BC athletes raced for the coveted Maple Leaf jerseys at the 2018 Junior/U17 National Track Championships this past weekend at the Mattamy National Cycling Centre in Milton, Ontario. BC came away with 14 national titles, 28 national medals, and every BC rider stepped onto the podium – BC’s best year yet!
Sarah Van Dam from Victoria walked away with 7 national titles and 10 medals, and on the men’s side, Riley Pickrell scooped up 6 national titles and 8 medals. It was a jam-packed weekend, with riders participating in individual events, team events, sprint and endurance, maximizing their national experience and showcasing their diversity to the rest of the country.
Sarah Van Dam had this to say about her experience, “It’s pretty unreal. I came into this competition thinking that there were so many good riders here, so I was just taking it race by race. I just worked on good positioning for every race and it turned out well. I knew I came here near the top, but I didn’t know I was going to be at the very top; there are so many strong riders here.”
Riley Pickrell, in his first year as a junior, had this to say, “I came into the weekend expecting to do well and I think I achieved what I came to do. I was moving up a category [to Junior], so I thought the competition would be as hard as it was. I’m super excited about the Canadian record [in the Team Sprint]. My teammates and I have been working hard all winter for it, nailing the exchanges, and it all came together.”
This was also the first year where Juniors were able to participate in the Madison event, something many of our riders were very excited to experience. With both the women’s team taking the top step (Van Dam and Garrison) and our men taking the two positions, both first (Pickrell/Ogrodniczuk) and third (Rubuliak/Hodgins).
Over the past 6 months, we’ve had five Teams of BC training camps where BC riders had an opportunity to work with coaches on developing their skills, train, meet with new riders from across the province, and get familiar with new equipment for the new juniors.
To see a full list of results or to watch the event check out the Cycling Canada website.
Results
1st Junior Sprint Women – BC – Sarah Van Dam
1st Junior Women Scratch Race – BC – Sarah Van Dam
1st Junior Women Keirin – BC – Sarah Van Dam
1st Junior Women Pursuit – BC – Sarah Van Dam
1st Junior Women Elimination Race – BC – Sarah Van Dam
1st Junior Women 500 Time Trial – BC – Sarah Van Dam
1st Junior Women Madison – BC – (Van Dam/Garrison)
1st Junior Men Elimination Race – BC – Riley Pickrell
1st Junior Men Keirin – BC – Riley Pickrell (BC), 2nd Ethan Ogrodniczuk
1st Junior Men Kilo – BC – Riley Pickrell, 2nd Ethan Ogrodniczuk (BC), 3rd Tyler Davies (BC)
1st Junior Sprint Men – BC – Riley Pickrell, 2nd Tyler Davies (BC), 3rd Ethan Ogrodniczuk (BC)
1st Junior Men Madison – BC – (Pickrel/ Ogrodniczuk)
1st Junior Men Team Sprint – BC – (Pickerell, Davies, Ogrodniczuk)
1st Junior Men Scratch Race – BC – Ethan Ogrodniczuk
2nd Junior Men Pursuit – BC – Riley Pickrell
2nd U17 Men Pursuit – BC – Jacob Rubuliak
2nd Junior Women Team Sprint – BC – (Van Dam/Garrison)
2nd U17 Women Team Sprint – BC – (Barnes/Paquette)
2nd U17 Men Team Pursuit – BC – (Bosenberg/Haaheim/Rubuliak/Kinnburgh)
2nd U17 Women Team Pursuit – BC – (Barnes/Ujfalusi/Wallin/Matson)
2nd Junior Women Points Race – BC – Sarah Van Dam
3rd U17 Men Keirin – BC – Jacob Rubuliak
3rd U17 Men Elimination Race – BC – Jacob Rubuliak
3rd U17 Men Points Race – BC – Jacob Rubuliak
3rd Junior Women Team Pursuit – BC – (Garrison/Gin/Campbell/VanDam)
3rd U17 Men Team Sprint – BC – (Bosenberg/Haaheim/Rubuliak)
3rd Junior Men Team Pursuit – BC – (Pickrell/Ogrodniczuk/Hodgins/Storey/Schnare)
3rd Junior Men Madison – BC – (Rubuliak/Hodgkins)
