Canadian
National Team Member
12 time National Champion
Multiple World Cup Winner
World Championships Silver Medalist
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Wednesday, February 18, 2004Canadian results in Moscow point to promising season
Courtesy of the CCA
February 18, 2004 - Racing at the highest level in the world in the middle of the winter isn't easy when you live in Canada, but our national team put in a promising performance at the first round of the 2004 UCI Track World Cup in Moscow.
Mandy Poitras of Langley, B.C., finished fourth in the women's points race and seventh in the scratch race, while Martin Gilbert of Châteauguay, Que., was sixth in the men's scratch race.
National coach Eric Vandeneynde was quick to praise the athletes for arriving in Moscow fit despite the lack of outdoor training opportunities back home.
"Everybody had a competitive level of fitness," said a tired Vandeneynde, speaking on the phone shortly after completing the grueling trip home from Russia.
Canada had six athletes entered in the World Cup, held on Feb. 13-15 at the Krylatskoye
Velodrome in Moscow, one of the fastest tracks in the world.
Edmonton-based sprinter Lars Madsen was the first Canadian to take to the track on Feb. 13 in round one of the men's Keirin competition, where he finished third. Only the first two advanced to the next round.
"He had the opportunity to advance, but he was too hesitant," said Vandeneynde, explaining that Madsen should have launched his sprint earlier. "He was scared he wouldn't be able to hold it to the end."
Madsen had a second opportunity in the repechage, but made another tactical error and finished seventh.
"He had the physical capacity to be there, but he didn't make the most of his opportunities," Vandeneynde said.
Next up was Alex Cloutier of Neuville, Que., in the men's individual pursuit qualifier where he finished 19th in a respectable 4:50.055 despite not using any aero equipment at all.
"He entered in order to open up his legs," explained Vandeneynde, pointing out it was Cloutier's first competition of the year and his first pursuit since the Canadian championships a year and a half ago.
With only the top four pursuiters advancing, the next Canadian on the track was Martin Gilbert of Châteauguay, Qc., who finished an astonishing sixth in the men's scratch race which was contested by all the top nations except Australia.
Gilbert made it into a move with eventual winner Walter Perez of Argentina and Colby Pierce of the U.S. and lapped the field after 22 laps of hard work during which the trio's kilometre times were consistently between 1:03 and 1:06.
"He was impressive, and he impressed a lot of other people," said Vandendeynde, who nevertheless reproached Gilbert for a tactical error after gaining the lap.
"Once he was back in the pack, he stayed at the back," he said. "He'd probably put himself in a position he didn't expect to be in."
In the end, a second group of three riders also lapped the field and Gilbert ended up sixth.
But it was a result to be proud of because, as Vandeneynde pointed out, the majority of the other riders came straight from the European six-day season whereas Gilbert's preparation had consisted mainly of CompuTrainer sessions.
Mandy Poitras of Langley, B.C. rounded out the first day of competition with an excellent fourth place in the women's points race, a single point out of bronze.
For Vandeneynde, this marks Poitras' return to top international competition after a season in which she had lost much of her confidence due to crashes.
"She did a beautiful points race. In the last sprint she made a small tactical error - she should have jumped earlier," said Vandeneynde. "She has taken out a serious option on Olympic qualification."
The next day saw Madsen back on the track, this time for the flying 200m time trial to qualify for the sprints competition. But despite a career-second best 10.690 s, it was only good enough for 36th in a tournament in which only the top 18 advance.
For Vandeneynde, there are no secrets to Madsen's performance.
"It's a question of speed: The others were faster, that's all," he said.
Erin Carter of St. Anne, Man., was next up in the women's individual pursuit qualifier, and although she only managed 14th in 3:53.665, Vandeneynde sees it as a sign of future promise. Carter has had a tendency to go out too fast and to fade throughout her puruit; this time, she started slow and her pace relative to the others picked up: she was 18th after the first kilo, but her second kilo was the 14th fastest and her last was fifth best.
This shows she has the endurance base she needs and just needs to work on her top speed.
"In Mexico, she should put out an interesting performance," Vandeneynde said.
Glen Rendall was the other Canadian on track that day, and he finished a disappointing 36th in the points race, two laps down.
"He gives all his heart and all his soul," said Vandeneynde, but the consistently high speed of the race was simply simply too much for Rendall.
The final day of racing for the Canadians started with the Madison qualifier, in which Cloutier and Gilbert narrowly missed advancing to the final with an 11th place.
"They were going as well as they've ever gone, but they raced as bad as they've ever raced," said Vandeneynde, pointing out a litany of technical errors blighted a race in which they showed themselves physically capable of hanging in with the top six-day riders.
Vandeneynde thinks they have the potential to qualify for the Olympics.
"It's going to take luck, but they have the motor to be there."
The final event of the tournament for the Canadians was the women's scratch race, and with both Carter and Poitras on the start line there was a tactical card to play.
Carter started the race out by attacking, forcing the Russians to sacrifice one of their riders to reel her in and keeping the pack strung out, making it easier for Poitras to maintain position. Then, with four laps to go Carter kept the initiative by attacking again, letting Poitras play off the others to set up her final sprint. Unfortunately, she was held up slightly by a last-lap crash but still finished a confidence-boosting seventh.
Next up for the track program is a camp in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after which a team will be chosen for the Mexico World Cup in one month.
"In Mexico, I expect another good performance from Mandy, Erin will get closer to the top 10 to get some points, for the Madison it's a less technical track so we can hope to get into the top 10, Lori-Ann (Muenzer of Edmonton) will return to the racing scene and the return of the Olympic sprint," said Vandeneynde.
Vandeneynde has high hopes for the Olympic sprint, which is the gateway to qualifying for all the sprint events, and he thinks Canada can build a competitive team in the short term.
"If we feel we are able to score even a single point, we're going," he said. "The same applies to the team pursuit."
Kris Westwood
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