November 14/02 3:56 am - Canadian Cyclist of the Year Awards, Klassen & Hughes at World Cup

Posted by Editoress on 11/14/02
 

Canadian Cyclist of the Year Awards

It is time for the 2002 Canadian Cyclist of the Year balloting to begin! This is the fifth year for these annual Reader's Choice awards. Thousands of readers will cast ballots to select the top Canadian cyclists for the 2002 cycling season. This year has been a particularly strong year for Canadian riders, so the selection will be tough. There will be 3 categories to vote on:

Canadian Cyclist of the Year - Male
Canadian Cyclist of the Year - Female
Best Individual Performance

Within each category we have pre-selected nominees, and have provided a short description of their accomplishments for the year. Your job is to choose among the possibilities within each category and submit your vote (one per person, please!). Voting will close at Noon EST, December 15th. The results will be posted on the Canadian Cyclist website the same day. To vote, just click on the button in the upper right corner of your browser window.

Cindy Klassen Wins World Cup Speed Skating Gold Norway, November 10th
Courtesy Speed Skating Canada

Cindy Klassen of Winnipeg made the best of a golden opportunity to post her first career World Cup victory on Sunday.

Klassen defeated her pair and pre-race favorite Claudia Pechstein of Germany to win the gold medal in the women's 1,500 metres, which concluded the opening stop on the circuit.

The 23-year-old former Canadian women's hockey team prospect, clocked one minute and 58.07 seconds. Pechstein, the double Olympic champion in Salt Lake City, settled for silver at 1:58.82 and Jennifer Rodriguez of the U.S., was third in 1:58.86.

Kristina Groves of Ottawa was 11th, Clara Hughes of Winnipeg 13th and Tara Risling of Medicine Hat, Alta., 25th.

In the 3000 metre event on November 9th, Klassen was 3rd, Hughes 4th, Groves 10th.

The next stop in the World Cup is November 15-17 in Erfurt, Germany