CANADA’S SPRINT PROGRAM – JUST GETTING STARTED
Canada’s Track Sprint program has come a long way in a short time. At the 2012 London Olympics, Canada struggled to qualify two riders; one man and one woman. Contrast that with the upcoming UCI Track World Championships in Hong Kong, where Canada will have a full complement of five riders – three men, two women – who will compete in seven events.
The program really began to take shape in 2013, when Cycling Canada hired a dedicated Sprint coach, two-time Olympic medalist Erin Hartwell. Since then, Canada has taken three athletes to the 2016 Olympics; and won multiple World Cup medals, including a silver and bronze in the final World Cup leading into the world championships.
“A program had to be developed,” explains Hartwell. “I was hired December of 2013 and the first World Cup was a month later in Guadalajara [Mexico]. At that point we had two cyclists in the sprint program; Hugo Barrette and Joe Veloce. There was no bonafide program; we had no women of an international standard, because Monique [Sullivan] had retired and Kate [O’Brien] had not yet been discovered. So it was a fairly tall task.”
“When I was hired, it was more about ‘let’s look towards 2020’. It was a development program; we might be able to get one rider to Rio, but that wasn’t our focus. But after we did the Pedal to the Medal talent ID series in the spring of 2014, we were able to discover a few more riders, like Evan Carey and Kate, and Monique came back. At that point, we had the makings of a team. We still didn’t have access to Milton yet [Mattamy National Cycling Centre velodrome] – that wouldn’t come until January 2015 – but my mindset did shift, and I thought, ‘you know what? Let’s see what we can do for Rio’.”
“It was going to be a tall order, because the qualifying period had started and our backs were against the wall. But we did a lot in a very short time with a small team. We were pretty much maxed out with two women and three men, and I’m very, very proud of what we were able to accomplish in a very short time, qualifying three athletes [two women, one man] for the Olympics. Men’s Team Sprint [which would have meant three men] we missed on, in part because of Hugo’s bad crash in Cali [Colombia, at the 2015 World Cup].”
Now it is the start of a new Olympic cycle, and Hartwell feels the Canadian sprint program is in a strong position.
“Milton was the proverbial game changer, and now we can start the beginning of a new quad [Olympic four year cycle]. Instead of having just two years to thrash about and try to piecemeal a team together for the Olympic Games, we actually have four years to fully prepare, and that’s a very exciting opportunity for us.”
The program has seen some changes, with Monique retiring after Rio, and Joe before [after 2015 Pan Am Games].
“I think we are in a great spot, we do have some returning veterans, and Kate O’Brien is now a veteran! Hugo is on the form of his life [taking a silver medal at the World Cup final in Los Angeles at the end of February]. Those two are the foundation of what we need going forward. Monique is taking a hiatus – she may be coming back – and we are drawing in more athletes; not necessarily bike riders, but people we are going to turn into cyclists. People like Patrice [St-Louis Pivin] from bobsleigh and weightlifting; he is now our starter [in the Team Sprint].”
“There is also Stefan Ritter, the Junior world champion in the Kilo and Junior world record holder for the Kilo and 200m. He has stepped to the elite ranks and, to me, is going to be one of the absolute best in the world in the near future. And we have Amelia Walsh, coming over from BMX, and she’s made incredible strides already, with she and Kate winning a bronze medal in the Team Sprint at only her second World Cup.”
“I expect us to be competitive even ahead of where I thought we would be only a few months ago. I like where we are at. Do we need more people? Absolutely. But that’s part of a talent ID program we are going to be rolling out over the next couple of years, as well as looking at the RBC Training Ground athletes that come through that ID program, and attracting more athletes from other sports that want to try track cycling.”
Olympic qualifying doesn’t start for another two years, but Hartwell says the first big milestone is in a year.
“I’ve told our team that our next big target is Commonwealth Games [in Brisbane, Australia, in 2018]; that’s 12 months away. We’ve got a mix of absolute green riders with some grizzled vets, so it’s going to take some time to make us truly competitive internationally. I do expect that [for Worlds] with the preparation we’ve put in, that we are going to be as best as we can be.”
“Right now, a lot of teams are in development mode, but once you get to the Commonwealth Games, everything changes – everyone is starting to bring A squads. So that will be our next big target and soon after that the Olympic qualifying window will open, and starting with the 2018-2019 season, that’s where it’s going to start to get serious.”
“So right now we have the luxury of a year to prepare, to find new talent and to continue to hone the athletes that we have, just sharpen this bunch up to be truly internationally competitive when it’s time.”
