A week after taking silver in the opening round of the UCI Track Champions League season, Canadian Olympic champion Kelsey Mitchell returned to the top step of the podium on Saturday.
The native of Sherwood, Park., Alta., finished second to Bayona in the first round of the Champions League season in Mallorca, Spain.
“Every race I learn and it’s a great competition,” Mitchell said after the race. “You have to bring it every day. It’s a tough month [of competition] but it’s a ton of fun, the crowd is great – it’s quality racing, so it’s great.”
It’s been a quick rise to the top of the track cycling circuit for Mitchell, who competed in his first track cycling race in February 2018 and won three medals at the Canadian Championships later that year, including the title national women’s sprint.
+0.001 😮@_kmitchell versus @MarthaBayona14 #UCITCL pic.twitter.com/ndCmL0jvGR
Mitchell, 28, won gold in the sprint event on her Olympic debut last year in Tokyo. It was only the second Olympic gold medal ever won by a Canadian track cyclist.
In the inaugural Champions League season last year, Mitchell finished third overall in the women’s sprint behind Germany’s second-placed Lea Freidrich and title-winning Emma Hinze.
At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, last summer, Mitchell collected four medals in four events, including three silver and one bronze.
What a victory for Dylan Bibic in the elimination race! Canadians are on fire this year! 🇨🇦 @CyclingCanada #UCITCL #Trackcycling pic.twitter.com/K1z3tSQKHD
After being eliminated from the men’s scratch race, Canadian Dylan Bibic bounced back with a victory in the elimination race.
The 19-year-old was joined on the podium alongside compatriot Mathias Guillemette, who won bronze behind Britain’s William Perrett.
After his victory last week in Spain, Guillemette leads the men’s endurance category after two rounds.
Watch live coverage of the next round of the UCI Track Champions League season in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France next Saturday at 1pm ET on CBCSports.ca, CBC Gem and the CBC app Sports for iOS and Android.
WATCH | UCI Track Cycling Champions League: 2nd round – Berlin: