GOLD MEDAL FOR CANADA

Living in Delta we have the luxury of watching or in my case broadcasting on Delta TV the annual Tour de Delta each July with world class cyclists.

Not only is this exciting to watch, it brings the community of Delta out to watch the riders either advance their skills or simply race in BC Superweek, all beginning in North Delta and ends up on the streets of White Rock.

We have seen riders like Langley’s Svein Tuff as well as having the inside scoop with former Olympic Rider of 18 years Brian Walton who originally calls North Delta home as a youngster.

Now we hear that Cycling Canada team members have won a Gold Medal in the women’s team pursuit event at the UCI Track World Cup in Cali, Colombia, earning the white jersey as the UCI World Cup leaders.

The four-woman team qualified with the fastest time of all countries at the race, 4:21.359, just edging the reigning Olympic Champions from Great Britain, who posted the second-fastest time of 4:21.736.

The Canadian Team, comprised of Jasmin Glaesser, Allison Beveridge, Stephanie Roorda and Kirsti Lay, went on to face the rising team from China in the first round, and easily took the win by five seconds to qualify for the gold medal race.

In the second race of the first round, the United States faced Great Britain and created an upset by beating the international powerhouse by over two seconds, setting the table for an all North American gold medal race.

Canada’s Coach Craig Griffin stated “This win was a great team effort from the qualifying round to the final and with a couple of riders not at 100%, the girls really stepped up to produce three solid rides in capturing the World Cup leader’s jersey after this first round.”

He continued “It validates the hard work they have put in at this point and indicates our training is tracking well for the 2016 World Championships and the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.”

The women’s team sprint, Canada’s duo of Monique Sullivan and Kate O’Brien posted a time of 33.726 seconds for the eighth place, but unfortunately the team did not advance to the medal rounds.

The do however continue to climb the international rankings and most importantly the Olympic qualifications.

Canada was the best country among the Americas posting better results than their rivals from Colombia (12^th) and Mexico (14^th).

Without its star rider Hugo Barrette, who crashed in training, the men’s team sprint also did well, taking the fifteenth place with a time of 45.433 seconds.

The Men’s Team Pursuit event was also disputed on the opening night, with Canada taking the 12^th place by posting a time of 4:05.535.