Canadian Sport Institute Ontario – TORONTO (July 8, 2016) – Canadian Sport Institute Ontario (CSIO) would like to congratulate the 19 cyclists nominated to the Canadian Olympic Team and the 12 cyclists nominated to the Canadian Paralympic Team for the 2016 Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games.

12 of the 19 cyclists named to the Olympic Team are from or train in Ontario:

• Hugo Barrette, Îles de la Madeleine, QC – Track Cycling
• Emily Batty, Brooklin, ON – Mountain Bike
• Allison Beveridge, Calgary, AB – Track Cycling
• Laura Brown, Vancouver, BC – Track Cycling
• Karol-Ann Canuel, Gatineau, QC – Road Cycling
• Jasmin Glaesser, Vancouver, BC – Track Cycling
• Kirsti Lay, Montreal, QC – Track Cycling
• Kate O’Brien, Calgary, AB – Track Cycling
• Georgia Simmerling, West Vancouver, BC – Track Cycling
• Monique Sullivan, Calgary, AB – Track Cycling
• Tara Whitten, Calgary, AB – Road Cycling
• Mike Woods, Ottawa, ON – Road Cycling

CSIO is fully embedded in the National Track Cycling Team’s world-class daily training environment with a CSIO satellite office at Mattamy National Cycling Centre in Milton, ON. The facility features the only indoor velodrome in Canada, and only 2nd indoor velodrome in North America, meeting top international standards.

Part of the cyclists’ daily training environment, CSIO staff are a vital part of the athletes integrated support team (IST), providing sport science and sport medicine services to these National Team cyclists and two of their road cycling teammates – Tara Whitten and Karol-Ann Canuel. The athletes and their coaches have access to CSIO expert practitioners in sport nutrition, physiotherapy, massage therapy, strength and conditioning, physiology, and performance analysis services. 

CSIO staff working with cycling include:

• Remo Bucci, Registered Massage Therapist
• Christine Dziedzic, Sport Nutritionist
• Laura Hutchinson, Physiotherapist
• Brendan Murphy, Strength and Conditioning
• Mike Patton, Sport Physiologist, IST Lead
• Erik Sesbreno, Sport Nutritionist
• Heather Sprenger, Lead, Physiologist, Research & Innovation
• Emily Wood, Performance Analysist

Both Mike Patton and Emily Wood will be supporting the Canadian cycling team in Rio at the Olympic Games.

On the Paralympic side, the Ontario athletes are Shelley Gautier (Toronto) and Robbi Wheldon (Thunder Bay), both of whom CSIO has provided support to at various stages of their career. This includes strength and conditioning and sport nutrition services.

CSIO through its Ontario High Performance Sport Initiative, or OHPSI (NEXTGEN Ontario) program has also provided Emily Batty with support during earlier stages of her career development from 2010-2012.

OHPSI (NEXTGEN Ontario) is a program designed by CSIO and funded by the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport (MTCS), to provide sport science and sport medicine services to athletes who are best capable of achieving future international success on senior national teams in targeted winter and summer sports. The OHPSI (NEXTGEN Ontario) investment also contributes to funding athlete participation in training camps, international events, coach and technical leadership support and enhancing sports’ daily training environments.

CSIO has provided ongoing support to the Ontario Cycling Association across all cycling disciplines through the OHPSI (NEXGEN Ontario) program. This includes coaching and technical leadership support of the High Performance Manager, full-time coach and three part-time coaches, all of whom are crucial to facilitate the daily training environments of the athletes. Cycling has been an OHPSI supported sport since 2010 and it is important to recognize that Denise Kelly was a former Ontario Provincial coach who transitioned to National Team coach with a contribution from OHPSI.  CSIO is extremely proud to see Denise leading the Canadian Women’s Road Cycling team in Rio.   On the BMX side, OHPSI (NEXTGEN Ontario) program funding is also assisting with the funding of timing system equipment. Through the OHPSI (NEXTGEN Ontario) program cycling has received enhanced sport science and medicine support program for targeted athletes including sport nutrition, physiotherapy, and strength and conditioning services. OHPSI (NEXTGEN Ontario) has also provided funding and leadership support for training and training camps (including warm weather camps), as well as competition support to enhance race experience and international exposure.

QUOTES:

“We are very grateful for the support we’ve received from CSIO in recent years; the partnership with CSIO has been instrumental in setting up our enhanced daily training environment in our new home at the Mattamy Cycling Centre in Milton. There is no doubt that the international success our elite and NextGen track and para-cycling programs have known in the last few years is greatly due to the sport science and medicine support our coaches receive. Our track athletes and coaches will be supported on the ground in Brazil by CSIO sport science staff that have been fully immersed in our program for a few years. These Rio bound sport science staff, along with other non travelling sport science and medicine staff are what makes our program so strong. Our strength lies in professional work ethics in a family like setting. It is expected that the partnership between CSIO, as well as the Ontario Cycling Association, will continue to strengthen in coming years, that will result in more athletes reaching international success through a greatly enhanced sport science and medical delivery system in Ontario.”

Jacques Landry

High Performance Director – Head Coach, Cycling Canada

“Congratulations to Cycling Canada and the recently nominated athletes that will be representing Canada at the Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games. Cycling Canada and the Ontario Cycling Association are fantastic partners and the world class daily training environment at the Mattamy National Cycling Centre in Milton is a great representation of the quality of the collaboration between organizations. All the best to the athletes, coaches, and support staff that are going to Rio. This is an incredibly exciting time for high performance cycling in Canada!”

Tommy Wharton

Director, High Performance Sport, CSIO

“CSIO wishes to congratulate all of the cyclists named to Team Canada for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Having a world-class indoor velodrome in Ontario is a game-changer for Ontario and Canadian cycling athletes, strengthened further with our satellite office and expert staff embedded in the daily training environment at Mattamy National Cycling Centre. We are very proud of our partnership with Cycling Canada, Ontario Cycling Association; the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport; Sport Canada; and Own the Podium, and look forward to cheering on the athletes at the Games.”

Debbie Low

Chief Executive Officer, CSIO 

About Canadian Sport Institute Ontario

Canadian Sport Institute Ontario (CSIO) is a non-profit organization committed to the pursuit of excellence by providing world-class programs, services, and leadership to high performance athletes and coaches to enhance their ability to achieve international podium performances. CSIO offers athletes a range of sport science and sport medicine services including nutrition, physiology, biomechanics, strength & conditioning, mental performance, sport therapy and life services. CSIO also delivers programming and services to National and Provincial Sport Organizations and coaches to work towards building a stronger sport system in Ontario and Canada.

CSIO services approximately 700 high performance athletes and 250 coaches, at its main facility at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, its satellite location at the Mattamy National Cycling Centre in Milton, and in daily training environments across Ontario. CSIO is part of a larger network of 4 institutes and 3 multi-sport centres across the country known as the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Sport Institute Network, working in partnership with the Canadian Olympic Committee and Canadian Paralympic Committee. CSIO is further supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, Sport Canada, Own the Podium, and the Coaching Association of Canada, along with the National and Provincial Sport Organizations within the sector.  www.csiontario.ca

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Media Contact:

Laura Albright, Senior Communications Coordinator

Canadian Sport Institute Ontario
Tel: 416.596.1240 Ext. 238

Email: lalbright@csiontario.ca

www.csiontario.ca