After winning seven medals on Friday, the opening day of competition at the first round of the Para-cycling Road World Cup in Maniago, Italy, Canadian riders added three more medals to their tally over the weekend in the road race events.
Paralympic gold medalist Tristen Chernove of Cranbrook, BC, won the Men’s C2 road race in a field sprint, to add to the silver he won in the time trial. World champion Shelley Gautier of Toronto was also victorious, in the Women’s T1 road race.
“It was a great race, it feels good to win,” admitted Chernove. “I’ve never had a World Cup leader’s jersey before and it felt good to put it on. I have to admit that racing at high speed through cobbles is a new experience for me and I had a couple of touchy moments, but it was a great race.”
The final Canadian medal went to Women’s Tandem team of Robbi Weldon (Ottawa, ON) and her pilot Audrey Lemieux (Montreal, QC), who took bronze in their road race, adding to the silver medal they won in the time trial on Friday.
“The road race was pretty crazy because it was raining and there were some cobble sections,” said Lemieux. “So it was pretty slippery. With our two Canadian teams we tried so hard, but unfortunately the Irish and Greek teams got away at the front, so we were fighting for bronze. Today it was teamwork with both Canadian teams and our coach. It was an amazing day.”
In other Canadian results, fourth places went to Nicole Clermont (St Denis de Brompton, QC) in Women’s C5 and the Women’s Tandem team of Shawna Ryan (Saskatoon, SK) and her pilot Joanie Caron (Rimouski, QC). Charles Moreau (Victoriaville, QC) finished eighth in Men’s H3. The men’s tandem team of Daniel Chalifour (Mont-Laurier, QC) and pilot Jean-Michel Lachance (Quebec, QC), and Marie-Claude Molnar of St-Hubert, QC, in the Women’s C4 did not finish their respective races.
“I’m very pleased with the weekend overall,” said Sebastien Travers, national Para-cycling head coach. “In the road races we have identified a lot of things to work on for the next World Cups and the world championships. I am very satisfied with everyone’s performances and the spirit of the team.”
Cycling Canada is the governing body for competitive cycling in Canada. Founded in 1882, Cycling Canada aims to create and sustain an effective system that develops talented Canadian cyclists to achieve Olympic, Paralympic, and World Championship medal performances. With the vision of being a leading competitive cycling nation by 2020 celebrating enhanced international success, increased national participation and world class event hosting, Cycling Canada manages the High Performance team, hosts national and international events and administers programs to promote and grow cycling across the country. Cycling Canada programs are made possible through the support of its valued corporate partners – Global Relay, Lexus Canada, Mattamy Homes, Louis Garneau and Bear Mountain Resort – along with the Government of Canada, Own The Podium, the Canadian Olympic Committee and the Canadian Paralympic Committee.