Day 3 of the Pan Am track championships nets silver for Lamoureaux, another record for Ritter
Ritter sets a junior men's record in the flying 200-m a day after doing the same in the 1,000-m
Friday, Day 3 of the Pan Am track championships in Aquascalientes, Mexico saw Canadian riders add a sixth medal to their country’s overall count, with Victoria-based athlete Jay Lamoureux taking silver in the men’s individual pursuit.
Lamoureux’s second-place finish follows the second day of competition that added gold and bronze to Canada’s haul.
Having clocked the day’s fastest qualifying time, Lamoureux rolled out in the gold medal final against Eduardo Estrada of Columbia, finishing in 4:16.950—0.783 seconds behind Estrada. Canada was also represented in the top 10, thanks to Adam Jamieson’s finish of 4:26.157.
Edmonton’s Stefan Ritter, meanwhile, followed up his Day 2 junior world record—set in the 1,000 m—with another in men’s flying 200 m qualifier, which he finished fifth overall. With his Day 3 performance, Ritter joins Sainte-Christine, Que.’s Joel Archambault in moving on to Saturday’s quarterfinals, after the latter’s eighth-place finish.
Looking ahead, Ritter is taking the remainder of competition one round at a time.
“It’s definitely very exciting and a huge honour to break the world record,” the Quebec athlete said. “During the windup for the 200, my legs felt a little flat, but coming down the banking I felt really good. It just goes to show that your perception doesn’t always let you know how good you are feeling.”
In the men’s omnium, an event led by Aidan Caves of Vancouver, who has taken three wins—in the scratch race, the individual pursuit and elimination. With 120 points in overall classification, Caves is the rider to catch as the omnium continues.
“The goal today,” Caves said, “was three top rides and that’s what I came away with. Not a bad start to the omnium, for sure.”
Caves is followed in the standings by Argentina’s Facundo Olaf Crisafulli and Julio Padilla of Guatemala, both of whom sit at 106 points overall. Ed Veal of Queensville, Ont., also represented Canada on the track, with a 10th place finish in the points race.
The Pan Am championships roll to a close on Sunday, Oct. 9.
