BAIE-COMEAU, Que. – Keely Shaw of Midale, Sask., earned Canada’s fourth medal at the 2022 Para cycling Road World Championships on Friday with a bronze in the women’s C4 time trial.
With the time trials now concluded, Canada has two silver and two bronze so far heading into the weekend road races.
Samantha Bosco of the U.S. won the 18.9 kilometre women’s C4 in 28:28.83 with Emily Petricola of Australia, the 2019 world champion, second in 29:44.23. Shaw, a bronze medallist on the track at the Paralympics last summer, followed in 30:18.09.
‘’This was definitely a challenging race going up that hill twice which made me dig a little bit deeper,’’ said Shaw, 28, who is also pursuing a PhD in kinesiology. ‘’It’s a gorgeous course with a couple of large wide corners I was able to capitalize on.
‘’I’m super happy with my bronze.”
The bronze finish keeps alive an amazing streak for Shaw, Saskatchewan’s female athlete of the year in 2021. She has reached the podium in her seven international races (World Cups and worlds combined) in 2022.
In 2009 at age 15 Shaw fell off a horse on her family farm and was diagnosed with a broken blood vessel in her brain which caused partial paralysis. Before her accident she was a high-level hockey player with Olympic dreams
In the same race, Marie-Claude Molnar of Longueuil, Que., the defending world champion, was fifth in 31:40.54. It was the second to last race of Molnar’s career. She recently announced she would retire after these worlds.
‘’This race was one of the most difficult I have done,’’ said Molnar, 38, a time trial bronze medallist at the 2012 Paralympics in London. ‘’I’m glad with the performance. I gave everything I had. I couldn’t ask for anything better than to finish here at home.’’
Alexandre Hayward, a chemical engineering student at the University of New Brunswick, was sixth in the men’s C3 time trial, also 18.9 kilometres in distance. He burst on the international stage last week with a time trial victory at the World Cup in Quebec City.
‘’There were a few new riders today so I didn’t really know what to expect,’’ said Hayward, a Fredericton resident who describes himself as an incomplete quadriplegic. He can walk without aid.
‘’At the end of the day I just wanted to finish in the top half and I did that. My time was consistent on both laps which is how I want to race this event.’’
Hayward, 25, is a former member of the national junior wheelchair basketball team. It’s been 10 years since he broke his neck in a AAA hockey game, just weeks before the QMJHL draft.
‘’I kind of discovered I have a bit of knack for suffering so cycling seems to reward that more than other disciplines. I’ve spent many years in the gym trying to get back as best as I can, so I’ve been fortunate.’’
Eduardo Santas Asencio of Spain won the gold medal in 26:25.71. Hayward was only 22.33 seconds behind the winner.
In the 28.4 kilometre tandem races for visually impaired, Lowell Taylor of Lethbridge, Alta., and his pilot Jean-Michel Lachance of Quebec City were eighth in the men’s race.
Cara Shibley and her pilot Meghan Brown, both of Calgary, were sixth in the women’s race.
The road races get underway Saturday for tricyclists and hand cyclists and conclude Sunday with the tandem and regular bikes.
The road race events on August 13 and 14 will be livestreamed as part of the Paralympic Super Series. Viewers can watch the action on Paralympic.ca as well as CBC Sports and Radio-Canada digital platforms, including: the free CBC Gem streaming service, cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices, radio-canada.ca/sports and the Radio-Canada Info app for iOS and Android devices. Two separate two-hour shows featuring both live coverage and top highlights will also air on the CPC’s Facebook page on both days, and be mixed into the livestream. CPC will also share highlight packages for the time trial events on August 11 and 12.
Full results here.
