Lévis tracker Lauriane Genest achieved quite a feat in the individual sprint event on Saturday as part of the second day of the Canadian Elite Track Championships held at the Milton Velodrome. The Quebec team’s color bearer defeated the reigning Olympic champion, Alberta’s Kelsey Mitchell, to get her hands on the jersey of Canadian champion in the discipline.
In excellent physical shape, as evidenced by her performance, the Quebec cyclist started the day on a good note, setting the benchmark time during qualifying. This first place allowed her to face the eighth and last athlete qualified for the medal round, the athlete from Vancouver Diane Snobelen.
In the quarter-finals, Lauriane Genest won her two waves against Snobelen to get her ticket to the semi-finals. During the evening session, the Olympian was dominant against Ontario’s Jackie Boyle. Thanks to this other victory, she had an appointment with her great rival and great friend Kelsey Mitchell in the final for the Canadian champion jersey.
In front of the reigning Olympic champion, Lauriane Genest drew on all her resources to finally win on each occasion by 0.001 and 0.004 seconds during the two heats. Both athletes recorded top speeds of over 63.6 km/h.
For her part, Saguenéenne Emy Savard showed great things on the oval in the women’s individual sprint event. She first set the seventh fastest time in the qualifying session. Unfortunately, that seventh place meant a clash with Kelsey Mitchell in the quarterfinals. Savard therefore folded the spine in two innings.
Among the men, the Granbyen Philippe Jacob was in his first experience against the national elite on the track, he who is recognized for his speed in the time trial in road cycling. During qualifying, the standard bearer of the Quebec team set the sixth fastest time of the day. In the quarter-finals, he was defeated by Ontario’s Nick Wammes. His journey ended like this.
Ariane Bonhomme dominant
As for endurance events, Gatineau’s Ariane Bonhomme showed that she hasn’t lost any of her form on the oval. The one who now resides in British Columbia did not give her opponents a chance in the Omnium events. In the morning, she won the scratch race, an event where the athlete must complete 30 laps of the track for a distance of 7.5 kilometers as quickly as possible. Also in the morning, she also won the tempo race. Member of the Quebec team, Lily Plante slipped just off the podium during this event. Her teammates Justine Thomas and Pénélope Primeau finished eighth and ninth respectively.
In the evening, she signed a third victory in as many events with the elimination race. Finally, her second place in the points race allowed her to be crowned Canadian Open champion, a ranking that combines the four endurance events.
Simon Dubuc and Tristan Jussaume took part in the endurance events as part of the men’s Omnium. The two cyclists recorded good performances despite the very strong caliber. For his part, Mathias Guillemette slipped just off the podium in the Omnium standings with a harvest of 110 points, three less than Chris Ernst. Fellow Madison racer Dylan Bibic won the national title ahead of Olympian Michael Foley.
Sunday, all the members of the Quebec team will be in action from the morning. Emy Savard and Lauriane Genest will start in a respective heat in the keirin, while Lily Plante, Pénélope Primeau and Justine Thomas will participate in the individual pursuit qualifications. The bronze medalist at the 2019 Junior Track World Championships Tristan Jussaume could surprise more than one Sunday. His teammates Philippe Jacob and Simon Dubuc will also take part in the men’s individual pursuit qualifications.