(Ottawa, ON – November 30, 2015) Canada’s track cyclists are set to compete in the second of three UCI World Cup events of the 2016 season, where critical Olympic qualifications points will once again be on the line.
Canada will be looking to strengthen its ranking in all events, particularly the women’s team pursuit, the team sprints, and the keirin and individual sprints events.
After their win at the season opening World Cup in Columbia, Canada’s women’s team pursuit riders will be racing in the coveted white UCI World Cup leader’s skinsuits. Cycling Canada partner Louis Garneau Sport (www.louisgarneau.com) worked to design and produce the custom suits using the same tested, aerodynamic fabric as the National Team kits.
For team captain Jasmin Glaesser, the white jersey is a confidence booster for the program: “While winning the jersey isn’t a priority for us this season, it’s a sign that we are on track to hit our targets at the World Championships next March, and, of course, Rio in the summer. It will give us the confidence to attack every race and to change our mentality from trying to be one of the best, to trying to be the best, period.”
The New Zealand event will also serve as the return to competition of Hugo Barrette, who suffered multiple severe injuries a month ago while training for the World Cup event in Colombia. Barrette feels he is ready to return to racing at his pre-crash form: “I approach any race in which I participate with the intention of winning. Yes, I just crashed severely, but if I’m on the starting line, it will mean that I feel ready to return to battle. So my expectations are to perform at a high level in New Zealand.”
Barrette is slated to race all three sprint events and could play a critical role in ensuring Olympic qualifications for the country in the team sprint. The team is very close to qualifying so strong results are critical in both remaining World Cup events and at the World Championships in London in March. Canada will have Joseph Veloce and Evan Carey on the start line joining Barrette, with Joel Archambault will also make the trip as an alternate should Barrette not be ready to race.
The women’s team sprint duo of Monique Sullivan and Kate O’Brien is also fighting a tough battle to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The team had an excellent result – an eighth place — in the opening leg of the World Cup season and will be looking to improve this ranking and earn more points down under.
A total of 17 Canadian athletes will be making the trip for the three-day UCI World Cup event. Racing gets underway at the Avantidrome in Cambridge, NZ, on December 4th.
TEAM CANADA – 2016 UCI WORLD CUP – NEW ZEALAND
Remi PELLETIER-ROY (Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, QC) Men’s Team Pursuit, Omnium
Ed VEAL (Queensville, ON) Men’s Team Pursuit
Aidan CAVES (Vancouver, BC) Men’s Team Pursuit, Scratch Race
Evan BURTNIK (Edmonton, AB) Men’s Team Pursuit
Adam JAMIESON (Barrie, ON) Men’s Team Pursuit
Hugo BARRETTE (Cap-aux-Meules, QC) Men’s Team Sprint, Keirin, Sprint
Joseph VELOCE (Fonthill, ON) Men’s Team Sprint, Sprint
Evan CAREY (Victoria, BC) Men’s Team Sprint
Joel ARCHAMBAULT (Sainte-Christine, QC) Men’s Team Sprint
Monique SULLIVAN (Calgary, AB) Women’s Team Sprint, Keirin, Sprint
Kate O’BRIEN (Calgary, AB) Women’s Team Sprint, Sprint
Allison BEVERIDGE (Calgary, AB) Women’s Team Pursuit, Omnium
Stephanie ROORDA (Vancouver, BC) Women’s Team Pursuit, Scratch Race
Kirsti LAY (Montreal, QC) Women’s Team Pursuit
Jasmin GLAESSER (Coquitlam, BC) Women’s Team Pursuit
Laura BROWN (Vancouver, BC) Women’s Team Pursuit
Annie FOREMAN-MACKEY (Kingston, ON) Women’s Team Pursuit
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.
