Jasmin Glaesser wins women's points race in omnium at track cycling championships

​Jasmin Glaesser won the mental and physical battles in Friday's women's omnium and sits atop the standings after three of six events at the Canadian track cycling championships in Milton, Ont.

A four-time medallist at the 2015 Toronto Pan American Games, Glaesser prevailed over Stephanie Roorda 223-215 in a tightly contested and intense points race after trailing the latter by two points to start the day.

A patient Glaesser collected five sprint points plus 20 additional points for overtaking the field while chasing Roorda. Those 25 points put the 23-year-old in the lead to stay.

Roorda made an attempt to gain a lap early in the race but the German-born Glaesser reacted quickly and followed her opponent.

Roorda then joined the pack just metres before the intermediate sprint line while Glaesser, who moved to Canada at age 10 and lives in Vancouver, stayed back before engaging, gradually increasing her advantage to ride away with the red and white jersey.

In an omnium, the cyclists compete against each other in six disciplines, featuring sprint and endurance events.

The six disciplines for women are:

• Flying lap time trial of 250 metres.
• Points race of 20 kilometres.
• Elimination race of 48 laps.
• Individual pursuit of three kilometres.
• Scratch race of 10km.
• 500-metre time trial.

Elsewhere, Kris Dahl pushed Remi Pelletier-Roy, the defending champion in the men's omnium, with only four points separating the two entering the points race.

However, Pelletier-Roy, a points race specialist, exhibited a calm approach and attacked when necessary on the way to defending his Canadian title with 231 points to 204 for Dahl, who earlier had won his first track cycling title in the one-kilometre time trial (one minute 5.437 seconds).

Pelletier-Roy's victory was buoyed by two full lap gains on his main rival, including an unanswered lap gain midway through the 160-lap race.

Ryan Roth finished third, climbing from ninth entering the points race.

In other events:

• Triple Pan Am Games medallist Hugo Barrette raced to his third gold medal of the week, winning the men's keirin, a motorpaced event which features six to eight riders on the track. A derny motorbike paces the riders from 25 kilometres per hour to 45 km/h for the first few laps while riders jostle for position. With two-and-a-half laps remaining, it's a sprint to the finish, with team tactics a critical strategy.
• Lizanne Wilmot won the five-woman, seven-lap keirin in a photo finish against Kate O'Brien. Competing in her second national championship, Wilmot also took silver in the individual event with the fastest qualifying time.
• O'Brien didn't go home empty handed, posting her first individual victory in the 500m time trial ahead of Monique Sullivan and Kirsti Lay.