Milton, ON (November 15, 2021) – Canadian athletes from across the country competed at the U17, Junior & Para Canadian Track Championships over the weekend at the Mattamy National Cycling Centre in Milton, ON. Among many standout performances, Junior world champion Dylan Bibic from Mississauga, ON, swept all 10 Junior endurance and sprint events and broke the Junior Canadian record in the Individual Pursuit with a time of 3:12.341, only three seconds off the current world record.
Bibic heads into the U23 category after his most successful year yet, having won gold, silver and bronze medals at the Junior Track World Championships in Cairo, Egypt earlier this summer.
“I came into these national championships in bad form with mediocre times […] but when competition hit, I was able to perform better than I did last year and it just makes me feel so good,” said Bibic. “Now, looking at what I just did [winning 10 gold medals], I think I’m more fit than I was at Junior Track Worlds.”
Although athletes were returning to domestic track competitions for the first time in two years, many showed incredible progress, with Nicole Bradbury (Junior) and Ashlin Barry (U17) winning five gold medals each. In the para-cycling categories, Keely Shaw (C4) and the tandem duos of Carla Shibley & Meghan Brown and Lowell Taylor & Ed Veal all won national titles in the Time Trial and Individual Pursuit.
Cycling BC team riders brought home a respectable amount of hardware as well. Cam McCallum from Langley, BC, displayed his versatility on two wheels as the current BC Provincial U17 XCO Mountain Bike Champion took his talents to the track and won silver medals in the U17 Men’s Individual Pursuit, Sprint, and 500m Time Trial. McCallum added a gold medal to his haul as part of a composite squad in the U17 Men’s Team Pursuit event.
Lily Ujfalusi of New Westminster medalled multiple times in Milton finishing in 2nd place in the Jr. Women’s Keirin, Elimination, and Madison races. Ujfalusi added a gold medal as part of a composite team in the Jr. Women’s Team Pursuit and another silver medal in the Jr. Women’s Team Sprint. The Cycling BC Junior Men’s team of Remy Garrison (Victoria), Campbell Parrish (Vancouver), Marc Sato (Richmond), and Parker Swanstrom (Victoria) finished in 2nd place in the Junior Men’s Team Pursuit while Remy, Marc, and Parker competed in the Team Sprint with a 3rd place finish. Mel Pemble from Victoria was the single Para cyclist for BC and sole competitor in the Women’s Para C3 Individual Pursuit and 5oom Time Trial events, taking the gold in both.
The Canadian Track Championships for Elite and Masters athletes will return to Milton from January 7-9 and will feature several prominent athletes, including Olympic medallists Kelsey Mitchell and Lauriane Genest.
Source: Cycling Canada About Cycling Canada
Cycling Canada is the governing body for competitive cycling in Canada. With the vision of becoming a leading competitive cycling nation, Cycling Canada manages the High Performance team, hosts national and international events and administers programs to promote and grow cycling across the country.
Photos courtesy of Rob Jones and Ivan Rupes of canadiancyclist.com