Ottawa, ON (December 10, 2020) – It is with great pleasure that Cycling Canada announces the recipients of its 2020 Annual Awards, all of whom have had significant impacts on the sport of cycling in Canada and around the world. This year, three awards were allocated: Best Junior Rider of the Year, Best Performance in Competition at the World Championships and Provincial Association of the Year.

“Although the 2020 season wasn’t what we initially expected, we saw many outstanding performances from Canadian athletes throughout the year,” said Cycling Canada’s Chief Executive Officer, Matthew Jeffries. “We’d also like to highlight the tremendous work that was done by all of our provincial partners, clubs, event organizers and other stakeholders to respond and adapt in a cohesive fashion amidst such a challenging environment.”

The Russ Copeland Award for Best Junior Rider of the Year was awarded to Squamish’s Teigen Pascual who won all three UCI BMX events she was entered in at the start of the season. Cycling Canada would also like to specially recognize all second-year Junior cyclists who, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, missed the opportunity to express their true talent on the world stage this year.

The President’s Trophy for Best Performance in Competition at the World Championships went to C4 para-cyclist and world record holder Kate O’Brien. O’Brien made her para-cycling debut at the 2020 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships in Milton, where she set two world records in the flying 200m time trial and the 500m time trial, earning her a gold medal in the process.

Finally, the Torchy Peden Award for Provincial Association of the Year was awarded to Quebec for the quality of their COVID-related communications and protocols throughout the year, as well as their collaboration and support throughout the postponement and cancellation of numerous national and international events, and for their ongoing contributions towards Cycling Canada’s strategic planning and implementation processes.

About Cycling Canada
Cycling Canada is the governing body for competitive cycling in Canada. With the vision of becoming a leading competitive cycling nation, Cycling Canada manages the High Performance team, hosts national and international events and administers programs to promote and grow cycling across the country.
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Source: Cycling Canada 
Information: Karine Bedard | Cycling Canada | karine.bedard@cyclingcanada.ca