Mitchell steals the speed show in Nations Cup

MILTON, Ont. –

Kelsey Mitchell was shining on the fourth and final day Tissot Track Nations Cup. This time she claimed gold in Keirin. Her teammate Lauriane Genest, Olympic Keirin bronze winner, had an accident that stopped her from finishing the race.

Two sprinters who won bronze in Team Sprint earlier this week finished in the top three rounds 1 and 2, qualifying for Sunday’s gold medal final.

Mitchell started with just two laps remaining and made a strong advance over the rest of the riders. The final lap saw Lauriane Genest collide with Steffie van de Peet from the Netherlands and Yuka Kaboshi of Japan. All three riders lost their chance at the podium. Mitchell won the sprint and took home gold ahead of Mina Sato, Japan. World Champion Lea Sophie Friedrich of Germany was then relegated.

“I’m very happy with what I did. I like going up to the front, it’s safer and my legs will usually hold on.” said Mitchell. “I wanted it to be a challenge and I was able to accomplish that. I was glad to get through qualifying without having to go back. It was close in the semis. I just barely made it through, but qualified for final. It’s wonderful to train on your track. I do it almost every day. Then, looking up at my friends and family is very special.

Ryan Dodyk and Olympian Nick Wammes finished in sixth and seventh place respectively in the Sprint race. Dodyk set a personal record of 9.717 seconds.

Canada finishes the four-day race with three medals: bronze in Team Sprint (Kelsey Mitchell and Sarah Orban), silver in Sprint (Mitchell) as well as gold in Keirin(Mitchell).

This report was published by The Canadian Press May 15, 2022.