(January 21, 2011 – Beijing, CHN) The Canadian track cycling didn’t wait long before showing they were ready for the 2011 UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Beijing, CHN, as the Canadian women’s team pursuit squad comprised Tara Whitten of Edmonton, AB, Laura Brown of Vancouver, BC and Stephanie Roorda of Vancouver, BC won the silver medal on the opening day. There three girls are part of Dr. Vie Team for 2011 and feature on the home page picture of www.DrVie.com
The Canadian team qualified with the second fastest time of 3:27.606 to advance to the gold medal to race against the powerful New Zealand team, which won the qualifiers with a time of 3:26.477.
In the gold medal showcase, Canada were forced to concede the victory to the strong New Zealand team, posting a time of 3:27.238, a 2.176 seconds deficit against their opponents.
“This silver medal is a great accomplishment for us. The competition at the World Cup events is fierce this season with everyone trying to make Olympic qualifications, said Stephanie Roorda. “Our preparation at our LA base after the holidays was one of the most important parts in our success today. This is a great place to go from into our lead up to World Championships in March.”
Laura Brown added: “Our performance today felt really put together. Now that both Steph [Roorda] and I have moved to LA (where Tara was already located) our team has really dialled in the technical aspects of the team pursuit. As well as getting stronger and faster. The National Team being stationed in LA has been huge to my improvements and success thus far. I have access to a world class training facility, I train with my teammates every day, I am surrounded by other athletes who share a performance driven lifestyle, and I get access to our support team when they come down to LA.”
With the silver medal, Canada jumps to the third rank in the overall World Cup standing with 23 points, only two points shy of Australia at 25 points. New Zealand, which won two of the three World Cup race, sits alone atop the standings with 32 points.
“We are in the Olympic qualification period and everything is going as planned. This is the first medal of the 2010-2011 season — and it is surely a cherry on top of a good season so far, and I am so excited to use this momentum for our upcoming training and preparation for the World Championships at the end of March,” continued Brown, who won her career third World Cup medal.
Congratulations to our three girls from Dr. Vie Team, Montreal Canada.
For Dr. Vie Radio interview on the girls click here. For Dr. Vie TV show on the girls click here.