The 2016 Canadian Junior Track Championships got off to a strong start on Friday at the Mattamy National Cycling Centre in Milton, Ontario, with BC riders setting a new Canadian Record in the Jr. Women’s Team Sprint by Erin Attwell and Maggie Coles-Lyster with a time of 36.339 seconds. Also in the Team Sprint, the U17 Women’s composite team of Quebec and BC’s Tripleshot (Simone Boilard/Sarah Van Dam) and the B.C. composite squad TaG Cannondale Tripleshot (Tyler Davies/Ethan Ogrodniczuk/Riley Pickrell) took the gold medal and coveted maple leaf jersey. In the U17 Men’s TP event, BC’s Composite team of TaG Cannondale Tripleshot (Tyler Davies/Eric Inkster/Riley Pickrell/Quinn Storey) took the silver medal.
Breaking the record was amazing. We didn’t know what the Canadian record was, but we knew we wanted that time. Erin and I had only trained a few times together. We are strong riders and knew we could work together to make it happen. This year I do feel as though I have target on my back. However, I think that it makes for some great racing. Especially with qualifications for Worlds on the line this weekend, it really does bring out the best racing in everyone. Moving into 2017 I think Erin and I will be working a bit more on our standing starts and trying to sort out the gearing a bit more to ensure that we are at the World’s level.
– Maggie Coles-Lyster
Saturday’s events kicked off with the Individual Pursuit, followed by Sprints and finally the Points race. Again, BC was no stranger to the podium with Maggie Coles-Lyster taking the gold medal and adding yet another Maple Leaf Jersey to her collection and Erin Attwell taking Silver. Also worth mentioning is Erin’s record-breaking ride in her qualifying race with a time of 2:27.020. In the Jr. Men’s IP race John Willcox took the silver and Cam Fitzmaurice rounded out the podium with a bronze medal. In the U17 Women’s IP event Sarah Van Dam took the gold, and in the U17 Men’s IP Riley Pickrell also took the gold and broke the Canadian record by over 3 seconds.
Breaking the Canadian record was shocking. I was planning to break the record, however, I wasn’t expecting to actually break it. When I was prepping for Milton, the times I had to set were a lot faster than I thought I could actually achieve. For me, this weekend is about what I CAN do. So I’m willing to try everything and anything and see what happens. I felt I executed the ride according to my plan, my opener was a bit too fast, however, every split after was within a tenth of my schedule. In the points race my wheel was the one of biggest fought over wheels, so it was a bit sketchy behind me with wheels rubbing up against me. I definitely feel as though I have a target on my back going into the rest of the bunch races this weekend.
-Riley Pickrell
The points race, a crowd favourite saw U17 Rider Sarah Van Dam take 4th place in the women and Riley Pickrell taking the Silver in the men’s event. The Junior women’s race was an exciting one with Holly Simonson making some moves and trying to pressure the rest of the group to get into the race. Maggie-Coles Lyster led the way throughout the race, finally breaking from the pack with 8 to go and finishing over half a lap in front of the pack, which was led by Erin Attwell. In the Junior Men’s race Cam Fitzmaurice took control of the race from the get go, he stayed within the top 3 for the entire race, strategically collecting his points, and finishing the race in the lead position capturing another gold medal for BC.
And finally, the sprint finals rounded out the day with Sarah Van Dam taking the gold in the U17 Women’s race, Riley Pickrell taking the gold in the U17 Men’s race, Maggie Coles-Lyster taking the gold in the Jr. Women’s Race, and Erin Attwell taking the silver.
Coming into Nationals this year I felt a bit more confident as I already had one year under my belt, and had an idea of what the level of competition was going to be. I see the girls I raced with last year as role models. This time around I knew I needed to focus on the process and not the outcome, although that can be hard. I knew I needed to look for opportunities, and act on those opportunities. This weekend is about being the best I can and knowing that I may not always win, but to use those losses to push me to be better.
– Sarah Van Dam
Click here to find more information, including links for live streaming of the event. Competition continues on Sunday with the TT, scratch race, Keirin, and elimination events.
