Cycling Can Take You Anywhere

With the warm weather, brings out the cycles from the back shed, but not for some as they have been racing all winter.

Living on Canada’s west coast enjoys some, especially the avid cyclists to ply their skill year round, either indoors at the Burnaby Velodrome or on the side streets of your neighbourhood.

We get to either attend or watch the various “Tour” events in the lower mainland for the first part of July with the first being the Tour de Delta, this year running from July 8^th – 10^th.

The first race takes place in North Delta with the start at the Public Safety Building on 84^th Street and Saturday’s race is through the streets of Ladner and Sunday finishes in Tsawwassen.

With the World Championships taking place in Italy we are hearing of one such rider from Montreal.

Montreal’s Marie-Claude Molnar was the top Canadian rider on Saturday at the Para-cycling Track World Championships in Montichiari, Italy.

Molnar finished fifth in the Women’s C4 Individual Pursuit, recording a time of 4:10.184 for the 3000 metre time trial.

Molnar’s time was 2.714 seconds behind fourth, which would have put her in the medal round, in addition to having  Molnar race in the C4-5 Scratch Race, finishing 12th.

“The Pursuit is always an interesting race for me,” said Molnar. “It is the race that I train for.  I was sick [before the Worlds], unfortunately; it’s something that happens.  My coach was there to push me and it helped tremendously. I had a personal best at sea level, and I’m really glad about that.  The objective for me in the Scratch Race was to gain some experience in the pack, because we were racing C4 and C5 combined.  I think I did a good job in that race.”

The only other Canadians competing were the Men’s Tandem team of Daniel Chalifour  of Mont-Laurier and Jean-Michel Lachance from Quebec.

They finished 15th in the Men’s 1000 metre Time Trial, with a time of one minute and 5.172 seconds. Chalifour and Lachance were 0.673 seconds out of the top10 listings for the event.

The world championships conclude March 20th with only one Canadian rider competing and that’s Cranbrook native Tristen Chernove in the Men’s C1-2-3 Scratch Race Final.

Chernove has already won two gold medals at these championships, in the C2 category.