Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Victoria cyclist Jay Lamoureux helps Canada track down silver

The Canadian men’s pursuit cycling team, with Jay Lamoureux of Victoria, again showed why it is expected to contend at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The Canadian men’s pursuit cycling team, with Jay Lamoureux of Victoria, again showed why it is expected to contend at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The team of Lamoureux, Aidan Caves of Vancouver, Derek Gee and Vincent De Haitre of Ottawa and Adam Jamieson of Barrie, Ont., broke the Canadian record in taking the silver medal Friday at the World Cup No. 5 event in Cambridge, New Zealand.

Canada’s clocking of 3:52.420 in qualifying was less than three seconds off the world record. It was the fourth time this season the Canadian team has lowered the national record.

“Today was a big step forward for the men’s team pursuit program,” said national track endurance coach Jono Hailstone, in a statement.

“The boys continued their steady progression and showed that they are becoming genuine contenders on the world stage. We also gained crucial points towards Olympic qualifying and set things up for a really good final block leading into the world championships in Poland.”

But Canada could only go 3:53.156 in the final against the torrid host Kiwis, who clocked just 0.355 off the world record to win gold.

Canada also won silver in the women’s team pursuit.

Lamoureux and his Canadian men’s teammates first came to notice by winning the bronze medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, last April and have challenged in world races since then.

The 23-year-old Lamoureux, who also played in the school jazz band, is a converted runner who turned to cycling on the 1994 Commonwealth Games Velodrome after competing in middle-distance track and cross-country at Oak Bay High.

He is the latest international track cyclist to come out of what is now known as the Westshore Velodrome, located behind The Q Centre, and which was saved only after the local cycling community rallied to assure its future.

Others who have come out of the Colwood facility include 2012 London Olympic bronze-medallist Gillian Carleton of Victoria and 2015 Toronto Pan Am Games gold-medallist Evan Carey of Oak Bay.

cdheensaw@timescolonist.com