MILTON, ONT. – The 2020 UCI Para Cycling Track World Championships came to an end at the Mattamy National Cycling Centre on Sunday, with Canada officially leaving the velodrome with four medals courtesy of Tristen Chernove and Kate O’Brien.
On the last day of competition, Lowell Taylor and pilot Ed Veal were the only Canadians in action, racing the men’s tandem sprint. Their first-ever time competing in the 200m discipline, Taylor and Veal set a personal record of 11.090 but did not advance out of qualifying.
“It was fun, this was our first time doing a sprint,” Taylor said. “It’s fast but it’s a different kind of race, it’s a big rush.”
Taylor and Veal’s best result on the week was a seventh-place finish in the 4km individual pursuit, an event they say will be one of their big focuses as they try to qualify for Tokyo 2020.
“We will just focus on being faster physically, stronger, and keep our mental game up, and all eyes towards Tokyo,” Taylor said.
Canadian medals:
Gold – Kate O’Brien, Women’s C4 500m time trial
Silver – Tristen Chernove, Men’s C2 1km time trial
Silver – Tristen Chernove, Men’s C2 15km scratch race
Silver – Tristen Chernove, Men’s C2 omnium
The other members of the Canadian team were Keely Shaw (best result: fourth in the women’s C4 individual pursuit), Ross Wilson (best result: third in the men’s C1 200m flying start; this was not a medal event), and Marie-Claude Molnar (best result: fifth in the women’s C4 10km scratch race).
China finished the world championships, hosted in Milton, Ont. at the venue built for the Toronto 2015 Pan Am and Parapan Am Games, atop the medal standings with 21, followed by Great Britain with 14.
The next major event on the Para cycling calendar is the 2020 UCI Para Cycling Road World Championships, taking place June 4-7 in Ostend, Belgium, ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games this summer.
