Weekend update: Canadian Para cyclists win three medals at world championships

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – Competing in the Rocket City, a new era for Canadian Para cycling was launched successfully this past weekend with a triple medal performance at the road world championships.

These were the first worlds in more than a decade without Sébastien Travers as the Canadian team coach, although Travers was on hand at the championships.

Travers, who helped guide Canada to 16 medals over the past three Paralympic Games was promoted earlier this summer by Cycling Canada as Chief of High Performance which encompasses all the many cycling disciplines including Para.

Michael van den Ham who is the Para cycling Development Lead for Cycling Canada was the official team coach at worlds.

Obviously, the reverberations of Travers’ impact will be felt for many years to come and that showed at these worlds.

Paralympians Michael Sametz of Calgary and Alexandre Hayward of Quispamsis, N.B., took silver and bronze in the men’s C3 time trial and Maarten Duif, of Carleton Place, Ont., an emerging star in this quadrennial, added silver in the men’s H1 road race.

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In the men’s C3 (conventional bike) time trial over 29.2 kilometres, Louis Hubert of France won gold clocking 36 minutes and 03.41.

Sametz took the silver finishing 29.89 seconds behind Hubert and Hayward, the defending champion, was third 59.77 seconds back of the winner.

“I felt very fast on the first lap,’’ said Sametz, a two-time world champion and Paralympic medallist. ‘’It seemed like everything was lining up, and then on the second lap I almost fell off halfway through, but I hung on and kept my head tucked to hold the speed as much as possible.’’

That near fall must have brought back painful memories for Sametz. On the eve of the 2024 Paralympic Games, he crashed in training and broke his hip which required emergency surgery and denied him an opportunity to race in Paris. The climb back to the elite level was very tough for the 30-year-old.

‘’It was a hot race, but I’m very happy with the result after the last couple of years.” 

Hayward went in as the defending champion but sharing the podium with his teammate made it a satisfying day.

“I’m really happy with third place,’’ said Hayward, a Paralympic medallist on the track in 2024. ‘’And if you’re going to finish third, you want to see athletes ahead of you who you know earned it, and that’s exactly what happened.

‘’Standing on the podium with another Canadian is incredibly special, and it’s something I’m proud of.” 

In the men’s H1 (handcycle) road race over 55.2 kilometres, Fabrizio Cornegliani of Italy was the winner in just under two hours with Duif second and Patrick Jahoda of Czechia third.

It was Duif’s first career world championship medal.

“I didn’t think I had it in the start and then it all just came together in that first lap,” said Duif, a four-time medallist on the World Cup circuit this season who started handcycling in 2018.  “There were very good competitors out here and I tried to make the most it.

‘’I set ambitious goals for this, and it’s such a reality shock to come out with silver. It hasn’t hit yet but it’s coming.’’

In the men’s C3 69 kilometre road race, Hayward and Eduardo Santas Asensio were both nine seconds behind the winner but the Spaniard got the bronze in the photo finish and Hayward was fourth. Thomas Peyroton Dartet of France was first in one hour and 36 minutes and 43 seconds and Juan Alberto Jimenez Gutierrez of Spain second four seconds back. Sametz was seventh.

Duif was also fifth in his time trial, Mel Pemble of Victoria was 10^th in both women’s C3 races, Jessica Law of Vancouver was 11^th in the women’s C5 road race and 13^th in the time trial while John Sonnenschein of Vancouver was 17^th in the men’s C4 time trial in his worlds debut.

Huge win for Levine and Ciobanu in seventh place result at boccia world championships

Alison Levine and Iulian Ciobanu of Montreal defeated the reigning Paralympic and defending world champions on route to a seventh-place finish in the BC4 pairs event at the world boccia championships.

The Canadian Paralympians were in a must win situation against the Colombian tandem of Eldon Chica Chica and Leidy Chica Chica in their final prelims game in order to qualify for the quarterfinals. Levine and Ciobanu took a 2-0 lead and held on for a 3-2 victory.

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Unfortunately, the Canadians lost 10-3 to Hong Kong in the quarters for seventh overall.  Hong Kong went on to win the bronze while Great Britain beat China 5-3 for the gold. The Colombians were fourth.

Still the win over Colombia was big for Canada’s head coach Cesar Nicolai.

‘’They are one of the best teams in the world and Alison and Iulian were very motivated for that match,’’ Nicolai told Sportcom. ‘’They respected the game plan and took control of the jack in every end.  They got their consistency back and maintained a high level for all four ends.’’

Canada also beat Spain 6-3 in the prelims and lost to Hungary 5-4. In the quarters, Nicolai was pleased to see his pair shoot with 80 percent efficiency.

‘’We won two ends but they scored five points in each of the two they won,’’ he said. ‘’We made excellent decisions and executed well. But they were very strong.’’