Coles-Lyster, Wammes, Genest shine at Nations Cup at UCI Track Nations Cup

MILTON, Ont. - Canadian Maggie Coles-Lyster, riding for the Switzerland-based Roland Cycling team, finished sixth overall on Sunday in the Women's Omnium points race at the Tissot UCI Track Nations Cup.

Coles-Lyster, born in Maple Ridge, B.C., finished with 95 points. British-Scottish cyclist Katie Archibald was first with 131 points, followed by Letizia Paternoster of Italy with 111 and Jennifer Valente of San Diego, Calif., with 107.

Coles-Lyster was eighth in the temp race.

Accumulating top 10s in every race of the cumulative omnium event, Coles-Lyster was in fourth place going into the final points race. The two points she accumulated there were not enough to improve her overall position, finishing sixth with 95 points.

Tokyo 2020 Olympian Nick Wammes of London, Ont., was eighth overall in the men's sprint qualifying races on Sunday with a +0.241 clocking. He then beat Jimenez Elizondo Ekain of Spain in the first round of showdowns, but lost to Vigier Sebastien of France in the round of 16. He also reached the keirin final.

Lauriane Genest of MOntreal added a bronze medal to the Canadian team's tally on the final day of competition.

In search of redemption after her fourth-place finish in the team sprint and fifth-place finish in the individual sprint, the Olympic bronze medallist in the keirin was looking for a podium finish on the final day of competition at home.

She accomplished her mission brilliantly, taking bronze 0.133s behind reigning world champion Ellesse Andrews f New Zealand. Steffie van der Peet took silver. "I had to be really patient in the final," commented Lauriane Genest.

"When I saw that I was sixth with one lap to go, I didn't really believe that I could go up in front, but things fell into place, and I really gave it my all in the last lap. The medal solidifies that I'm capable of doing well in the keirin, especially as I won bronze in Australia last month."

Kelsey Mitchell of Brandon, Man., said she was surprised by her weekend of competition at home, as she would have liked more opportunities to get her legs moving.

The multi-medal winner of the 2022 and 2023 editions of the Nations Cup at home was unable to reach the podium for this final round, having to settle for seventh place in the final for places 7-12, which she won with flying colours. "It wasn't what I expected, my legs were more present than I thought, but I didn't execute well on sprint day," commented Mitchell.

"I leave satisfied and very proud of every Canadian, as we are on track to qualify the greatest team of all time for the Olympics." After a crash in qualifying, Ontario's Jackie Boyle entered the repechage, where her day ended prematurely.

Mathias Guillemette and Michael Foley teamed up for the Madison race, where they finished 11th.

Although they had accumulated a point at the end of the 200 laps, they were overtaken by the field, taking 20 points off their total. They finished the race with a score of -19. Belgium took top honours, closely followed by the Netherlands with silver and Portugal in third place.

"The form was there to stay on the same lap as the others, but with the collision it was a bit difficult to stay with the pack," commented Guillemette. Canada ends this final Olympic qualifier in a strong position, with a total of three medals won on Canadian soil and multiple spots secured in the Olympic track events at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 14, 2024.