05.14.07 – CCA Pan American track trials produce surprises

May 14, 2007 – The Canadian Cycling Association held track trials in Burnaby, BC, on May 9-11, to identify athletes for the Pan American track championships.

The biggest revelation of the trials was the identification of a new athlete for the team sprint: Lawrence Leroux (19, Oka, QC) will compete alongside team veterans Cam MacKinnon (23, Calgary, AB) and Yannick Morin (32, Otterburn Park, QC).

“It is very significant for us to find an athlete who is fast enough to fill in for Travis Smith, who broke his hip at the worlds,” said CCA High Performance Director Kris Westwood. “Things were looking pretty bad for Olympic qualification in this discipline when Travis got hurt, but this gives us some hope.”

Another young athlete showing potential at the trials was Monique Sullivan (18, Calgary, AB), who narrowly missed the time standard in the women’s sprint but was selected to a self-funded position as a development opportunity based on coaches’ recommendations.

“Monique is our future in women’s sprinting,” said Westwood. “She was fifth fastest qualifier at junior worlds last year, and she’s still a junior this year, so the Pan Ams will be an important learning experience for her.”

Full results from the trials are below (electronic timing, all times were corrected for the ambient air temperature in the velodrome building). The trials were run by National Team Coach Houshang Amiri and Cycling BC head coach Richard Wooles.

Click here for results (PDF 30 KB).