Canadian National Team Member
10 time National Champion and
Multiple World Cup Winner
2004 Race Reports
Poitras 5th at BC Cup Opener
Mandy follows Marni Prazsky in the BC Cup #1: Harris Roubaix
photo: Greg DescantesWell it was the first BC Cup of 2004 and the first time all 3 Symmetrics women would come together to race. With Marni and Corinne coming off a little down time after some great Spring Series results, and Mandy returning from injury, we were poised for a great start to the BC Cup series. The race started off aggressive from the gun with Trek rider Sara Neil taking a flyer with Mandy following instantly. Next to go was Sara's team-mate and Israeli national team member Leah Goldstein, with Corinne quick to follow. This was pretty much how the entire race would go, with the Symmetrics women manning the front and taking turns marking the dangerous riders in the field.
As this was a flat course suiting a sprint finish, the plan was to keep Marni as fresh as possible for the victory and for Corinne and Mandy to mark the majority of the attacks. Mandy was able to get away with Leah for four laps - a good situation for the Symmetrics women as Leah has a big engine to drive the break, but Mandy is the stronger sprinter. With Marni able to sit in the pack, we were looking good to place 2 riders in the top 3.
Mandy and Leah however were caught with two laps to go, so the lead out tactics began. Everything had played out exactly to plan with Marni getting into a couple of breaks and winning a prime, but still feeling good for the final lap. Unfortunately bad luck struck the final time through the gravel, with Marni flatting only 2.5km from the finish. Corinne got to the front to set tempo with Mandy right on her wheel, but the race had taken its toll on Mandy who sprinted to a 5th place finish. After a quick wheel change, Marni made a valiant effort to get back onto the pack, but came up just short finishing 50m behind the sprinting bunch. Overall, it was a hard effort from all of the Symmetrics women. With the season only just beginning, this is a very promising start.
Poitras and Prazsky take the men to task
Symmetrics Women's Elite Team Report
Saturday March 6, 2004
Langley, BC, CanadaSaturday - Zero Avenue
After 7 years of racing in different jerseys, Marni Prazsky and I have finally come together to combine our strengths and don the same uniform. Although we have always helped each other out in races over the past years, it was very exciting to make it formal in 2004 by racing on the same team. While we are both Symmetrics rookies, we are looking forward to joining forces with second year Symmetrics rider, Corinne Issel for the upcoming season.
As Marni and I lined up with the men in the B category to begin the day, our plan was to stay near the front and make sure nothing major got up the road without one of us in the move. On this rolling course we were both looking for good finishes and were excited about working together. As the race progressed it was pretty clear that nothing would stay away as the wind was quite strong and the group was chasing everything down. Marni was able to get into a break of 4 at about the mid-way point of the race, but unfortunately it, like all the others, was swallowed up by the quickly chasing group.
With two laps to go it was decided that I would lead Marni out for the sprint finish with the help of Jeremy Storie (wearing two hats in this race, Symmetrics director and dEVo race organizer). Our plan played out perfectly until the final 400m, when a Bayside rider attacked, taking a dEVo rider with him. I was able to jump right hard, but Marni had to split left, having to make up a bit of a gap. In the end it was a great day for the Symmetrics women, as we crossed the line 2nd and 5th. This race combined with last weekend's 5th place finish for us in the B group signals a great start for the Symmetrics women's squad.
Results - dEVo/PowerBar Spring Series #2
Neil Hahn (dEVo/Powerbar) - 1st
Mandy Poitras (Symmetrics Cycling) - 2nd
Joel Regimbald (Synergy Racing) - 3rd
Dan Schmit (Bayside) - 4th
Marni Prazsky (Symmetrics Cycling) - 5th
3 Times Unlucky for Poitras in Mexico
Track World Cup #2 - Aguascalientes, Mexico
Points Race - 12th
Scratch Race - DNF (crashed)
photo: Casey Gibson, Velonews.comOver the past 6 years I have represented the Tim Hortons Canadian National Team in Mexico 5 times in 3 different cities and have either crashed or gotten really sick in each of the 3 locations.
As if dealing with the effects of racing at 6000ft altitude wasn't enough, I arrived with a broken fork, flatted on the start line of the Scratch Race and crashed with 3 laps to go!! After using 5 min Epoxy to glue my fork tip back in and having two days to acclimatize to the altitude in Aguascalientes, Mexico, I raced my first event, the Points Race, on the third day there. Sprinters love the altitude as it produces very fast times for them, but for endurance riders, the lack of oxygen is quite a hindrance unless you are well adjusted. If you are just making one single, short, hard effort, you don't seem to notice the effects of altitude, but if you are racing anything longer than 1km, recovery after repeated efforts becomes quite a problem. During the 20km race, I felt like I was breathing through a blocked straw and was doubtful that a single muscle fibre in my legs was receiving even an ounce of oxygen.
