On the second day of track cycling competition in the Paris Olympics velodrome, the Canadian women’s team pursuit riders narrowly managed to move onto the next round and remain in contention for a bronze medal after the officials failed to ring the bell on their final lap.
The trio, having been launched into their final kilometre by Erin Atwell, powered to what they thought was the line three-abreast but then the officials belatedly rang the bell, igniting panic in their ranks.
“We saw one to go twice,” Maggie Coles-Lyster told Cyclingnews. “The first time, I was on the front, and we didn’t hear the bell, but I pulled up because I’ve been counting the laps as well.
“I was fairly confident that was the last one, and then they rang the bell as we were three across coming across the line. We all had a moment of ‘go – go go go!’ because that could be our race over. So I think Ariane or Sarah took it away for the last lap, but there was a little bit of panic, and a 17-lap pursuit isn’t ideal – it hurts a little bit.”
Sarah van Dam pulled out the last lap for the team, telling Cyclingnews, “I think we were all a bit confused because we heard the bell. We saw different laps – and we execute this ride in training all the time, and when you see extra laps on the board, you’re like, ‘where are they coming from?’ But we came together, and we finished the ride well, that’s all you can ask for.”
The team might have finished eighth out of ten, but they qualified to move onto the next round, where they will have to set the third or fourth-fastest time of the remaining eight teams to move onto the bronze medal round.
Only the top four teams, New Zealand, the USA, Great Britain and Italy will be eligible to compete for the gold medal.
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Being able to move on and have another chance was a huge accomplishment considering two of the riders contracted food poisoning in the past week, Atwell told Cyclingnews.
“Two of us in the last four days have fallen ill with a pretty serious bacterial infection and it was probably from contaminated food at the hotel, Atwell said. “I think it was like a small victory to just even make it onto the start line today, and then to be able to put a ride together was pretty special.
“I think it’s pretty exciting for tomorrow – another day of recovery, and also getting the pre-race jitters out of the way will be key for tomorrow.”
No matter what happens, Olympic newcomers Atwell, Coles-Lyster, Van Dam as well as Ariane Bonhomme, who was part of the fourth-placed team in Tokyo, can be proud of their ride.
“We’re one of three nations, I believe, who’s done it. So it’s a pretty big accomplishment just to qualify,” Atwell said.
Coles-Lyster agreed. “It’s nice to just get it out of the way and ride in front of the audience. Up to this point, it’s just felt like another world championship since we’re in a satellite village outside of all the kind of buzz, so to be in here and just get that buzz and all that and feel it, I think it’s good.”
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