July 26/00 10:58 am - Colombia Day 3

Posted by Editor on 07/26/00
 

Pan American Championships - Bucamaranga, Colombia

Day # 3 (July 25, 2000)

The weather was again a concern for the racing tonite. rain was very close to the velodrome at the start of the evening racing. light rain fell on the track with very small impact on the racing surface. The racing continued with no delays at all. 15 or so minutes into the schedule the light rain stopped all the way until 10 minutes after the session at the end of the night when the skies opened up and it really poured ! The weather gods were on our side tonite!!

Women Pursuit Semi Final
Heat 1
Dania Perez CUB 3:52.445
Yoanka Gonzalez CUB

Heat 2
Erin Carter CAN 3:54.623
Mandy Poitras CAN

Mandy Poitras and Erin Carter faced off in the first semi final tonite. Both
Canadian riders had the motivation and desire to ride a very good ride in this round, as this ride would be not only used to select the rider who would represent Canada in the gold medal final but also select the rider who would possibly represent Canada in the World Championships with a win in the final ride.

Erin and Mandy were very evenly matched until halfway thru the ride when Erin started to pull ahead. With 4 laps to go Erin had a very comfortable lead, and at this time both riders started to cruise to the finish line thus saving their energy for their final rides (Erin for the gold, and Mandy for the bronze).

Men Sprint Semi Final
Heat 1
Barry Forde BAR 11.1 / 10.9
Doug Baron CAN

Barry Forde was a very tough opponent for Doug tonite, and both rides were very similar in tactics. Barry rode the front with 1.25 laps to go in both rides, and Doug was unable to pass on both occasions. In the home straight in both rides during the last straight away B.Forde drifted out of the sprinters lane. Although this may have caused a bit of frustration for Doug the commisaires found no fault in either case. In the first ride all that Barry received was a warning, and in the 2nd ride the drift was not even acknowledged by the officials.

Doug will meet Julio Cabrerra (CUB) in the bronze medal ride tomorrow night. This is the rider who has knocked off both of the other Canadians in this competition.

Women Sprint Semi Final
Heat 1
Lori-ann Muenzer CAN (2-0)
Yumari Gonzales CUB

Lori-ann showed a ton of patience and confidence against this very tough Cuban rider tonite. She won in two straight rides, and displayed the tactical prowess that will serve her well in the finals tomorrow against Daniele Lariel (VEN) who also won her semi final round in 2 straight rides.

Men Sprint 5-8 Final
5. Jim Fisher CAN
6. Lars Madsen CAN
7. Josh Wier USA
8. Ruben Bongiornio ARG

The Canadian pair of Fisher and Madsen rode a great "team" sprint tonite to sweep the top two spots in the 5-8 final. Jim took over the front immediately and really rode a controlled sprint from start to finish. Lars fought a very hard race, and really scrapped his way thru the last 2 laps to hold onto 2nd wheel. On the last lap with Jim on the front and Lars in 2nd a crash happened involving the ARG rider ( flat front wheel). Josh Wier (USA) was clear of the crash however and all three riders continued to the finish line in this order.

Women Pursuit Final
1. Erin Carter CAN 3:55.
2. Dania Perez CUB
3. Mandy Poitras CAN 3:58
4. Yoanka Gonzalez CUB

Mandy started off the finals for our Canadian pair in the ride for the bronze. Mandy rode a very disciplined ride, starting off fast but in control. She gained the lead after 2 laps, and continued to gain a small margin each lap. With 7 laps to go Mandy held an approximate 3 second lead, and held this margin till the finish line.

Erin also started off her ride very disciplined, and rode a very controlled ride for the opening 4 laps. Erin was in the lead after 4 laps, increased her margin for the next 5 laps and then was able to cruise in to the finish with her 1st major race win under her belt. With this win Erin secures herself a spot on the Canadian World Championship team at the World Track Championships in Manchester, GB this October 25-29.

After 3 days of track competition finished , our Canadian contingent has collected a total of 5 medals at these Pan American Cycling Championships. 2 gold ( Jim Fisher in mens 1000 M, Erin Carter in Women pursuit) and 3 bronze (Doug Baron in mens 1000 M, Lori-ann Muenzer in womens 500 M, and Mandy Poitras in womens pursuit).

Tomorrow night is the mens and womens sprint finals, where Doug Baron rides for the bronze medal, and Lori-ann Muenzer will compete for the gold. Jim Fisher and Doug Baron will compete for Canada in the mens Kieren heats as well tomorrow night.

Two of our 4 road athletes arrive tonite (Paul Kelly, and Leigh Hobson) and the following night the two remaining road athletes arrive (Sandy Espeseth, and Mike Barry). The road course will be very challenging here, as we are located in a valley with mountains surrounding the city in all directions. The road racing begins on Friday July 28 with the individual time trials.

Kurt Innes
National Coach