Canadian cyclists wrap up 2016 Rio Paralympics with nine medals

Incredible success for Team Canada who superseded expectations

Philippe Tremblay September 18, 2016

As the cycling events at the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro wrapped up on Saturday, Cycling Canada’s director of high performance Jacques Landry was understandably pleased with the nine-medal haul Canada’s athletes earned.

“It has been a really good Games, we finished off with nine medals and we could have potentially had another one with Tristen [Chernove] in the road race and we came close with Robbi [Weldon] on Saturday,” said Landry. “All in all, we started off with a goal of three medals when we started the squad after London 2012 and we tripled that goal. Midway through we upped our goals, but we never thought that nine medals would have been possible.”

Canada’s cycling success came down to better preparing the athletes said Landry. “It all came from looking at the process; we enhanced our daily training environment, the time the coaches spend with the athletes, the training and recovery and proper monitoring of the athletes. We brought in our sports psychologist and that helped a lot with our athletes. We were able to arrive at these Games with a better mindset and better preparation.”

In the final two days of competition Canada’s cyclist did not earn any medals but were compeditive in their races. On Friday, Marie-Eve Croteau of Quebec City finished fourth in the women’s combined T1 and T2 road race. Shelley Gautier of Toronto who finished sixth also raced in the 30 km road race which was won by Carol Cooke of Australia.

“I am very proud of my race. I didn’t miss the podium by very much and honestly it had been a while since I last rode in a pack,” explained Croteau. ” I really rode well. I’m really happy, didn’t miss by much but I came here wanting to fight like a lion and that’s what I did. The fact that I started and finished my race well which means for me I have my podium.”

Gautier won a bronze medal in the time trial on Thursday and finished in sixth, the only rider in the more severely disabled T1 category. “I think it went pretty good. I was the only T1 out there. I was able to stay with the T2 riders for a short while and then I was coming back, but the race ended before I could get to them. It was windy and a tough course, but I just went with it. I was time trialing it alone, which was hard, but I’m happy with my Games.”

Tristen Chernove of Cranbrook, B.C. finished 15th in the combined Men’s C1, C2 and C3 race after crashing on the first lap that resulted in damage to his bike and a separated shoulder.

“It was pretty tight in the group, wheels touched and I crashed,” explained Chernove who is leaving the games already with a gold, silver and a bronze medal. “It’s just the nature of racing. I felt really good and I was moving with the top contenders and feeling really strong. Absolutely I was expecting to be a medal contender.”

Ross Wilson of Edmonton and Michael Sametz of Calgary also raced but did not finish. “Unfortunately, we didn’t get a result today, but we saw a lot of grit from Tristen, and I think if you look to the future, our team is going to be a force to be reckoned with over the next few years,” explained Wilson. “We are taking home a record-breaking performance, this is the most medals that Cycling Canada has earned in a Paralympic Games; it’s a new benchmark. I think we are taking home possibility and opportunity for the future, and I think we have a bright future.”

On Saturday, Robbi Weldon of Thunder Bay, Ont. with her pilot Audrey Lemieux of Alma, Que. finished fifth in the women’s tandem road race. Iwona Podkoscielna and Aleksandra Teclaw of Poland won the 69-km race.

Robbi Weldon of Thunder Bay, Ontario, and her pilot Audrey Lemieux of Alma, Quebec, were the top finishers for Canada on Saturday, the final day of para-cycling competition at the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Weldon and Lemieux finished fifth in the Women’s Tandem road race. Shawna Ryan of Saskatoon, Sask. and Joanie Caron of Rimouski, Que. finished 12th.

“It was a very good race, we were both super pleased,” said Weldon. “After all our hill training the hills felt much easier and we were able to stay with the climbers, which was one of our goals. To finish top five, we are super happy with that.”

In the men’s tandem road race, Daniel Chailfour of St-Therese, Que. and pilot Jean-Michel Lachance of Quebec city did not finish after a crash. In the women’s C4-5 road race Marie-Calude Molnar of Lemoyne, Que. finished 16th after riding in the breakaway for the first hour while Nicole Clermont of St-Denis-de-Brompton, Que. crashed on a descent and did not finish.