There are some great rivalries in track cycling. None are better than in the women's match sprint event. The Olympic Games in Sydney should determine who is the best. Tanya Dubnicoff of Winnipeg, multiple world champion Felicia Ballanger of France or Michelle Ferris of Australia.
Dubnicoff, Canada's golden girl at the Pan Am Games held in her hometown last summer, confirmed she is an Olympic medal threat at the world championships in October placing third in the match sprint event. It was the second straight year she earned a world championship bronze. Back in 1993 she claimed the world title then struggled over the next five years to regain the same level.
She left Winnipeg to train at the National Sport Centre in Calgary under former national team athlete Kurt Innes. She only competed in one World Cup event in 1998 as she focused primarily on increasing her fitness level. Then in 1999 she trained side-by-side with the men's team. The hard work paid off and all Canadians witnessed her pedaling power as she crushed the opposition at the Pan Am Games. Dubnicoff, 30, competes aboard a custom-made Look bicycle valued at $15,000.
2000 Games
Sept. 20: Women's sprint: Tanya Dubnicoff, Winnipeg, finished seventh overall.
Sept. 19: Women's sprint: Tanya Dubnicoff, Winnipeg, lost best-of-three quarter-final 2-0 to Iryna Yanovych, Ukraine, eliminated.
Sept. 18: Women's 500-metre time trial: Placed eighth in final.
Sept. 18: Women's sprint: Placed third among 12 rivals in qualifying, advanced to quarter-finals.
Photos Winnipeg's Tanya Dubnicoff racesDubnicoff after finishing seventhCanada's Tanya Dubnicoff at the startWinnipeg's Tanya Dubnicoff plays catch-upDubnicoff cools downTanya Dubnicoff on her markDubnicoff & Muenzer follow the motorcycle2000 Games Cycling Coverage
