Maggie Coles-Lyster won two bronze medals over the weekend, as the Maple Ridge cyclist competed in the UCI Champions League in London, England.
The cycling series featured five rounds, and the last two were held in the UK capital on Friday and Saturday. Each day, Coles-Lyster took bronze in the elimination race. It’s an exciting endurance event, that sees the last rider on every other lap eliminated from the race, until there is just one left.
Those results left her tied for third place overall in the series women’s endurance standings, with Norwegian Anita Stenberg. Both women had 110 points.
“New friendships, fast bike races, lots of people, exciting results. Came away with a bronze overall and made it a wild battle right down to the final race for it,” said Coles-Lyster on her Instagram post.
Dancing 👸 or cycling 🌟? @M_ColesLyster, Sarah van Dam and their teammates are ready for the 2 final rounds of @UCITCL in London this weekend 🔥
— Cycling Canada (@CyclingCanada) November 29, 2022
Maggie, Sarah et leurs coéquipiers 🇨🇦 se préparent pour les manches finales de la Ligue des Champions 🙌 pic.twitter.com/6Zjvm2Nr7x
Coles-Lyster, the Canadian Road Race champion for 2022, has been no stranger to the podium, and also won a bronze at the Commonwealth Games scratch race this year.
The earlier races in his year’s UCI Champions League series were held in Spain, Germany, and France. There were 5,500 fans on hand at London’s Lee Valley VeloPark for the final event. It’s an up-and-coming series, and each of the four champions walked away with 25,000 euros. The new series has short format racing, featuring the best international cyclists and aimed at attracting a large broadcast audience.
Coles-Lyster finished fourth overall in the women’s endurance rankings in 2021, the first year of the Champions League.
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“The 2022 UCI Track Champions League has been a fascinating series with so many intriguing battles in each of the four competitions. There have been many uncertainties and changes in leaders every week up until the final,” said Gilles Peruzzi, head of track cycling at the UCI.
“As well as the thrilling racing, I’ve been especially happy to see the true engagement and competitiveness of the riders along with people of all ages cheering them on over all five rounds. It’s clear to me that this innovative and accessible competition is elevating the profile of track cycling to a whole new level. We are confident that it will inspire people across the globe to continue following this exciting sport.”
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