Souvenir Magali Pache - 1.9.1

Lausanne, Switzerland, May 2, 2004

Results

Wood all but assures Olympic TT selection

By Jeff Jones

Girls on the podium,
Photo ©: Greg Boorer

World Cup leader Oenone Wood (Australian National Team) has all but assured her selection in the Australian team for the Olympic time trial by winning the inaugural Souvenir Magali Pache, a 20.4 km race against the clock held on the same parcours as the final stage of the men's Tour de Romandie and Lausanne, Switzerland. Wood clocked an impressive 30'28 for the technical, hilly parcours, beating Canadian Lyne Bessette and Australian Margaret Hemsley (Nurnberger) by 31 and 57 seconds respectively.

Wood's victory is her second time trial win after the Australian National Championships in January, and with the Australian TT riders chosen on the basis of their best three results out of several races, she is practically assured of a spot. There are two more selection races: the time trial stage of the Tour de l'Aude (which Wood will not ride) and the Coppa Nazione on June 12 (which she probably will). The main contenders for the team are Margaret Hemsley and Kathy Watt, with Hemsley leading the selection points standings now with 115 points from three riders.

The Souvenir Magali Pache time trial is a memorial race for a young Swiss rider that was killed whilst riding to the showers by a drunk driver after the final stage of Trophee d'Or in 2000. The race is organised by Andre Massard, a close friend of Magali's family.

Photos

Images by Greg Boorer

Oenone Wood with race organiser Andre Massard
Girls on the podium, Lyne Bessette (2nd), Oenone Wood (1st) and Margaret Hemsley (3rd)
Margaret Hemsley presenting her podium flowers to the parents of the late Magali Pache

Results - 20.4 km Individual Time Trial

1 Oenone Wood (Aus) Australian National Team              30.28 (40.17 km/h)
2 Lyne Bessette (Can) Canadian National                    0.31
3 Margaret Hemsley (Aus) Equipe Nürnberger Versicherung    0.57
4 Sara Carrigan (Aus) Australian National Team             0.59
5 Edita Punciskaite (Ltu) S.C.Michela Fanini Record Rox    1.20
6 Kathryn Watt (Aus) Australian National Team              1.38
7 Louise Yaxley (Aus) Australian National Team             2.03
8 Zinaida Stahurskaya (Blr) Belarus                        2.29
9 Hayley Rutherford (Aus) S.C.Michela Fanini Record Rox    2.37
10 Diana Ziliute (Ltu) Safi-Pasta Zara Manhattan           2.47
11 Diana Rast (Swi) Centre Mondiale Cyclisme               3.58
12 Pascale Schnider (Swi) Centre Mondiale Cyclisme             
13 Tatsiana Sharakova (Blr) Centre Mondiale Cyclisme       4.33
14 Diane Emery (RSA) Centre Mondiale Cyclisme              5.55
15 Eun Gusung (Kor) Centre Mondiale Cyclisme               6.05