(Milton) Lauriane Genest brilliantly secured Canada’s third medal at the UCI Cycling Nations Cup in Milton by taking third place in the keirin on Sunday.
Bronze medalist in the discipline at the Tokyo Olympics, Genest started her race from lane 6 and had to move up the entire peloton to get on the podium.
World champion and holder of the Olympic silver medal, New Zealander Ellesse Andrews launched the hostilities very early, with almost three laps still to go. She was immediately followed by the two Dutch women, Steffie van der Peet and Hetty van de Wouw. Colombian Martha Bayona Pineda quickly joined them, while Frenchwoman Mathilde Gros and Genest saved energy for the final sprint.
The strategy bore fruit for the Quebecer, who took advantage of the peloton’s aspiration to overflow to the outside and move up the ranks. In the final sprint, Andrews triumphed ahead of van der Peet and Genest.
“It wasn’t the easiest way to go forward, but I knew I didn’t have the legs to launch the attack early. I knew they were going to come back at me down the stretch if I did something like that,” Genest said.
“I decided to be patient, but when I saw that I was still in sixth place with one lap to go, I would say that I didn’t really believe it anymore. Things came together and I really gave it my all on the last lap. »
This medal confirmed what Genest is capable of doing, but for the Lévis athlete, it is not intended to be a balm on his weekend, after missing the podium in the team sprint and finishing fifth in the individual sprint. .
“I won bronze in Australia [en février], another one here, bronze at the Olympics… It can be frustrating to always win bronze, but you shouldn’t be too upset with a podium. Maybe silver or gold will be for the Games. »
Kelsey Mitchell, who, unlike Genest, had avoided the repechage stage by winning her qualifying heat, saw her medal hopes dashed in the semi-finals where she placed fourth in her heat, unable to catch up the three runners in front of her.
The Canadian said on Saturday that she was not completely in good shape this weekend. It appeared in this semi-final. However, she recovered well in the small final, as she made a powerful sprint from the outside lane to win the race and finish in seventh place.
“It’s a great race for me heading into the final stretch of training before the Olympics,” Mitchell noted. I haven’t trusted my legs for a while, but they’ve proven they’re back and it’s good to achieve that in the last race before the Olympics. It’s just a shame it didn’t make the grand final. »
Third Canadian in the running, Jackie Boyle also had to go through the repechage. Stuck behind the peloton, Boyle fell after hooking the rear wheel of the cyclist in front of her while trying to go to the outside of the track. After a long slide on the floor, she left the competition area under her own power.
At the repechage, she ran out of legs in the final sprint and was eliminated.
Coles-Lyster a little short
In the women’s omnium, Maggie Coles-Lyster, the only Canadian entered in the competition, had an excellent day. After easily qualifying, she finished fourth in the scratch race, eighth in the tempo race, then fifth in the elimination race.
These results placed her in fourth place with 92 points before the points race, only 10 points behind second place, held by the American Jennifer Valente and the Italian Letizia Paternoster.
Coles-Lyster was only able to add three points to her total in this final event and she slipped to sixth. Undisputed master of the discipline, the British Katie Archibald won with 131 points, followed by Paternoster (111) and Valente (107).
Short day for sprinters
Three of the four Canadians competing in the individual sprint were quickly eliminated.
Tyler Rorke, Ryan Dodyk and 17-year-old sprinter Cole Dempster all saw their day end in the first elimination round.
Only Nick Wammes continued to the round of 16, where he was eliminated by Sébastien Vigier. Patient, the Frenchman let Wammes commit and launch the attack. Vigier finally got ahead of him from the outside, winning the race by a wheel.
The Dutchman Harrie Lavreysen, reigning world and Olympic champion, won the event in two rounds ahead of the Surinamese Jair Tjon En Fa. The bronze medal was awarded to the Trinidadian Nicholas Paul, who also defeated the Israeli of Russian origin Mikhail Yakovlev.
Finally, Mathias Guillemette from Trois-Rivières and Michael Foley qualified for the American race, but were not really in the running. It must be said that the pair were not helped by Foley’s fall and the fact that she was caught by the peloton, resulting in a 20-point penalty.
The Canadians finished 11are. The tandems of Belgium, the Netherlands and Portugal – in order – won the medals at stake.
“It was going well for I think 120 laps,” noted Guillemette. Afterwards we had the clash with Michael. We then attempted to limit the damage. I think 11 with a fall is still good. »
The Milton Nations Cup will break in 2025 after three consecutive years. The organizing committee is trying to bring the competition back from 2026 for a new three-year cycle.