01.21.08 - World Cup track cycling - Bell and McKenzie 13th in Madison final

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January 20, 2008 – Zach Bell of Watson Lake, Yukon, and Ryan McKenzie of Calgary were 13th Sunday in the Madison race at a track cycling World Cup competition in Los Angeles. They were the only Canadian duo to advance to the final. Along with the U.S., and Polish pairs, they did not complete the final.

‘’It was my third World Cup in a short period of time and I was starting to feel a lot of fatigue,’’ said Bell, 17th in Saturday’s points race. ‘’Ryan raced well. We tried to save our energy and we gave everything we had.’’

‘’In the final we didn’t want to go out too strong so we could push hard in the first sprint. That went well but in the second half of the race the other teams were very fast and passed us. We had trouble catching up.’’

‘’Zach has a lot of potential and talent but he was really tired when he arrived in Los Angeles,’’ said coach Eric Van den Eynde. ‘’He showed a lot of courage even though he wasn’t at the top of his game. With a good rest he should be ready for the world championships.’’

Van den Eynde said McKenzie raced well under pressure. ‘’He gave his all and met our expectations,’’ he said.

Bell and McKenzie advanced to the final earning the eighth and last qualifying berth.

Cam MacKinnon of Calgary, a keirin finalist on Saturday, placed 22nd in the men’s sprint qualifying and did not advance. He did post a personal best 10.616 seconds. ‘’This is the first time that I feel he is ready to race at the international level,’’ said Van den Eynde. ‘’He was very competitive this weekend.’’

Monique Sullivan of Calgary didn’t qualify for the second round in the women’s keirin and ranked 21st overall. She was fourth in her qualifying heat. Only the top-two advanced therefore Sullivan raced in a repechage, placed fourth again, and was eliminated. Only the winners of each repechage advanced to the second round.

The next stop on the track cycling World Cup is in Norway next month. The world championships are scheduled for Manchester in March.