Cycling Canada has selected a strong team of 12 world-class athletes for the first round of the UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup, which will take place in Ostend, Belgium, on May 3-6. This will be the first event during the qualifying period for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, when riders and nations begin to collect ranking points that will determine country quotas for the Games.
The team is led by world champions Shelley Gautier [T1 women] of Toronto, Ontario, and Tristen Chernove [C2 men] of Cranbrook, BC, Michael Sametz (C3 Men) of Calgary, Alberta, as well as former world champion Robbi Weldon [Tandem women] of Ottawa, Ontario, with her pilot Audrey Lemieux of Montreal, Quebec.
“The Para-cycling program is looking forward to its first 2018 Road World Cup,” said Sebastien Travers, Para-cycling Head Coach at Cycling Canada. “As this is the first road event in the Tokyo Paralympic qualification process, we have gathered a team that is able to perform at the podium level, as well as score a high level of UCI points. This World Cup also marks the debut for some of our new IST staff, who will be able to better service our athletes once they have seen them race.”
Racing will begin on Thursday and Friday with the individual time trials for all categories, followed by the road races on Saturday and Sunday.
Women
Nicole Clermont (C5) St-Denis-de-Brompton, QC
Shelley Gautier (T1) Toronto, ON
Marie-Claude Molnar (C4) St Hubert, QC
Robbi Weldon (Tandem) Ottawa, ON
Audrey Lemieux (Tandem Pilot) Montreal, QC
Men
Tristen Chernove (C2) Cranbrook, BC
Matthieu Croteau Daigle (Tandem) Sherbrooke, QC
Benoit Lussier (Tandem Pilot) Montreal, QC
Joey Desjardins (H3) Hawkesbury, ON
Alexander Hyndman (H3) Morpeth, ON
Charles Moreau (H3) Victoriaville, ON
Michael Sametz (C3) Calgary, AB
Source: Cycling Canada
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 programs to promote and grow cycling across the country. Cycling Canada programs are made possible through the support of its valued corporate partners – Global Relay, Lexus Canada, Mattamy Homes, Louis Garneau and Bear Mountain Resort – along with the Government of Canada, Own The Podium, the Canadian Olympic Committee and the Canadian Paralympic Committee.