jim Fisher (Calgary)
Lori-Ann Muenzer (Edmonton)
Lars Madsen (Edmonton)
Mandy Poitras (Vancouver)

Houshang Amiri Manager (Victoria)
Kurt Innes Coach (Calgary)
Sebastian Gagnon Mechanic (Montreal)

Day # 1 , AM session
Pan-Am Championships, Bucamarunga, Colombia

Track 250 M , 43 degrees, concrete surface.
Weather in AM : + 25 degrees approx, sunny, very hot.
The conditions for this mornings racing was perfect. There was very little wind.

Women 200 M Time Trial
1. Daniella Lariealle VEN 11.587
2. Lori-Ann Muenzer CAN 11.843
3. Yumari Gonzalez CUB 12.115

Lori-ann was our first competitor for the championships, she rode very well and placed 2nd in the 200 Meter event. There were only 6 competitors for the womens 200 Meter time trial. The top 3 women in the time trial are all world ranked sprinters, so this will make the sprinting very exciting.

Men 200 M Time Trial
1. Jim Fisher CAN 10.610
2. Doug Baron CAN 10.780
3. Barry Forde BAR 10.944
4. A. Cornielles VEN 11.013
5. J. Cumberbatch BAR 11.018
6. Lars Madsen CAN 11.061

30 Men were entered for the men sprint. The Canadian representatives all placed in the top 6, which is a very good result for this high caliber event. The only nation without their “A” team riders here were the USA (they have their “B” team attending). Exceptional results from J.Fisher (*personal best) and also a very solid performance from D.Baron. L.Madsen rode at his best.

Both Jim and Doug were unable to ride their bikes until this morning (not able to practise on velodrome yesterday). Their bikes did not make the flight with us from Miami on the 21st. I went to the airport last night to pick them up (returned to hotel at 11:30 PM). The results from the guys in this first event were very exceptional. The schedule is very “athlete friendly” with only one sprint round, or pursuit round each consecutive night from now on. We don’t actually get to the finals until the 25th (women pursuit), and 26th (sprint finals). This is a good thing for all concerned, as the heat and humidity here are incredible!

Day # 1 PM Session
5 ˆ 9:30 PM

Mens 1000 M
1. Jim Fisher CAN 1:04.7
2. Julio Cabrerra CUB 1.05.5
3. Doug Baron CAN 1.05.613

The weather was very threatening for tonites session, with heavy dark clouds hanging over the perepheral areas, but all sessions were completed with no delays. The wind was very calm, and temperature was +28 approximately.

There were 22 starters in the mens 1000 Meter. The Canadian entrants showed their dominance and determination in tonites 1000 Meter event. Jim came thru with another excellent performance, and secured himself a spot at the World Cycling Championships with this result. The winners of the individual events here at the Pan American Cycling Championships earn an individual spot at the World Cycling Championships. This means that Jim Fisher guarantees himself a spot in the Worlds in Manchester, Great Britian (October 25 ˆ29). This is Jim’s first medal and first race win in a major international event. Jim recently won the Canadian National Championships in Bromont, Quebec in the 1000 Meter and is now competitive with the worlds best in the event.

Womens 500 M
1. Daniella Larielle VEN 35.409
2. Lori-ann Muenzer CAN 35.916
3. Yumari Gonzales CUB 36.3
4. Mandy Poitras CAN 37.392

There were 12 starters for the womens 500 Meter time trial. This event took place immediately after the mens 1000 M (same weather and conditions as above event). Mandy rode very well in event, and used the 500 Meter to prepare for her main events coming up later in the schedule (womens 3000 Meter pursuit, and points race). Lori-ann rode very well in the 500 Meter, and was narrowly beaten by a world ranked rider from Venezuela. Lori-ann is the newly crowned Canadian 500 Meter Champion from the Canadian Nationals held in Bromont, Quebec (July 7-9).


Mens Sprint first round.

