Cycling Canada  – (London, GBR – March 05, 2016) Canada continues to add to its medal count at the Track Cycling World Championships in London, Great Britain, adding a fourth medal on Saturday, a silver medal for Jasmin Glaesser in the Women’s Points Race.  Canada now sits fourth in the nation rankings, with two silver and two bronze medals.
 
Glaesser, who had previously won a silver medal in this same event, came within half a wheel of winning the title, finishing third in the final sprint for a total of 14 points, one less then Katarzyna Pawlowska of Poland.  One position higher, and Glaesser would have donned the Rainbow Jersey.
 
“The Points Race has always been my best event,”” said Glaesser, “but I’ve never made it to the top step, and I really wanted it out there today.  It came down to half a bike length in that final sprint for one point… so it’s a tough one to swallow when you get that close.  It’s within your reach, but it wasn’t quite enough.”
 
“I was hoping for a bit of a harder race.  I prefer it more when it’s a race of attrition, but it was a lot more tactical with positioning going into the early sprints.  So I was too hesitant and holding back too much at the beginning, and having to scramble to make up those points at the end. There was definitely a moment when I was worried I wasn’t even going to claw myself back onto the podium.  I didn’t race my best race out there and I’m a little frustrated with myself for that.  But at the same time, you can’t predict how these races are going to turn out, and I was able to adapt mid-race to a more tactical race.”
 
“I knew I needed to finish ahead of the British rider and the Australian rider, because we were all close on points.  I didn’t realize until after that it was just that one point that would have made the difference between gold and silver.  So it’s a tough one to swallow.”
 
Canada had riders in two other events, both of which conclude on Sunday.  Kate O’Brien had the best showing of her career in the opening rounds of the Women’s Sprint, winning her first round race against Kaarle McCulloch of Australia, and then moving on to the quarter finals on Sunday after winning her Repechage race.
 
“It’s kind of funny,” commented O’Brien, “I’m pretty new to the whole sprint thing, and this was the first time I was able to go in a sprint tournament as part of it, rather then thinking I didn’t belong, or that everyone else was better.  I went in not really expecting anything good or bad, and tried to ride my own race.  And it worked out, which was nice.”
 
“All this is just gravy to me.  We are always aiming for better and better results, but I’m going to try to go into tomorrow thinking the same things I was thinking today.  You never know what can happen, and I’m just going to try to execute the best race that I can.  Whatever happens, happens.”
 
Allison Beveridge is competing in the Women’s Omnium, and after the first three events is tied for ninth with 58 points.  The Omnium concludes on Sunday with the final three events.
 
Hugo Barrette will also compete on Sunday, in the Men’s Keirin.

ABOUT CYCLING CANADA
Cycling Canada is the governing body for competitive cycling in Canada. Founded in 1882, Cycling Canada aims to create and sustain an effective system that develops talented Canadian cyclists to achieve Olympic, Paralympic, and World Championship medal performances. With the vision of being a leading competitive cycling nation by 2020 celebrating enhanced international success, increased national participation and world class event hosting, Cycling Canada manages the High-Performance team, hosts national and international events and administers community programs to promote Cycling in Canada. For more information, please visit: www.cyclingcanada.ca.
 
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INFORMATION
Guy Napert-Frenette
Communications
Cycling Canada Cyclisme
Cell. 403 669-5015
guynf@performancepr.ca