December 2/10 8:46 am - Track World Cup #1: Day 1 results

Posted by Editoress on 12/2/10
 

The World Cup Track season kicked off today in Melbourne Australia with the Women's Team Pursuit, Women's Team Sprint, Men's Madison, Men's Team Sprint and Men's Omnium (Fyling Lap, Points, Elimination).

In the Women's Team Pursuit Canada finished 3rd in Qualifying, but was defeated by New Zealand in the final. In the Men's Omnium, Zach Bell has finished 3rd in the Flying lap, 3rd in the Points Race, 15th in the Elimination and currently sits (tied for) 3rd after the 3 events.  In the Men's Team Sprint, Team Canada (Stéphane Cossette/Travis Smith/Joseph Veloce) finished 13th.

CCA Report:

The 2011 UCI Track cycling season kicked off today (December 2nd) in Melbourne, Australia, and the Canadian track cycling team narrowly missed a spot on the podium, finishing fourth in the Women's Team Pursuit.  The Yukon's Zach Bell also enjoyed a good day on the track, and is currently ranked third halfway through the difficult Omnium event.

The women's team pursuit team, comprised of Tara Whitten of Edmonton, Stephanie Roorda of Vancouver, and Laura Brown also of Vancouver, conceded the bronze medal to the New Zealand team.  Canada posted the third fastest time of qualifications to advance to the bronze medal race.

In this newest Olympic track cycling event, Canada's squad finished the race with a time of 3 minutes 25.402 seconds, two seconds behind the New Zealand team.  Host nation Australia went on to win the event, defeating Germany in the gold medal showdown.

Zach Bell of Watson Lake, Yukon, is currently in third place of the Men's Omnium event, with three of six events already disputed. Bell placed third in both the Flying Lap race and the Points Race, before finishing 15th in the Elimination race. Three more events remain on the calendar for the Omnium tomorrow: the Individual Pursuit, the Scratch Race and the Time Trial.

In the Men's Team Sprint, Canada went on to finish in 13th place. The team was comprised of Travis Smith of Calgary, Stephane Cossette of Chicoutimi, Québec, and Joseph Veloce of Fonthill, Ontario. The powerful British team took first place.

All eyes will be turned on Canada's Tara Whitten for the second day of competition on Friday, as the Women's Omnium starts. Whitten is the current World Champion in the gruelling event comprised of six different races, from sprint events to endurance events.