April 27/04 3:23 am - Georgia Winner, Olympic Update, l'Aude Team, B.C. ITT, Pan AM MTB Championships

Posted by Editor on 04/27/04
 

Tour de Georgia Contest Winner

Congratulations to Sylvan Smyth of Victoria, BC, who won our contest to pick the final jersey winners at the Tour de Georgia. Gita Canada, the distributor of Giordana clothing (which supplied the Tour jerseys you saw in our photos each day), will be sending Sylvan a Team CSC jersey. Nobody got all four right, but Sylvan was the earliest entrant to get three out of four.

Sylvan correctly identified that Lance Armstrong (US Postal) would take Yellow, Jason McCartney (Health Net) the Climber's Jersey and Kevin Bouchard-Hall (USA U23 National) the Young Rider's Jersey. He missed out on Gord Fraser (Health Net) taking back the Points Jersey from Ivan Dominguez (Colavita-Bolla Wines).


Olympic Update

There were no new cyclists added in April to the list of athletes who have met the Canadian Olympic Association's qualification criteria for Athens. The biggest name still missing is Genevieve Jeanson for the women's road race and time trial. Jeanson needs one more top-8 finish at a World Cup (or other event of category 1.9.1 or 2.9.1 or better). The Rona rider did not succeed in her quest at Fleche Walloone, where she was 30th.

There has also been a lot of speculation about whether Gord Fraser will make the list, especially after his strong showing in the Tour de Georgia. Fraser currently has no ranking points. The criteria require 3 points for top-10 finishes at various UCI ranked events, and Fraser looks to have three top-10s at UCI 2.3 races (two wins in Georgia, and a second in Langkawi). However, the results required are for overall placing in the general classification, not individual stages.

Riders have until July 11th to meet the criteria.

At this time, Canada will not have a rider in the men's individual time trial. A top-25 country ranking is needed, and that is highly unlikely. The only possibility is a wild card if another country does not use their quota (this is how Eric Wohlberg received a spot in 2000 at Sydney). We are also likely to lose at least one of our three spots for the men's road race, since highly ranked riders from nations outside of the top 30 will start to "bump" national quotas for countries ranked 26-30.

On the track side, it will all come down to the Worlds next month, it looks like. Lori-Ann Muenzer is pretty secure, but Mandy Poitras will likely have to finish top-10 at the Worlds in the Points Race for Canada to receive a spot in Athens.


Tour de l'Aude Team

The CCA has decided upon the Canadian team which will contest the Tour de l'Aude in France next month. The team will consist of Amy Moore, Lyne Bessette, Nicole Demars, Erin Willock and Gina Grain.


Team Soliton Warp Speed TT - B.C.
Courtesy Doug Preston

It was a perfect day for a fast TT. The new and improved course turned out to be a hit with the riders. With Ken Johnson of Schwalbe setting the best time at 24:58 followed by Scott Slater of Rocky Mountain at 25:44 and the old man of Cat 1 class James Neil of Trek-VW. In the woman's Cat 1 it was National Team member Leah Goldstein leading the way with 27:44 followed by Samantha Egger of Escape Velocity at 28:47 and Sara Neil of Trek-VW at 29:43. Many thanks to our sponsors Texana Rice, Wedgewood Hotel, Labicicletta, Stantec and Schwalbe Tires. Also to my fellow club members to helping out.

Cat 1 Women
Leah Goldstein 27:44.10
Pamela Egger 28:47.18
Sara Neil 29:22.23
Maria Leee 29:43.00
Suzanne Macht 31:14.16

Cat 2 Women
Moriah MacGregor 29:25.06
Corinne Issel 30:46.24
Melissa Kerr 30:46.63
Barb Belcher 31:21.52
Sara Lalibitere 31:50.10

Cat 3/4 Women
Kim Atkinson 31:59.00
Christa Barr 32:31.00
Danielle McLaughlin 33:12.22
Lesley Trivett 33:26.94
Jenny Watson 35:43.00

Cat 1 Men
Kenneth Johnson 24:58.00
Scott Slater 25:44.92
James Neil 26:00.25
Sean Dawson 26:42.14
Matthew Chater 27:18.00
Paul Berry 29:40.17

Cat 2 Men
John Tolkamp 25:43.28
Damien Waugh 26:38.36
David Goosen 27:25.00
Jordon Guenette 27:58.00
Dave Cressman 30:31.02

Cat 3 Men
Jim Kwasnicki 26:51.00
Dan Schmit 27:15.00
Geoff Argul 27:45.00
Glenn Barr 27:48.00
Dave Simard 28:01.01
Quinn Anderson 28:05.22
Mike Johnson 28:11.19
Eric Van deen 28:20.93
David Dunnison 28:29.15
Martin Bojesew 29:13.18
Scott Gaterell 29:31.00
Peter Kerklaan 29:44.27
Matt Drown 30:12.00

Cat 4 Men
John Litherland 28:30.66
Andy George 28:48.00
Al Gair 28:54.00
Robert Major 28:58.00
Neil Truncik 29:27.00
Matt Venselaar 29:44.00
Galen Kehler 30:03.00
Sean Hickey 30:07.00
Jeff Spence 30:07.05
Steve Gabrys 30:35.20
Norm Rotter 30:54.29
Steve Cotter 30:59.11
Sean Finucane 31:37.46
Patrick Brick 31:40.54
Vince Lee 32:08.00
Calvin Gehlen 32:10.00

Cat 5 Men
David Roberts 28:51.08
Nathan MacDonald 29:09.13
Klint Burton 29:47.00
Mark Riley 30:21.16
James Holt 30:47.22
Jared Winton 31:20.00
Travis Stevenson 31:29.26
Mike McArthur 32:00.00
Simon Blythe 32:48.00
Brandon Carey 33:20.00
Francis vanderLoos 35:23.00


Pan Am Mountain Bike Championships - Ecuador
Courtesy USA Cycling

Colorado Springs, Colo. (April 26, 2004) - Sue Haywood (Davis, W.Va.) and Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Boulder, Colo.) each took home gold medals from the Pan American Mountain Bike Championships this past weekend in Baños, Ecuador. Designated as a Continental Championship by the UCI, Haywood and Horgan-Kobelski each earned 125 UCI points for their victories.

American women swept the podium in the elite women's race as Mary McConneloug (Fairfax, Calif.) and Alison Dunlap (Colorado Springs, Colo.) took second and third respectively. Currently, the trio of American women are pursuing UCI points necessary for Olympic selection. McConneloug's second place finish earned her 115 points and Dunlap's bronze medal performance netted her 110. This was the first time since June of 2003 that the three riders considered Olympic hopefuls competed in the same race.

Todd Wells (Durango, Colo.) placed second to Horgan-Kobelski and Brazil's Marcio Ravelli prevented a similar all-American podium in the men's race with his bronze medal ride.

Elite Men
1 Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA)
2 Todd Wells (USA)
3 Marcio Ravelli (BRA)

Elite Women
1 Sue Haywood (USA)
2 Mary McConneloug (USA)
3 Alison Dunlap (USA)