05.05.11 - CANADA CAPTURES TWO GOLD MEDALS AT PARA-CYCLING ROAD WORLD CUP IN AUSTRALIA

The women tandem of Robbi Weldon and Lyne Bessette, as well as Jaye Milley take top honours in road race

(Sydney, AUS – May 5, 2011) The Canadian Para-Cycling Team won three medals on the second day of the 2011 UCI Para-Cyling Road World Cup in Sydney, Australia, including two gold medals. The women’s tandem composed of Robbi Weldon and Lyne Bessette, as well as Jaye Miley both won the gold medal in the road race of their respective categories while the Canadian handcycling relay team took the bronze medal.

Jaye Milley of Calgary, Alberta dominated the road race in the C1 category, completing the 53.7-km course in a lightning fast time of 1:40.44, beating his closest competitor, Austria’s Andreas Kirkl, by more than eight minutes.

Milley, who has been on the National Team for less than a year, is learning rapidly and is becoming an athlete to watch for on the start line. Milley won the bronze medal in the Kilo time trial at the 2011 UCI Para-Cyling Track World Championships in Montichiari, Italy, this past March.

The women’s tandem race, won by the Canadian duo comprised of Paralympian Robbi Weldon of Thunder Bay, Ontario and Olympian Lyne Bessette of Knowlton, Quebec, was much different. In a thrilling three-tandem sprint to the finish line, it’s the Canadians that edged by just one second the tandem of Jayne Parsons and Sonia Waddell of New Zealand, second, and the British duo of Lora Turnham and Fiona Duncan, third.

“Despite a very technical course, but really fun by its variety, we were able to attack at the right moment to break the peloton to better end the race in the final sprint,” said women’s tandem pilot and experienced cyclist Lyne Bessette.

“It feels weird for me to cross the finish line in first place, but I kind of like it! This was really fun racing today,” added team-mate and former cross-country skier Robbi Weldon.

The victory in the Women’s tandem race re-affirms Canada’s strength in the category. The World Champion tandem of Weldon/Bessette has been together for less than a year and has had tremendous success since its inception, notably winning two medals at the 2011 UCI World Championships including the gold medal in the road race. In addition to the World Champion duo, the tandem of Geneviève Ouellet and Emilie Roy, not present in Sydney, is also a strong contender for international medals.

The Canadian hand cycling relay team comprised of Mark Ledo of Maple, Ontario, Mark Beggs of Montreal, Quebec and Robert Labbé of Québec, Quebec won the bronze medal. The relay race, won by the American para-cyclists, saw three athletes doing two laps each for a total of six laps. The American won with a time of 42:42.05, with a comfortable lead of 2:50 over the Italians and 3:47 over the Canadians.

In the Men’s tandem race, the duo of Daniel Chalifour of St-Jérôme, Québec and pilot Alexandre Cloutier of St-Antoine-de-Tilly, Québec placed seventh, crossing the finish line 7:51 after the winning duo of Bryce Lindores and Sean Finning of Australia. The men’s tandem race was certainly a crowd pleaser to the very end with a sprint finish by the two Australian tandem in the race.

In the Men’s C2 race, Matthieu Parent of Granby, Québec placed sixth in the race won by Italian Fabrizio Macchi.

The 2011 UCI Para-Cycling Road World Cup ends tomorrow with the presentation of the time trials, for all categories.

RESULTS – 2011 UCI PARA-CYCLING ROAD WORLD CUP

Men – Road Race – C1 [53.7 km]

1. MILLEY, Jaye (C1) CAN 1:40:442. ZIRKL, Andreas (C1) AUT +8:24

3. ZAHN, Anthony (C1) USA +8:28

Men – Road Race – C2 [53.7 km]

1. MACCHI, Fabrizio (C2) ITA 1:33:01

2. LYNCH, Colin (C2) IRL +3:47

3. NEL, Jaco (C2) RSA +7:36

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6. PARENT, Matthieu (C2) CAN +7:39

DNS. BOLDT, Arnold (C2) CAN

Women – Road Race – B [78.6 km]

1. WELDON, Robbi / BESSETTE, Lyne (B) CAN 2:22:30

2. PARSONS, Jayne / WADDELL, Sonia (B) NZL +0:01

3. TURNHAM, Lora / DUNCAN, Fiona (B) GBR +0:01

Men – Road Race – B [103.5 km]

1. LINDORES, Bryce / FINNING, Sean (B) AUS 2:36:06

2. MODRA, Kieran / MCPHEE, Scott (B) AUS +0:00

3. RACHFAL, Clark / SWANSON, David (B) USA +3:05

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7. CHALIFOUR, Daniel / CLOUTIER, Alexandre (B) CAN +7:51

Hand Cycling Team Relay [23.64km]

1. USA 42:42.05 [DAVIS, Marianna (H2) / UPDIKE,Matthew (H2) / SANCHEZ,Oscar (H4)]

2. ITALY +2:50 [ZANARDI, Alessandro (H4) / FENOCCHIO, Francesca (H2) CECCHETTO, Paolo (H2)]

3. CANADA +3:47 [LEDO,Mark (H3) / BE GGS,Mark (H2) / LABBE,Robert (H1)]

Full results in all categories can be found at www.uci.ch.

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