December 8/19 9:35 am - Canada Adds Two More Medals on Final Day of Track World Cup
Posted by Editoress on 12/8/19
Canada added two more medals to its tally on Sunday at the Track World Cup in Cambridge, New Zealand, for a total of four. Lauriane Genest, the continental champion in the women's Keirin won the silver medal in that event, while Allison Beveridge won bronze in the women's Omnium, to go with the bronze she won on the opening day as part of the Team Pursuit squad.
Genest had to go through the Repechage to make it to the second round of the Keirin, and then won her second round heat to make it to the medal final. In the final, she finished second to Hyejin Lee of Korea by less than a bike length, both well ahead of bronze medalist Stephanie Morton of Australia. It is Genest's first World Cup medal. Kelsey Mitchell, who won the silver medal in the Sprint, finished 11th overall.
L to r: Lauriane Genest, Hyejin Lee, Stephanie Morton
"I didn't have much strategy," admitted Genest, "I'm still learning in the Keirin. The Keirin is anyone's game; you don't need to be the fastest to get into the final of the Keirin. I was a bit disappointed with the first round, where I didn't qualify [directly to the second round] and I had to go through the Reps [repechage]. But I had a really big gap on the other girls [in the repechage], which gave me confidence for the semis, and then I won that, so for the final I knew I just had to give everything I had. It feels really good [to win her first World Cup medal]. I was looking at Kelsey, and thinking 'that looks really good' [to win a medal]."
In the women's Omnium, Beveridge was fifth in the Scratch Race and then won the Tempo Race. She was again fifth in the Elimination, to head into the final Points Race with 104 points, in third place behind Yumi Kajihara of Japan (116 points) and Jennifer Valente of the USA (110 points). The three watched each other carefully all race and the final standings did not change.
"I feel relieved, because heading into the first event I was a bit unsure of where I was at," said Beveridge. "I struggled a couple of weeks ago in Glasgow [Round 2]. I changed some things up, but it was a bit unknown. So it feels good to put together some consistent rides and come away with a medal. I think we are hoping to build from here in both events [Team Pursuit and Omnium]. The Team Pursuit is the focus for Brisbane [the next round]; we are getting a little tired of bronze, so we are hoping we can improve on that."
In the men's Sprint, Hugo Barrette finished 16th overall and Joel Archambault was 20th. Both qualified in the flying 200 metres, but Archambault was knocked out in the one-sixteenth round and Barrette went out to eventual winner Mateusz Rudyk of Poland in the one-eighth round.
Hugo Barrette vs Mateusz Rudyk
Canada finished the competition with two silver and two bronze medals, to rank tenth in nation standings. Based on overall points (not just medals), Canada ranked sixth.
Day 1:Bronze Medal in Team Pursuit at New Zealand Track World Cup
Day 2: Mitchell Repeats on World Cup Podium
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