It’s not the kind of finish Langley’s Drew Mechielsen hoped and dreamed of, but she was still happy with the results.
The 21-year-old Murrayville cyclist earned a ninth and 11th place finish in the final round of this year’s BMX World Cup series – putting her in eight place overall for the season.
“I’m pretty happy with eighth overall in the World Cup series,” Mechielsen shared from Argentina.
“I am satisfied with my results over the weekend, but I could have been happier and I wanted a little more. “
The cyclist was part of Cycling Canada and ridden around the globe with the team during the past three years. This past weekend, while competing in the elite women’s category in World Cup in Santiago del Estero, Mechielsen said the highlight was her semi-final lap on Saturday.
“I rode a clean lap and just got passed at the finish line for the last qualifying spot into the final, the difference between my time and the fourth-place finisher was 0.006 of a second so even though that tiny time difference made it sting, I was still happy with my lap,” she told the Langley Advance.
“Also just the overall competition, its always fun racing in Argentina, the fans are awesome,” she added.
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Her head coach, Adam Muys, was “happy” with Mechielsen’s ride.
“She was in position to qualify for the finals, and contested against some of the major players in the sport; great improvements this season,” Muys said.
Fellow Canadian riders Avriana Hebert of Edmonton, made it to the quarterfinal round of the elite women at her first World Cup.
In elite men, Alex Tougas of Pitt Meadows, was 34th, and James Palmer of North Vancouver, was 36th.
“Alex and James had some really fast rides, but tactically missed spots to move on in their races,” the Cycling Canada coach said.
“Avriana’s first World Cup was a bit of an eyeopener for her, but she came back the second day, finishing in the quarterfinals, which is great for her first time.”