TORONTO – Canada’s Raphael Gagne managed to fend off Argentinian racer Catriel Soto to win gold in the men’s cross-country mountain biking event Sunday at the Pan Am Games.
Gagne finished with a time of 1:31:14 beating Soto who won the silver, and Stephen Ettinger of the United States took home the bronze. Thirty-year-old Derek Zandstra, of Trenton, Ont., finished fourth in the competition.
“I think I played it very smart,” Gagne said following the race. “I paced myself well, I drank well and I ate well and it played into my favour. I’ve always been able to start strong but sometimes my finishes were not as strong. But definitely today I finished really, really strong so I’m happy with this.”
Gagne, a 27-year-old resident of Quebec City, has been competing nationally in mountain biking since 1999. He began competing as an international rider in 2010 and finished seventh at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
It was Canada’s third gold medal on the day – fourth medal overall – after Canadians Emily Batty and Catharine Pendrel won the gold and silver medals at the women’s event earlier this morning. Calgarian Lynda Kiejko won gold in the women’s 10-metre air pistol Sunday afternoon.
Canada had another successful day at the Pan Am Games and now leads the medal count with 12 medals.
*With a file from the Canadian Press
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