Cycling Canada – Canadian track cyclists get one more shot at qualifying for Rio 2016 Olympic Games
 
(Ottawa, ON – February 25, 2016) Cycling Canada is pleased to announce the team of athletes who will represent Canada at the 2016 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in London, GBR, at the Lee Valley Velodrome, site of the 2012 Olympic track events. The World Championships will take place March 2-6, and are the final event to count towards qualifying starting spots for the Rio Olympic Games later this year.
 
Team Canada will enter these world championships with a squad of 15 riders – 9 women and 6 men.  The Team is coming off an exceptionally strong World Cup season, with seven medals and the overall World Cup title for the Women’s Team Pursuit.
 
Canada is particularly strong in the Women’s Team Pursuit, Women’s Omnium, Women’s Points Race, Women’s Team Sprint, Women’s Keirin and Men’s Keirin.
 
Cycling Canada’s High Performance Director, Jacques Landry, commented, “As the Olympic Games are quickly approaching the Track World Championships in London become a critical step in testing all of our systems. In essence, these Track Worlds, that will be held 160 days prior to the Olympic track events in Rio, are our ultimate dress rehearsal.”
 
The Women’s Endurance Team will make up the largest contingent of athletes, with seven riders named to the squad.  “Initially, the team was to be six of the seven [on the short list], however, over the course of the last training phase our riders and staff all fell prey to different degrees of the flu,” explained Landry.
 
“While everyone is on the mend, training sessions that would have normally determined which riders would have made the trip to London proved to be inconclusive. In the spirit of picking the best possible riders for the different rounds of the Team Pursuit event and the Omnium, Cycling Canada has decided to have all seven riders travel to London as opposed to the originally planned six. It is hoped that once on the boards at the Lee Valley velodrome, more evidence will become available to determine the best possible starters.”
 
The Women’s Endurance Team will have riders entered in the Team Pursuit, Omnium, Points Race, Scratch Race and Individual Pursuit events.  The final determination of participants for each event will be made in London.
 
The Men’s Endurance Team will consist of five athletes who will compete in the Team Pursuit and Individual Pursuit events.  The final determination of participants for each event will be made in London.
 
The Women’s Sprint Team consists of two athletes – Monique Sullivan and Kate O’Brien.  Both athletes will compete in three events – the Team Sprint, Sprint and Keirin.
 
Hugo Barrette will be Canada’s lone male Sprint rider, and will compete in both the Keirin and the Sprint events.
 
Landry continued, “I am looking forward to seeing our top track riders going up against the world’s best in London. I am confident in our riders’ capacity to take on the world and reach new heights next month, as these athletes have been working hard for this, and have the full support and leadership from our international level coaches and dedicated and professional support staff.”
 
WOMEN’S ENDURANCE (TEAM PURSUIT, OMNIUM, POINTS RACE, SCRATCH RACE AND INDIVIDUAL PURSUIT)
Allison Beveridge – Calgary, AB
Laura Brown – Calgary, AB
Annie Foreman-Mackey – Kingston, ON
Jasmin Glaesser – Coquitlam, BC
Kirsti Lay – Montreal, QC
Steph Roorda – Vancouver, BC
Georgia Simmerling – Vancouver, BC
 
WOMEN’S SPRINT (TEAM SPRINT, SPRINT AND KEIRIN)
Kate O’Brien – Calgary, AB
Monique Sullivan – Calgary, AB
 
MEN’S ENDURANCE (TEAM PURSUIT, INDIVIDUAL PURSUIT)
Aidan Caves – Vancouver, BC
Adam Jamieson – Barrie, ON
Sean Mackinnon – Hamilton, ON
Rémi Pelletier-Roy – Longueuil, QC
Ed Veal – Queensville, ON
 
MEN’S SPRINT (SPRINT, KEIRIN)
Hugo Barrette – Îles de la Madeleine, QC
 
ABOUT CYCLING CANADA
Cycling Canada is the governing body for competitive cycling in Canada. Founded in 1882, Cycling Canada aims to create and sustain an effective system that develops talented Canadian cyclists to achieve Olympic, Paralympic, and World Championship medal performances. With the vision of being a leading competitive cycling nation by 2020 celebrating enhanced international success, increased national participation and world class event hosting, Cycling Canada manages the High-Performance team, hosts national and international events and administers community programs to promote Cycling in Canada. For more information, please visit: www.cyclingcanada.ca.
 
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INFORMATION
Guy Napert-Frenette
Communications
Cycling Canada Cyclisme
Cell. 403 669-5015
guynf@performancepr.ca