Maggie Coles-Lyster and Kelsey Mitchell in track action on final day of Paris 2024

Canadians Maggie Coles-Lyster and Kelsey Mitchell were the final members of the national track cycling team racing on the final day of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Canada had been taking it on the chin at the Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome. Coles-Lyster gave Canada hope of a medal going into the final event of the omnium, and Kelsey Mitchell’s three-day women’s individual sprint program concluded on Sunday.

Coles-Lyster, who had already competed in the team pursuit and the Madison, had a strong start to her omnium journey with second place in the scratch race behind American Jennifer Valente.

Next was the tempo race, which awarded a point to the first rider over the finish line every four laps. Only five riders managed to score any points in this event, but the Canadian was awarded 10th. She was now third.

The race of the dreading blinking lights, the elimination race, saw a German get the first yank, a neutralization and Coles-Lyster hanging on grimly into the final three riders, when she finally saw the light. Again, she held onto third. Behind her were Dane Amalie Diderickson, 12 points back and Ireland Lara Gillespie, 20 points adrift.

The points race was the final contest, and the longest one at 80 laps with a sprint every 10 laps. The Canuck scored two points and edged closer to silver. Norway’s Anita Stenberg and Gillespie both jumped over the Canadian after taking 20 points by lapping the field. Other riders kept lapping the field and Coles-Lyster continued to slip in the standings.

Coles-Lyster was six points off of bronze with two sprints to go, but ended up in 9th, 24 points in arrears of Kiwi Ally Wollaston and 43 back of gold medalist Valente.

Women’s Omnium

Gold) Jennifer Valente (USA) 144 points
Silver) Daria Pikulik (Poland) 131
Bronze) Ally Wollaston (New Zealand) 125
9) Maggie Coles-Lyster (Canada) 101

Kelsey Mitchell races to eighth in the individual sprint

Friday started with qualifying, where Mitchell was 10th and German Lea Friedrich set a world record at 10.029. In the 1/32 finals, Mitchell was matched up with Colombian Stefany Cuadrado Florez and took her easily.

In the 1/16 finals Mitchell met a Japanese rider, Mina Sato, who slipped by the Canadian in Heat 7. The Canadian had to face the repechage, and Mitchell’s fake to the inside while swooping down from the top of the track saw her beat Dutch rider Steffie van der Peet.

On Saturday Mitchell had keirin gold medalist Ellesse Andrews as competition in the 1/8 final. The Canadian came up short against the Kiwi and faced another repechage. This time Mitchell got the better of Sato and Australian Kristina Clonan.

In the quarterfinals, Mitchell met Friedrich, and the Tokyo 2020 gold medalist found her path to another medal blocked. On Sunday, Mitchell raced in the fifth to eighth place race and finished eighth.

Women’s Individual Sprint

Gold) Ellesse Andrews (New Zealand)
Silver) Lea Friedrich (Germany)
Bronze) Emma Finucane (Great Britain)
8) Kelsey Mitchell (Canada)

Team Canada’s best result was seventh in the men’s team pursuit. It now has four years to regroup and build for Los Angeles 2028.