Gautier dominates, Clermont claims third in World Cup standings in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

The 2015 UCI para-cycling world cup finals are underway in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, with the first event of competition being the time trial — the last of the 2015 season for Canadian paracyclists. And with Shelley Gautier continuing the leading edge that brought her to South Africa to begin with, it’s not exactly surprising that the Toronto-bred rider took the time trial’s top podium spot, dominating the event with a strong, satisfying victory.

For Gautier, her win came thanks to a four-minute lead over Yulia Sibagatova of Russia, her closest competitor, as well as her rival at multiple competitions throughout this season. Sibagatova’s performance, however, was strong enough to cement her a place at the top of the standings, taking the white jersey with an impressive overall points tally. With a leading position in World Cup standing before the event, the points Sibagatoba racked up were more than enough to take boast the leader’s jersey after the time trial concluded.

Shelley Gautier T1 wins the TT with a fair gap on the 2nd! Way to go Shelley, Go Canada Go!

— Cycling Canada PARA (@CanPARACycling) September 11, 2015

Canada’s Nicole Clermont, too, was another Canadian athlete turning heads in Pietermaritzburg.

In the women’s C5 class, Clermont raced to second place, finishing the time trial with silver. Before this weekend’s competition, the Montreal-born, Quebec-based rider commanded an impressive lead in standings, taking the podium in one way or another in all but one of 2015’s World Cup events. In Switzerland, Clermont took second place in the time trial and third in the road race, while the Italy World Cup later in the season saw her take third in the road race. After the time trial, also in Italy, Clermont claimed fourth. With such a track record under her rubber, Clermont’s performance in Pietermaritzburg was more than enough to nail down third place in UCI World Cup standings.

The women’s tandem time trial also saw Canadian athletes climb up on the podium, with the team of Robbi Weldon and Audrey Lemieus winning bronze with a time of 36:09.86 — only 1:25 behind the winners. In the C4 class, meanwhile, Marie-Claude Molnar racked up Canada’s second bronze medal, with her time of 27:19.75 putting her 1:35.30 behind the winner, Shawn Morelli of the United States.

WOMEN T1

1. GAUTIER, Shelley (CANADA) 20:28.53

2. SIBAGATOVA, Yulia (RUSSIA) 24:20.88 +3:52.36

3. WOOLFORD, Bianca (AUSTRALIA) 26:27.57 +5:59.05

WOMEN C5

1. HARKOWSKA, Anna (POLAND) 25:18.78

2. CLERMONT, Nicole (CANADA) 25:46.86 +0:28.08

3. BRACHTENDORF, Kerstin (GERMANY) 25:52.64 +0:33.86

WOMEN B

1. TURNHAM, Lora / HALL, Corrine (GREAT BRITAIN) 34:44.15

2. VAN DEUDEKOM, Odette / VAN DIJK, Kim (NETHERLANDS) 34:44.24 +0:00.09

3. WELDON, Robbi / LEMIEUX, Audrey (CANADA) 36:09.86 +1:25.71

WOMEN C4

1. MORELLI, Shawn (USA) 25:44.44

2. POWELL, Susan (AUSTRALIA) 26:43.08 +0:58.63

3. MOLNAR, Marie-Claude (CANADA) 27:19.75 +1:35.30

WOMEN T2

1. COOKE, Carol (AUSTRALIA) 31:58.15

2. WALSH, Jill (USA) 34:04.08 +2:05.92

3. MAJUNKE, Jana (GERMANY) 35:47.53 +3:49.38

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4. CROTEAU, Marie-Eve (CANADA) 36:16.46 +4:18.31

MEN B

1. BATE, Stephen / DUGGLEBY, Adam (GREAT BRITAIN) 29:49.58

2. SCHEIDIES, Aaron / COLLINS, Benjamin (USA) 30:00.25 +00:10.67

3. GONZALEZ GARCIA, Carlos / MARTIN INFANTE, Noel (SPAIN) 30:03.89 +0:14.31

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7. CARRIER, Alexandre / LAFLAMME, Aroussen (CANADA) 32:01.24 +2:11.65

MEN C5

1. WARIAS, Steffen (GERMANY) 34:22.12

2. SANTAS ASENSIO, Eduardo (SPAIN) 34:49.68 +0:27.56

3. USTINOV, Sergey (RUSSIA) 35:12.51 +0:50.39

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5. SAMETZ, Michael (CANADA) 35:27.13 +1:05.01

MEN H3

1. FREI, Heinz (SWITZERLAND) 26:59.04

2. ABLINGER, Walter (AUSTRIA) 27:37.46 +0:38.42

3. DEBERG, Jean Francois (BELGIUM) 27:55.71 +0:56.67

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5. MOREAU, Charles (CANADA) 28:29.08 +1:30.04