CANADA WINS GOLD & SILVER ON DAY 2 AT MILTON WORLD CUP | Cycling Canada Cyclisme

CANADA WINS GOLD & SILVER ON DAY 2 AT MILTON WORLD CUP

Milton, December 3, 2017 – Team Canada took their second and third medals of the Milton Track World Cup on Saturday, delighting the home crowd.  The women’s Team Pursuit squad won the gold medal, while Allison Beveridge took silver in the women’s Omnium.

Canada came into the Team Pursuit competition as the favourite, and did not disappoint, facing New Zealand in the gold medal final.  The Canadian team of Ariane Bonhomme, Kinley Gibson, Annie Foreman-Mackey and Beveridge chased down the New Zealand squad, catching them in the final kilometre of the race, automatically ending the competition. France took the bronze medal.

Less than 30 minutes after anchoring the Team Pursuit squad to gold, Beveridge returned to the track for the fourth and final event in the four-race Omnium. Going into the final Points Race, Beveridge was sitting in second behind Japan’s Yumi Kajihara, and four points ahead of Great Britain’s Eleanor Dickinson. Kajihara proved to be untouchable, winning her fourth straight race to lock up the gold medal with 154 points, however, Beveridge and Dickinson battled all race for silver, with Beveridge holding on to win the silver medal by a slim two points.

“I knew coming into today that I might have to race both the Team Pursuit and the Omnium” said Beveridge, “but I didn’t realize quite how close together they were in the schedule. It was a busy day, but a good day overall.  My legs were pretty tired going into the final race; I wanted to give it a go against the Japanese girl, but I realized that I had to defend second.  My legs were definitely hurting at the end of that one. I’m a bit disappointed that I couldn’t do double gold, because standing on top of the podium and singing your own anthem at home is pretty special, so the Team Pursuit gold is definitely a highlight.”

In other competitions, Hugo Barrette made it to the final of the men’s Keirin, finishing sixth overall, while Amelia Walsh qualified 14th in the women’s Sprint, but was knocked out after the first round.