Canadian para-cyclists finish the UCI World Cup finals in Pietermaritzburg with top-three overall standings
No rider wearing the Maple Leaf took the coveted white jersey after competition in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Three riders, though, have finished in the top three of overall standings after the event.
In Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, no rider wearing the Maple Leaf took the coveted white jersey during the 2015 season, the trophy awarded to class winners in World Cup rankings. Three riders, though, have finished in the top three of overall standings after the event.
After a season like the one past for Canada’s powerhouse para-athletes, such a result neatly book-ends what the world has come to know: the maple leaf-wearing riders are a force to be reckoned with.
Shelley Gautier finished this race weekend as she started it: in strong, dominating fashion. After winning the time trial, the Toronto-based paracyclist went on to win the T1 road race on Saturday, which saw her victorious by a margin of over 12 minutes ahead of Bianca Woolford of Australia, who finished second — taking a time of 59:26, versus Gautier’s winning time of 47:19. Once again, the event saw Gautier besting her 2015 season rival Yulia Sibagatova, riding for Russia. Gautier finished 13:15 ahead of Sibagatova’s time of 1:00:34.
Marie-Eve Croteau just off the podium in the women T2 road race. Shelley Gautier T1 wins a second Gold with a huge gap on 2nd and 3rd! ????
— Cycling Canada PARA (@CanPARACycling) September 12, 2015
Nicole Clermont, too, was one of the Canadian riders to lay claim to a stunning season, with three top-three finishes after no fewer than five races. Capping it off, her performance in Pietermaritzburg added two more podium appearances, with a bronze medal in Sunday’s road race added to her finish after Saturday’s time trial. The outcome of the season elevated her to third overall in standings, something the St-Denis de Prompton school principal will no doubt take home as a feather in her helmet .
Continuing her crushing performance throughout the season and in South Africa, Marie -Claude Molnar was the third Canuck rider to place in the World Cup top three. After her third-place showing at the time trial, a fifth-place result in the road race earner her second in GC.
The women’s Tandem B class also saw another strong ride from Canadian athletes, with Robbi Weldon and Audrey Lemieux taking fourth place — just shy of the podium — with a time of 2:03:27. Alexandre Carrier and Aroussen LaFlamme, similarly, took fourth in the men’s Tandem B classification 2:59 behind the winning Spanish team of Carlos Gonzales Garcia and Noel Martin Infante. And by a decidedly tighter margin, Charles Moreau placed fifth in the men’s H3 class, 00:45 behind Belgium’s winning rider, Jean Francois Deberg.
Charles Moreau prend la 5e place a la course sur route suite a un accident dans le dernier tour. Il etait dans le groupe de 5 leaders.
— Cycling Canada PARA (@CanPARACycling) September 12, 2015
RESULTS – ROAD RACES – 2015 UCI WORLD CUP FINALS
Women T1
1. GAUTIER, Shelley (CANADA) 47:19
2. WOOLFORD, Bianca (AUSTRALIA) 59:26 +12:07
3. SIBAGATOVA, Yulia (RUSSIA) 1:00:34 +13:15
Women T2
1. COOKE, Carol (AUSTRALIA) 40:35
2. WALSH, Jill (USA) 42:02 +1:27
3. MAJUNKE, Jana (GERMANY) 42:45 +2:10
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4. CROTEAU, Marie-Eve (CANADA) 42:51 +2:16
Women C4
1. MORELLI, Shawn (USA) 1:34:07
2. POWELL, Susan (AUSTRALIA) 1:39:08 +05:01
3. SAUL, Elizabeth (GREAT BRITAIN) 1:42:49 +08:42
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5. MOLNAR, Marie-Claude (CANADA) 1:44:48 +10:41
Women C5
1. HARKOWSKA, Anna (POLAND) 1:33:18
2. BRACHTENDORF, Kerstin (GERMANY) 1:33:20 +00:02
3. CLERMONT, Nicole (CANADA) 1:33:50 +00:32
Women B
1. TURNHAM, Lora / HALL, Corrine (GREAT BRITAIN) 2:03:27
2. DE COSTER, Anita / COMMISARIS, Caren (INDEPENDENT) 2:03:27
3. BENITEZ GUZMAN, Josefa / GOMEZ FRANQUET, Beatriu (SPAIN) 2:03:27
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4. WELDON, Robbi / LEMIEUX, Audrey (CANADA) 2:03:27
Men B
1. GONZALEZ GARCIA, Carlos / MARTIN INFANTE, Noel (SPAIN) 2:05:49
2. AVILA RODRIGUEZ, Ignacio / FONT BERTOLI, Joan (SPAIN) 2:06:14 +00:25
3. BATE, Stephen / DUGGLEBY, Adam (GREAT BRITAIN) 2:08:48 +2:59
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4. CARRIER, Alexandre / LAFLAMME, Aroussen (CANADA) 2:08:48 +2:59
Men C3
1. NICHOLAS, David (AUSTRALIA) 1:27:34
2. BOSMANS, Kris (BELGIUM) 1:27:54 +00:20
3. SANTAS ASENSIO, Eduardo (SPAIN) 1:27:54 +00:20
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10. SAMETZ, Michael (CANADA) 1:31:54 +4:20
Men H3
1. DEBERG, Jean Francois (BELGIUM) 1:36:40
2. WEBER, Max (GERMANY) 1:36:40
3. FREI, Heinz (SWITZERLAND) 1:36:40
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5. MOREAU, Charles (CANADA) 1:37:25 +00:45
