Junior, para, and u-17 Canadian track championships recap

The Centre National de Cyclisme de Bromont welcomed its first national event at the newly opened Vélodrome Sylvan Adams from March 31-April 2, where u-17, junior and para athletes competed at the Canadian track championships.

“It’s quite a success for the team, it’s been a long time since we’ve organized a Canadian Championship, so it was really great,” Nicolas Legault, general manager of the Bromont National Cycling Centre said. “To have all the provinces come here was heartwarming, especially since everything was done in complete safety and we were treated to some great races with lots of speed. We couldn’t have hoped for a better weekend.”

Two Riders from St. Thomas, ON, dominate the u-17 Field

U-17 rider Alexandra Fangeat was determined to defend the titles she earned back in 2022. She succeeded, becoming Canadian Champion in the points race, elimination race, individual pursuit, team sprint and team pursuit. Surprising the field was Eve Buczkowski, who won the time trial, team sprint, scratch and keirin races in her first u-17 year. The two riders from St. Thomas joined forces in Madison, adding another title to their collection.

The u-17 men’s field allowed several racers to wear the maple leaf, with Antoine Bergeron (elimination race, individual pursuit), Brody Mann (scratch race), Oscar Wong (sprint), Charlie Walsh (time trial) and Ben Morin (keirin) all taking turns on the highest step of the podium. The faces were familiar in the team events, with McLean winning both the team sprint and team pursuit, alongside Walsh (team sprint), Bergeron (team pursuit), Mann (team pursuit) and Ronan Mantle (team pursuit, team sprint).

Nora Linton on a mission in first year as junior

Junior rider Nora Linton emerged victorious in almost every event she was registered in (individual pursuit, team pursuit, time trial, points, elimination and scratch races), in front of Anika Brants, who took the win in the keirin and the team sprint. The two riders ended their weekend on a high note, teaming up to win the Madison title.

“Coming into the scratch race, I knew I wanted to lap the field, which I was able to do. I also wanted to have a good weekend and I wanted to play around and have fun with my racing,” Linton said, who is competing for the first time as Junior. “It’s going well. There are different girls, stronger girls, too, but we’re all close friends.”

In the Junior Men’s category, Jonathan Hinse, from Équipe du Québec, kept his home crowd on their toes in the sprint event, demonstrating his power through every heat. He was ultimately edged out by Cole Dempster who became champion in the sprint, time trial, keirin and team sprint, alongside Hudson Lubbers (Madison) and Ethan Powell.

Also stepping on the Junior Men podium more than was once was Charles Bergeron, who brought home three national titles in the scratch and points races, individual pursuit and team pursuit, which he won with Ashlin Barry (Madison, elimination), Albert Taylor and Powell.

Mel Pemble continues to shine with personal best

The two-time world champion in the women’s C3 category, Mel Pemble, set a personal best in the individual pursuit with a time of 4:15.775, while Tarek Dahab won his first-ever Canadian Championship, earning the jersey in both the time trial and individual pursuit.

Tokyo 2020 Paralympic medallists Kate O’Brien and Keely Shaw both took wins in the C4 women’s category, while Alexandre Hayward (C3) and Lachlan Hotchkiss (C4) became champions in their respective category.

The full list of results can be found here.