The mens sprint tournament began tonite as well. The top 18 mens riders from the 200 Meter time trial qualified for this 1st round of competition. Jim Fisher (fastest qualifier) rode against a Mexican rider (18th qualifier) and was victorious. It appeared that Jim may have to go into the repechage round (2nd chance round) after he crossed the line. (photo finish was required). But after the judges ruled that the Mexican rider was disqualified (for erratic riding), Jim was relieved to move into the 2nd round. Doug Baron (2nd qualifier) was victorious with little problem against a rider from Trinidad and Tobago (17th qualifier). Lars Madsen (6th qualifier) lost his first round against Gonzalez (COL) in a very close ride. He later came thru the repechage with a very controlled sprint riding from the front and made it back into the sprint tournament unchallenged.

Today’s racing begins at 5 PM with the women’s pursuit, men’s sprint racing continues with the mens 1/8 final, and semi-final rounds for the men and women’s sprint.


Day # 2 (July 24, 2000) ˆ Pan American Championships Bucamarunga, Colombia

The weather was again very threatening today, with heavy rain showers all the way up to 1.5 hours prior to start time. The skies then cleared, leaving a very humid and hot night for the racers to enjoy!

Women 3000 Meter Pursuit Qualifier
1. Erin Carter CAN 3:53.261
2. Yoanka Gonzalez CUB 3:55 .557
3. Dianna Perez CUB 3:55.880
4. Mandy Poitras CAN 4:06.439

There were 7 entrants, from 5 different countries in the womens pursuit. Erin Carter was the first off for our Canadian team, and she rode very well to qualify 1st in the first round. Mandy struggled a bit, but held on to finish 4th in the first round. Erin and Mandy will face off in the semi-final round tomorrow. The finals will follow tomorrow night at the end of the session.

Mens 1/8 final sprint

Jim Fisher (1st qualifier) came up against Julio Cabrerra (CUB) in the first heat. Julio is a former world junior sprint champion and finished 2nd in the Pan American Games in 1999 in the sprint. Jim was very competitive, but ended up short in the final burst to the finish line. Jim came thru the reps with a fantastic ride and moved into the semi-final round.

Doug Baron (2nd qualifier) rode against a Colombian rider and really had to pull out an experienced ride to overcome a very speedy opponent. Coming into the bell Doug was pushed down onto the apron by the Colombian as Doug tried to pass on the inside. Doug was forced to come out the back, and retry on the right side on the back straight. Doug had enough power to overcome the rider on the finish straight. With this win, Doug moved into the semi-finals and unfortunately will ride against Jim Fisher in this round. Lars Madsen (6th qualifier) rode against Barry Forde (BAR) and was outsprinted by sheer max speed in this ride. Lars went into the repechage round and rode very well to make it back into the sprint tournament.

Womens semi-final sprint

Lori-ann rode against a Venezuela rider in this round. She was not challenged, and will move into the semi- final tomorrow night.

Mens semi-final sprint.

Lars (as a repechage winner) came up against Julio Cabrerra (CUB) who took over the top seed position by beating Jim Fisher in the semi-finals. Julio is sprinting with a ton of skill and confidence in this tournament, and was victorious over Lars in two straight rides. Doug met up against Jim in this round. The first ride was a replica ride of the semi-final sprints from our Canadian Nationals this year, with both riders going flat out for 1.5 laps from the finish. Doug was the winner of this first ride, and was able to outmuscle Jim in the 2nd ride for a birth in the semi finals tomorrow. Lars and Jim will face off in the 5-8 final tomorrow night along with Josh Weir (USA) and another rider from Argentina.

The racing continues to be very exciting here in Bucamaranga. There was a ton of atmosphere and excitement in the crowd tonite, with the stands full to their capacity. In the mens pursuit final the home town crowd had a lot to cheer for when Vicor Pena (COL) won the gold medal. The crowd erupted into a standing and cheering mass. It was very exciting to see the crowd get so involved with the racing. Tomorrow night they are delaying the start of the event so that the racing doesn’t conflict with a local soccer game ( in the adjacent stadium), the local tv stations are providing live coverage for all of the cycling races and the organizer does not want either sports to suffer with lack of coverage. What a wild place !!

The internet availability here is very poor, and we are limited to two computers in the business center of our hotel. It literally takes 1 hour to get online, open up messages, and send one or two messages home. Sorry for the delays in getting info to you... but I am trying !

More later,

Kurt