(Ottawa, ON – May 27, 2016) Cycling Canada is pleased to announce that Canadian athletes have qualified two starting positions for both women and men in Mountain Biking at the Rio Olympic Games. Specific athlete selections will be announced at a later date.

Olympic quotas for the 30 female and 50 male starting positions are based on nation rankings under the points system of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the governing body for cycling. The qualifying period ended on May 22nd, after the World Cup event in Albstadt, Germany.

Canada ranked third among all nations in the women’s standings at the end of the qualifying period, behind Switzerland and Germany, and will receive the maximum two starting positions.

In the men’s nation rankings, Canada finishing the qualifying period in tenth place, allowing Canada to enter two riders. The top five countries, led by Switzerland, received three starting spots.

“We are pleased to have secured two spots on both the women’s and men’s side for these upcoming Olympic Games!,” stated Jacques Landry, High Performance Director for Cycling Canada. “Our combined women’s and men’s Olympic ranking is an indication that Canada continues to be an international force in Mountain Biking.”

“With a little more than 14 weeks to the Mountain Bike events in Rio, the focus now will be to ensure that our targeted athletes continue to fine tune their technical and tactical skills, and hone in on final physiological adjustments through training and competitions in order to ensure that no stone remains unturned come August.”

The Olympic mountain bike competitions will take place on Saturday, August 21st, for women and Sunday, August 22nd, for men, at the Deodoro Olympic Park.

(Ottawa, ON – May 24, 2016) Nearly two months after the opening round of the Canada Cup, at Bear Mountain, Victoria, BC, the national domestic off-road series resumed in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, for Round 2 of the Cross-country and the opening round of the Downhill, on May 21-22.

Canada’s top cross-country pros were in Europe for the second round of the World Cup series. This provided an opportunity for developing riders to show their stuff on Sunday.

Mikaela Kofman (Ridebiker/Liv) won the Elite women’s 22 kilometre race with a time of one hour, 39 minutes and 21 seconds, finishing 1:16 ahead of Ellen Noble (Ridebiker). Jena Greaser (Women’s Pedal Project) was third, a further 1:16 back. With her victory, Kofman takes the Canada Cup leader’s jersey.

“This past month has forced me to make some very difficult decisions,” said Kofman. “I had been selected to ride for Team Canada at the two World Cups in Europe, and my plan was to attend these races in hopes of qualifying for the 2016 World Championships. As a first year dental student I have to write my first set of board exams at the end of the final semester. Unfortunately, the preparation and exams conflicted with these World Cup races and I had to make the decision to hang back in North America to race. In reality, I think this was a blessing in disguise because I couldn’t be more excited to stand atop the podium here in Mont Tremblant. I have never had much success at this venue but I believe that the new course design played to my strengths. I am looking forward to the next set of Canada Cups and representing my new team, Ridebiker, that has provided ongoing superlative support.”

In Elite men, it was Evan McNeely (Norco Factory) who took the win and the leader’s jersey, with a time of one hour, 37 minutes and 41 seconds for 27.5 kilometres. Jeremy Martin (iWill Pro Cycling) finished second, 57 seconds back, and Andrew l’Esperance (Norco Factory) took third, 4:20 behind McNeely.

In the Junior expert categories, Sean Fincham (Cycling BC) was the men’s winner and Sidney McGill (Juventus) the women’s. Both riders took the lead in their respective Canada Cup categories.

On Monday, it was time for the Gravity riders to compete in their first national series event of the season. Prior to the start of the Elite men’s competition, a minute of silence took place to remember Canada’s greatest male downhiller, Steve Smith, who died tragically in a motorcycle accident earlier this month. A fund has been started in his name to assist young athletes. Donations can be made at https://www.gofundme.com/23k7fus.

Junior Expert woman Skye Follas of Ontario was the fastest overall woman at 4:18.45, and will wear the leader’s jersey into the next round at Blue Mountain, Ontario, on June 24th. Elite rider Sarah Konefal (Équipe Laferte /Trou du Diable) finished just under two seconds back followed by Audrée Vaillancourt (Kona‐Trees‐Sports aux Puces).

The men’s competition was won by Hugo Langevin (Cycles Performance), with a time of 3:06.59 . Langevin dons the red and white Canada Cup leader’s jersey with his win. Philippe Ricard (Major Cycles/Devinci) took second, less then three seconds behind, with Jonathan Lefrancois (Independent) in third, a further second back.

Adam Robbins of Ontario was the top rider in the Junior Expert Men’s competition, with a time of 3:15.78 . Robbins’ time would have been good enough for fifth in Elite men.

(Albstadt, GER – May 22, 2016) Catharine Pendrel of Kamloops, BC, finished on the Mountain Bike World Cup podium for her second consecutive race, taking third place in the Elite Women’s race on Sunday, in Albstadt, Germany.

Pendrel was in second place behind Annika Langvad of Denmark for much of the race, until the final lap, when Jenny Rissveds of Sweden overtook her for second. Pendrel’s third place moves her into second in the overall standings with 310 points; Langvad leads with 500 points after two straight wins.

In other Canadian results, Emily Batty of Brooklyn, ON, was 12th, Haley Smith of Uxbridge, ON was 42nd, Sandra Walter of Coquitlam, BC, 47th, Cindy Montambault of Val-David, QC, 63rd and Rebecca Beaumont of Alma, QC, 64th.

“It was a hard race,” admitted Pendrel, “but it’s the best my body has ever felt in Albstadt, so I’ll take that as a good sign that my form is there. So I’m excited to take my form to La Bresse [the next round], and see if I can keep moving up. Sometimes when you are in a group you can forget to race for the front, so I tried to just mentally ride as if I was at the front and that allowed me to get a gap, until Jenny caught me on the last lap.”

In the Elite Men’s competition, Derek Zandstra of Trenton, ON, finished 16th, for the best World Cup result of his career. World champion Nino Schurter of Switzerland took his second consecutive win. Canadian champion Raphael Gagne of Québec, QC, was 28th, Geoff Kabush of Courtenay, BC, 81st and Evan Guthrie of Peachland, BC, 96th. Gagne drops from 12th to 15th in the overall World Cup standings, while Zandstra improved from 29th to 20th.

“This is definitely my best World Cup,” commented Zandstra. “I had a 15th at World Championships in 2014, but this my best World Cup, especially in Europe. Last year at this race I kind of redlined myself at the beginning and paid for it, so this year I was a lot more cautious. The first couple of laps I didn’t feel like I was going too hard, because I knew it was going to hurt at the end, and it did. But I held on and I’m pretty happy.”

In the Under-23 Men’s competition, Peter Disera of Barrie, ON, was the top Canadian, in 39th place. Marc Andre Fortier of Victoriaville, QC was 56th, Felix Burke of Mont-Tremblant, QC, 82nd, and Alexandre Vialle of Prévost, QC, 86th. Samuel Gaze of New Zealand took his second consecutive win, to extend his lead in the overall standings.