August 15/03 11:59 am - Hughes Wins Gold, Website Update

Posted by Editor on 08/15/03
 

Clara Hughes wins Gold!!!

Canadian Team Manager Luc Arsenault is sending reports from the Pan Am Games:

After many hours of long delays due to rain (almost 4 hours), it was time to get some more action on the Santo Domingo Velodrome. In a race she says she does not like, Clara Hughes rode really well by wining the 24 km Points Race. Well coached by head coach Eric Van Den Eynde, she waited for the big sprinters to get tired and then launched a big attack after the 5th sprint. Riding strong along with a girl from Guatemala (Maria Molina) who literally got on the fast train to a silver medal, they later lapped the field for an extra 20 points each. With three sprints to go, her 16 points lead was just enough to secure her victory. The only thing, she was not sure of it until the end of the event when she saw us, and the whole crowd, cheering her. No need to tell you she'll be a marked rider in the road race tomorrow!

Later on, it was Charles Dionne's turn the ride the Men's Points Race. It was his first time in this type of event in 7 years (he was previously the Canadian Junior Champion in that event), so our goal was simple: learn from this experience and open up the legs for Sunday's road race. Objective obtained . . . and more. Along the way, with his well known fighting spirit, he picked up 10 points and was really progressing throughout the event. He showed he has the potential to become a good rider in that event at the world level. He finally finished 10th overall.

Tonight, the Madison Race for Alex Cloutier and Martin Gilbert (7:15 pm).

Note: the Team Pursuit squad of Alexandre Cloutier, Mark Ernsting, Martin Gilbert and Jean-François Laroche finished 5th overall.


Site Update

You probably noticed that CC website was offline from about 4:00 pm EDT yesterday until 11:00 am this morning. The reason was the power outage affecting most of Ontario and New York state. Well, the Editoress is now hooked up to a bicycle driven generator (faster, faster...). Just kidding.

We have installed a back-up generator (our previous UPS battery system was good for approximately 1 hour only) and are now back online. With power interruptions predicted in our area for up to 6 days (!!!), we needed a more robust sytem.

However, there is still the potential for some delays, since fax machines, telephone systems, etc. are expected to be out of service for much of the next week. But, from the internet perspective, it is all systems go.