Having preserved her record of never finishing outside the top two places in the Omnium event, Tara Whitten continues to solidify her position as a top contender in London. She also retains the overall lead in the World Cup Rankings. Sprinter Monique Sullivan also posted personal best times in the process of achieving 6th place in the Sprints and 7th place in the Keirin. The valuable points gained here in Cali should serve her well as she pushes to qualify for the Games in London.
Zach Bell, North Vancouver, BC, finished second of the Omnium events, posting three personal bests in the timed event. In the opening flying lap, he posted the second fastest time, a personal best at 13.155 seconds. In the points race, Bell finished tenth with 20 points, despite crashing. In the following race, the elimination race, Bell placed seventh place to sit in fourth place after the first of two competition days.
On the second day of racing, Bell rolled up his sleeve and went to work. He posted the sixth best time in the individual pursuit with 4:27.686 – also a personal best. He then managed to finish fifth in the scratch race, and ended the Omnium with a third place in the individual pursuit, also posting a personal best of 1:03.805.
“Coming in to the race, I was apprehensive about my condition because it’s been over seven months since my last competition on the track. I was pleasantly surprised to have achieved personal bests in all three timed events, considering that we have not focused a lot on the top-end training.” said Zach Bell. “Thanks again for all the support from everyone back home in Canada – from all the back-room staff/people to the great support team I have with me on the road.”
With attending only one of the two World Cup events this season, Bell now sits in fifth place of the overall World Cup leader board.
Young rising star Jasmin Glaesser of Coquitlam, BC, racing her career second World Cup event, placed 13th in the Women’s Individual Pursuit, posting a time of 3:44.044. Glaesser also rode in the women’s scratch race, placing a respectable 15th position.
The Canadian Track cycling will now travel back to Los Angeles, California, where they will continue their training for the upcoming two World Cup events and to pursue their preparations for the 2012 Olympic Summer Games in London. The next UCI World Cup event will be held from January13-15, in Beijing, China.
