January 3/24 14:09 pm - Pemble & Clement Chosen as Para-cyclists of 2023

Posted by Editoress on 01/3/24
 

Mel Pemble and Nathan Clement have been selected through reader voting as the Canadian Cyclist Para-cyclists of 2023. Clement also took the award for Best Individual Performance by a para-cyclist.

While 2023 is the 27th year of the Canadian Cyclist Awards, it is the eighth year that Canadian Cyclist has presented Para-cyclist of the Year awards, and the first that we have presented a separate Best Individual Performance award for para-cycling.

Mel Pemble, Track Worlds


Mel Pemble with her Gold and Silver medals at Track Worlds

Mel Pemble, of Victoria, BC, repeated as the Female winner, with 51.7% of the first place votes cast, followed by Toronto's Shelley Gautier (T1) with 29.2% of first place votes and Keely Shaw (C4) with 19.1%. Pemble successfully defended her Omnium world title in the C3 category, as well as winning silver in the Scratch Race and bronze in the 500m time trial; at the same multi-discipline world championships, she was sixth in the road race and eighth in the road time trial. At the Parapan Am Games, Pemble won two gold medals on the track, a bronze medal in the road race and finished fourth in the road time trial, to finish the year second in UCI world rankings on the Track and eighth on the Road. Pemble, who represented Canada as an Alpine skier at the 2018 Winter Paralympics, joined the national para-cycling team in 2022.

Nathan Clement, Santiago 2023. Canadian Paralympic Committee


Nathan Clement, National Champion

Nathan Clement of West Vancouver is a first time CC Award winner and, like Pemble, came to cycling in 2022 from another para sport - Swimming. The T1 category rider took an impressive 71.7% of first place votes, with Alexandre Hayward taking 17% and Charles Moreau 11.3%. Clement became world champion in the Road Time Trial, as well as winning a bronze medal in the Road Race at the world championships. He followed that up two gold medals at the Parapan Am Games, as well as winning a World Cup (plus a silver and bronze medal in other World Cup competitions). He finished the year third in UCI world rankings. Clement also won the Best Individual Performance award for his Road Time Trial world title with 34.8% of first place votes, followed by Pemble for her Omnium title (25.3%) and Michael Sametz (C4) at 14.3% for his bronze medal in the Road Time Trial at the world championships.

Nathan Clement stated, "To be selected as the Male Para-Cyclist of the year and having the best Para-Cycling performance is a testament to my family, friends, teammates, coaches, and the incredible crew with the para program. This past year was full of highs and emotion but also many challenges throughout the calendar."

"Receiving these awards means a lot and characterize the resolves and perseverance needed to compete at these high levels. I look forward to the upcoming season as the team enters the Paralympic year and strives for games and squad success."