July 27/00 11:11 am - Muenzer Wins in Colombia, Northumberland, Wendy's

Posted by Editor on 07/27/00
 

Pan American Championships Day # 4

July 26, 2000 - Bucamaranga, Colombia

Tonites racing was delayed by rain for approximately 1 hour. When the racing finally got underway our Canadian contingent was front and center in the action.

Mens Sprint Finals

Bronze medal final
3. Julio Cabrerra CUB 11.0 / 10.9
4. Doug Baron CAN

Doug rode very well again tonite and was beaten narrowly in both rides. These two rides in this bronze medal round were definitely very fast, and hard fought . Doug tried to ride from the back in the first ride and was unable to pass on the home straight. In the 2nd ride Doug took over the lead early and held the lead until midway thru the final straight.

Gold Medal Final
1. Barry Forde BAR
2. Alexander Cornieles VEN

Barry Forde easily won the gold medal final in 2 straight rides.

Womens Sprint Finals
1. Lori-ann Muenzer CAN 2 straight victories
2. Daniele Larielle VEN

Lori-ann was again on very good form this evening and showed her power and speed when it counted. The first ride had Lori-ann riding from the front holding her opponent behind her with increasing speed all the way to the finish line. Larielle was not able to do anything in this first ride except follow Lori-ann to the finish.

The 2nd ride had the Venezuela rider take the lead going into the bell lap with an exciting pass on the right side forcing Lori-ann down to the bottom of the track. This left Lori-ann sitting in a very confident 2nd position with 1 lap to go. With the final corner approaching Lori-ann pulled alongside and then really stepped on the gas. As the corner ended Lori-ann was very much in control and cruised to the finish line with her hand in the air signaling the victory.

Lori-ann guarantees herself a spot at the World Cycling Championships with this victory. This brings our total to 3 gold medals at this 2000 Pan American Cycling Championships.

Mens Keirin Heats.

Heat 1.
1. John Gonzalez COL
2. Jim Fisher CAN

With the top two finishers from each heat qualifying for the semi finals tomorrow each ride was very intense and filled with a lot of action. Jim took over the lead immediately in this 8 lap race where a motor bike paces the riders for the first 5.5 laps. With 2.5 laps till the finish the motor bike pulled off of the lead, leaving Jim at the front where he accelerated all the way to the finish line. It took a very big burst from the Colombian rider to pass Jim in the last 5 meters. Jim showed a ton of patience and confidence in this ride when he held off the other 6 riders in the field for the full 8 lap event.

Heat 3.
1. Juan Haedo ARG
2. Doug Baron CAN

In the 3rd heat there was a crash immediately after the start of the race. This crash involved 4 of the 7 riders. Luckily Doug was in front of this crash. After restarting the race Doug took over 2nd position where he rode beside the Argentina rider for the first 5 laps. As the bike pulled off a Mexican rider took over the lead with a very big burst on the right side of the group. Doug took over 2nd place and within the next half lap (with 1.5 laps to go to the finish) Doug passed the Mexican and was in the lead with 1 lap to go. The Argentine rider took over the lead on the back straight leaving Doug in a dog fight to the finish with a Colombian, and a Peru rider. It came down to a photo finish to decide the 2nd place rider. Doug ended up placing 2nd by less than the width of a tire !

The two Canadian riders will face off tomorrow in the 2nd semi final ride for the keirin. This is very good, as they can both watch each others backs in the ride.

Tomorrow's schedule continues with the mens Olympic sprint qualifiers, Olympic sprint semi finals, and finals, Keirin semi and final, and the womens points race.

More tomorrow,

Kurt Innes
National Coach


The Eagle.ca Northumberland Challenge

August 5th will see the start of the 5th annual Eagle.ca Northumberland Challenge Bicycle Race. Organized by the Cobourg Cycling Club and sponsored by Northumbria Eagle.ca, the event consists of 5 different races held over three days.

The event is open to Masters A, B, C and D as well as Senior 3 and all Women's categories. Online registration is open till August 3rd with the early registration discount being extended until Thursday July 27th. Registrations will also be taken before the first race on Saturday.

The first event of the weekend is the Coca-Cola Criterium. Raced on a 1.2km circuit the course is smooth, wide and fast. Sign on for this event is between 9:00 and 9:45 a.m. If you haven't already registered be there early. Racing will start soon after registration closes.

After a brief rest the event will continue with the Proform Time Trial, taking place in Cobourg on Saturday with sign on opening at 3:00.

Sunday is perhaps the toughest day with a the 75km Ontario Insulation Road Race run over a tough rolling course in the morning. This is followed by the bikecrazie.com 16km Time Trial held Sunday afternoon in Castleton.

Monday Morning the riders head out on the final stage, the Bicycles Plus 50km Road Race. The event starts and finishes in Warkworth.

After the last stage there will be a free lunch for all the riders at a local pub with awards and draw prizes to be handed out.

The overall winner is decided by points and there will also a team prize. We look forward to seeing everyone at the race. Our web page has been updated www.eagle.ca/cobourgcycle/nchallenge_2000.htm.

For more information: cobourgcc@bikecrazie.com or (905) 372-9502


Ottawa Bicycle Club Grand Prix
(Courtesy Bob Hicks)

We have added a Sr 3 & 4 category to the Grand Prix. Riders will start and finish with the Sr 1 & 2 but will have a separate purse as follows:

$90
75
60
45
30

There are no medals for this category, but what the heck... This brings total purse for all categories at the Grand Prix to $4500.


Fraser takes stage 2
(courtesy John Wordin)

Mercury's Gord Fraser won today's (Wednesday, July 26th) criterium stage of the Wendy's Classic. With the victory (the team's 73rd of the season) and the time bonuses, Fraser took the overall lead with teammate and 3rd place finisher Henk Vogels in 2nd overall. Those 2 riders are also 1-2 in the current NRC standings.

Wendy's GC
1. Gord Fraser
2. Henk Vogels
3. Eric Wohlberg
4. Sylvain Beauchamp
5. Eddy Gragus
6. Chris Horner

NRC Rankings

As of July 24, 2000 (does not include complete Niwot Criterium results)

1 Henk Vogels Mercury Australia 963 points
2 Gord Fraser Mercury Canada 863
3 Trent Klasna Saturn Pine Valley, Calif. 817
4 John Lieswyn Shaklee Ventura, Calif. 810
5 Scott Moninger Mercury Boulder, Colo. 780
6 Eddy Gragus Jelly Belly Ft. Collins, Colo. 654
7 Fred Rodriguez Mapei Quick Step Piedmont, Calif. 648
8 Antonio Cruz Saturn Long Beach, Calif. 578
9 Eric Wohlberg Shaklee Canada 532
10 Chris Horner Mercury San Diego 478


Online Registration

Registration for the Saskatchewan Canada Cup is now closed. Northumberland stage race registration goes up $10 after today, and Canmore Cactus Cup/Canada Cup goes up $10 ($20 for stage race) on Saturday (July 29th).