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MILTON, Ont. - Canadian cycling star Curt Harnett likens it to being out on the water in a canoe on a calm day.When the water is like glass. . . just that feeling of no resistance, sort of like floating on air, Harnett said.The feeling of racing on a world-class track is unlike any other, said the three-time Olympic medallist, who was one of the first cyclists to ride on the new Cisco Milton Pan Am/Parapan Am Velodrome when construction was completed a few weeks ago.The gleaming $56-million facility west of Toronto was built for this summers Pan American Games, and is getting a test run at the Canadian track championships this week. The event may have brought together many of Canadas top athletes, but the track is truly the star of the show.Its a spectacular sensation, and when youre inside like that, and the facility is giving you all of the elements of that containment. . . spiritual is a strong word, but its a thrill, an adrenalin rush, Harnett said. It was a pretty spectacular moment for me, it was hard to believe that we would ever see something like this back in Canada.The Canadian championships, a test event for the Pan Am Games, were originally scheduled for October, but were postponed due to construction delays at the velodrome.The three-storey facility features a 250-metre track made of Siberian spruce, that Harnett described as being as smooth as Plexiglas. The cycling oval shares the same builder as the track for the 2012 London Olympics.Its pretty amazing actually to be here, said Allison Beveridge. Last year at nationals (on an outdoor track in Dieppe, N.B.), we had rain delays. . . The facility itself here is pretty amazing, and the track is as fast as anything you see around the world.The 21-year-old from Calgary was the leader in the Omnium on Monday, after five of six events. The final event — the points race — was scheduled for Monday night.Beveridge trained early in her career on Calgarys outdoor 400-metre concrete track. And along with her Canadian teammates, she spends a large chunk of her season training in Los Angeles. Thats where the closest world-class track was, until now.Remi Pelletier-Roy, who was second in the mens Omnium going into the final event, said his trips south to train have cost his parents $10,000 a year since he was 18.I think (the new track) will help kids get into the sport, because its cheaper for parents, and its also more accessible — they can see it, they can see us racing, and maybe think its cool, said Pelletier-Roy.For the elite already in place, its a great facility to train and become even better on the world level. And to get kids involved in sports, when you have to travel 3,000 kilometres to get to an indoor velodrome, youre less likely to have people get into the sport. But a facility like this in Canada. . . we might see more track cyclists the next few years.Montreal was home to the cycling velodrome built for the 1976 Olympics, but it was torn down in 1989. There is a 150-metre covered track in London, Ont., and one in Burnaby, B.C., that measures 200 metres. But neither is near the calibre of the oval in Milton. Jacques Landry, Cycling Canadas high performance director, believes its the best track in the Americas. Over the past few days, hes watched as one after another of his athletes has stepped off the new track with high praise for the facility. This is the first time weve been on the boards here, and everybody is pretty enthused about it, Landry said. Its one of the worlds top facilities now for track cycling, and its our home now, so thats great.Landry said Canadas track cyclists will be based in Milton in the weeks leading up to both the Pan Am Games and the Rio Olympics, whereas they would have held their final camps and Olympic staging in Los Angeles.Olympic silver medallist Steve Bauer grew up training on the indoor track in Montreal.Thats what spurred me into the world cycling scene with the national team, Bauer said.Bauer capped his amateur career with a silver in the road race at the 1984 Olympics, before a pro career that saw him race in 11 Tours de France. Now 55, Bauer won the Masters C scratch race Monday, for athletes 50-and-over.Racing on the new track was a thrill, he said.Its such a beautiful track, smooth and wide, and such a great venue, Bauer said. Everyone talks about the word game-changer, which is absolutely true.Bauer is spearheading the new Milton Cycling Academy as its head coach, and said Canadian cycling has its work cut out in recruiting kids to the sport. I think that thats an important mission, get more athletes on the track, working with the coaches, and eventually were going to have some great champions in the future, Bauer said. It will take time and patience, but with such a facility, you cant go wrong. Air Max 97 Sale Cheap . Venus Williams advanced to the ASB Classic final in Auckland on a walkover when fellow American Jamie Hampton withdrew from their semifinal Friday with a right hip injury. Buy Air Max 97 . Tortorella told The Vancouver Province hell be cheering for Team Sweden to win gold when they take on the defending Olympic champions on Sunday morning. "I hope Sweden wins, cause I dont think Hammer (Dan Hamhuis) is going to play, judging by whats happened. http://www.discountairmax97.com/.Y. - Matt Harvey wants to make sure hes on the mound in late October — if the New York Mets get there for the first time since 2006. Air Max 97 Cheap Online . The game marks the rare occasion when two homegrown running backs, Jon Cornish of the Calgary Stampeders and Andrew Harris of the B.C. Lions, will start in the West Divisions battle for a Grey Cup berth. Discount Air Max 97 . - In about six minutes, the Memphis Grizzlies had allowed their 23-point lead to be cut to seven.Sydney, Australia (SportsNetwork.com) - Petra Kvitova captured her first title of 2015 with a straight-set victory over fellow Czech Karolina Pliskova in Fridays final of the Sydney International. The second-seeded Kvitova gutted out a pair of tiebreakers to earn a 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (8-6) victory, claiming her 15th career title and third in Australia. Kvitova previously won Australian Open tune-up crowns in 2009 at Hobart and 2011 at Brisbane. She has struggled somewhat in the opening Grand Slam event of the year, however, with four exits before the third round and a semifinal finish in 2012 her best result in six tries. The last ttwo visits to Melbourne have been particularly rough, a second-round setback in 2013 and a stunning first-round loss last year against Luksika Kumkhum.dddddddddddd She will face a qualifier in the first round next week. Pliskova fell to 3-4 all-time in WTA finals. She reached five title matches last year, winning twice, and is expected to move into the top-20 for the first time when the new rankings are released next week. A qualifier is also on the first-round schedule for Pliskova next week. Kvitova improved to 2-0 lifetime against Pliskova, also winning last year in Wuhan, China, and she earned a first prize of $124,000. ' ' '