I gave it everything I had in the Points Race, going with attacks, bridging up to breaks and acquiring a few points along the way. In the end, I finished the race in a breakaway, found myself leading out the final sprint, only to have two other riders pip me at the line. Unfortunately my efforts only afforded me 12th place out of the 34 starters. Although I am not happy with my final result, I am happy with the effort I gave and how I raced despite the conditions and how I felt.
I was really looking forward to the Scratch Race, as this is usually my strength. There were 35 starters (the maximum allowed on a 333m track). It was quite a nervous pack on the whole as there were a lot of inexperienced racers trying to compete for Worlds points to have a shot at the Olympics. In the end, there were 3 major crashes towards the end of the race, with a total of 13 riders going down between the 3 crashes, myself being one of the casualties with 3 laps to go. Two riders crashed in front of me and with no brakes and no room to maneuver around them, I was launched over the handlebars landing on the front of my helmet then my elbows and knees. I seemed to have tagged every possible protruding bone that could possibly sustain scrapes and bruises.
I am now at home trying to recover and after a few days of physio will hopefully be able to get back on my bike by Friday. The next World Cup will be in Manchester mid April, but I have chosen to give this one a miss due to my injuries and the quick turn around time between events. I am now focussing on getting in some solid training before competing at the final Track World Cup in Sydney, Australia in May.
I thank you all so much for continuing to support me (and replace my damaged equipment) on this challenging road to the Olympics: Rocky Mountain Bicycles, PowerBar, Tim Hortons, Shimano, Easton Sports, TUFO North America, Rudy Project, Adidas, Basic Sports Nutrition, AVIS Rent A Car, Race Face Headsets, GiroPoste, See You in Athens Fund, and Symmetrics Cycling.
Mandy Poitras takes 4th at World Cup in MoscowFriday February 13th, 2004
Moscow, RussiaMandy Poitras has pretty much secured her spot at the World Track Cycling Championships in Melbourne, Australia with a very strong 4th place finish in the 20 km Points Race on February 13, 2004 in Moscow at the opening round of the 2004 World Cup.
Poitras, racing for the Tim Horton's Canadian National Team, won two sprints outright in the 60 lap race held in the Krylatskoye Velodrome built for the 1980 Olympic Games. Poitras narrowly missed the bronze medal by 1 point and was in the bronze position going into the final sprint. The top four riders score points in each of 10 sprints contested every 2 km. In the final sprint Poitras finished 5th just out of the points. In a telephone interview with her coach she was happy with her preparation and level of fitness as it indicates she is easily on par with the top athletes. Poitras, the sole Canadian rider in the Points Race, commented she was at a definite disadvantage without a teammate but was able to play off the other nations. The final sprint was a tall order for her to take as the two Cuban's performed a good lead-out placing 2nd and 4th in the final sprint vaulting one of them past Poitras by one point in the final standings. Russian Olga Sylusareva won the race.
Poitras commented she is reasonably happy with fourth but she comes to these World Cups to win and had the legs and fitness to do so. The fourth place almost assures her a spot in Melbourne, which is the final Olympic selection criteria, and her results are proof that her preparation has been good.
On February 15th Poitras placed 7th in the 10 km Scratch Race. Poitras was in great position for the finish when a crash beside her wreaked havoc in the group and caused Poitras to have to slow and then reaccelerate in the final 100 metres where she could only manage 7th.
Poitras will travel home on Feb 16th and begin preparations for the second World Cup round in Mexico in mid March.
Burnaby Velodrome Race Series #2 - Burnaby BC
Mass Start Madness
January 9-11, 20041st Scratch Race (feature)
1st Scratch Race (short)
2nd Tempo Race
2nd Snowball Race
4th Points Race
8th EliminationRacing for Rocky Mountain/PowerBar, I competed in the Burnaby Velodrome event this past weekend posting some great results against a competitive field of men and women from all over the US and Canada. Despite fighting off a mild flu, it proved to be a great opportunity to test out my legs prior to the first World Cup in February. The name of the event was "Mass Start Madness", so the weekend provided plenty of group racing with distances ranging from 5km to 20km and up to 20 riders on the track at one time battling it out for the win. Everyone finished the weekend with extremely tired legs having put in approximately 200km on the track over the 3 days.
I will now have 4 more weeks to build on this fitness as I prepare for the Track World Cup in Moscow, Russia, February 13-15 where I will be representing the Tim Hortons Canadian National Team. This will be the first of 4 World Cups that will act as both qualifiers for the World Championships and the 2004 Olympic Games.
I'll continue to keep everyone posted of all progress and results. Thank you again for your continued support: Rocky Mountain Bicycles, PowerBar, Tim Hortons, Shimano, Easton Sports, TUFO North America, Rudy Project, Adidas, Basic Sports Nutrition, AVIS Rent A Car, Louis Garneau, Race Face Headsets, GiroPoste, See You in Athens Fund, Symmetrics Cycling.
Mandy taking the Scratch Race at the line
photo: Greg Descantes
Mandy leading the pack in the Points Race
photo: Greg Descantes
