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NYHAUG TAKES SILVER MEDAL AT BMX WORLD CUP #2

PAPENDAL, May 9, 2017 – Canadian BMX riders had a strong start to the 2017 season with a silver medal for Tory Nyhaug of Coquitlam, BC, in the opening rounds of the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup on Sunday, in Papendal, Netherlands.

The Canadian National BMX program has been through some significant changes over the past 3 months. With a new focus, the program is taking a calculated approach to athlete development and High Performance results.

“We have done some significant work post Rio in analyzing our current international performers and also looking to the future with our newly developed NextGen program,” said Adam Muys, BMX NextGen Coach – West. “Although we have some 2020 standouts including Tory Nyhaug, James Palmer, Daina Tuchscherer and Drew Mechielson, we also have some of the top U23 and Juniors on the planet. The next 4-6 years are very exciting for the program as we are very fortunate to have 2 world class tracks to train on (Abbotsford, BC and Toronto, ON); this is a huge game changer for us.”

Brendan Arnold, the newly hired BMX NextGen Coach, added “Success takes time, it takes a team of quality people to help athletes attain performance at the world-class level. I believe we have started a process of creating future pathway performance through our National Performance program and the newly created NextGen development program. Of course World Cups, World Championships and Olympics are the key targets, but we as coaches need to help our athletes learn to win at earlier stages of their development so that they can acquire the skills to compete at the international level.”

The BMX World Cups have introduced a new format, with two events held on consecutive days in one location. Nyhaug, the 2015 Pan Am Games Champion who finished fifth at the Rio Olympics, made the Final in both races, finishing sixth on Saturday and then second on Sunday, behind world champion Joris Daudet of France. James Palmer of North Vancouver, BC, made the quarter-finals on both days, finishing 26th on Saturday and 30th on Sunday.

“It was an exhausting weekend,” said Nyhaug. “I kept things simple and I didn’t just get on the podium, but was able to battle at the front, and that’s what I’m most proud of.”

In the women’s competition, Drew Mechielsen of Langley, BC, came back from 41st on Saturday to finishing 14th on Sunday, making her first semi-final at the World Cup level.

“It was a slow process and took me a while to get into gear,” admitted Mechielsen, “but I was able to pull it together and make the semi-finals, which I’m really happy about.”

The BMX athletes are now headed to Zolder, in Belgium, where they will race in World Cups 3 and 4 over the weekend.

May 9, 2017/by Communications

CANADA SENDS FIVE RIDERS TO OPENING ROUNDS OF BMX WORLD CUP

OTTAWA, May 3, 2017 – Cycling Canada is pleased to announce the team of five athletes that will represent Canada at the opening rounds of the 2017 BMX World Cup. World Cups 1 and 2 will take place in Papendal [Netherlands] on May 6-7 and World Cups 3 and 4 are in Zolder [Belgium] on May 13-14.

The team will be led by 2015 Pan Am Games champion and 2016 Olympian Tory Nyhaug of Coquitlam, BC. He will be joined in the Elite men’s field by Gaby Malenfant of Drummondville, QC, James Palmer (North Vancouver, BC) and first year Elite Alex Tougas (Pitt Meadows, BC). In the women’s competition, Canada will be represented by second year Elite rider Drew Mechielsen of Langley, BC.

“This project will kick off the new quad with our first two weekends of World Cup events,” explained Adam Muys, National BMX NextGen Coach. “New for 2017, the World Cup format has changed to a single qualifying race, followed by a Repechage and then single elimination Eighths, Quarters, Semi-finals and Final. Then each event will have a second day of racing with the same format. Two World Cups in one weekend.”

Muys added: “We have put in many hours of training over the winter and look forward to see how our athletes have grown. We expect Tory Nyhaug to lead the charge, but don’t be surprised to see James Palmer, Alex Tougas, Gaby Malenfant and Drew Mechielsen to make some waves.”

Athletes
Drew Mechielsen – Langley, BC [Elite Women]
Gaby Malenfant – Drummondville, QC [Elite Men]
Tory Nyhaug – Coquitlam, BC [Elite Men]
James Palmer – North Vancouver, BC [Elite Men]
Alex Tougas – Pitt Meadows, BC [Elite Men]

Coach – Adam Muys
Chiropractor – Jenn Turner

May 3, 2017/by Communications

BMX CANADA CUP SERIES OVERALL CHAMPIONS CROWNED IN CALGARY

(Ottawa, ON – August 28, 2016) The 2016 edition of the BMX Canada Cup national series concluded with the seventh and final round in Calgary, Alberta. This is the fifth year of the Canada Cup for BMX, and took the riders to four different provinces, starting in British Columbia for Rounds 1 and 2, then moving to Quebec for the next two rounds, followed by Ontario for Rounds 5 and 6, before finishing in Calgary, one day after the Canadian Championships.

Riders counted their best five out of seven events to determine the final rankings. In the Elite Women, Daina Tuchscherer (Calgary BMX) took the title with three wins and two third places, for a total of 3420 points. New national champion Drew Michielsen (Abbottsford BMX) won the final round to finish second overall with 2060 points, followed by Olympic champion Mariana Pajon of Colombia, with 1400 points.

In the Elite Men, it was James Palmer (Yess BMX) as the overall series winner, with 3420 points, including three victories. Jared Ennis (Maple Ridge Cycle) finished second with 3260 points and Gaby Malenfant (BMX Drummond) was third, at 3150 points.

The Junior Men’s title went to national champion Alex Tougas with 2500 points, after sweeping the season with seven straight victories. Cayleigh van Staalduinen (Team Alberta) was the Junior Women’s champion with four victories. In the Junior Devo categories, Avriana Hebert (Team Alberta) was the women’s overall champion with five wins and Aidan Webber the Devo Men’s champion with six wins.

Full results can be found at: https://cyclingcanada.ca/bmx/canada-cup-series/

August 29, 2016/by Communications

NYHAUG & MECHIELSEN TAKE CANADIAN BMX TITLES

(Ottawa, ON – August 27, 2016) The 2016 BMX Canadian Championships concluded on Saturday in Calgary, Alberta, with national titles awarded in the Elite and Junior categories. Over 600 athletes competed, with the top riders in each category racing for the maple leaf jerseys.

The event held additional significance as a primary qualifier for the 2017 world championships, to be held in Rock Hill, South Carolina, USA.

Fresh from finishing fifth at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tory Nyhaug won the Elite Men’s national title. James Palmer took the silver medal and Gaby Malenfant finished third.

“The event was awesome and I loved the support from the local fans,” said Nyhaug. “I came into the weekend pretty tired, and it was hard emotionally to come back from the Olympics and get right back into it. But I’m happy I was able to come out with the win.”

“The sport is growing and it’s fantastic to see. Every year the race gets more difficult to win because everyone is going faster.”

Drew Mechielsen won the Elite Women’s title in the combined Elite/Junior Women’s final. Megane Belanger finished second to win the Junior title, followed by Emily MacPherson. Erin Kinnie was fourth in the final Main to take silver in the Elite category. Cayleigh van Staalduinen won bronze in Junior women and Cassidy Monaghan was third for Elite women. Daina Tuchscherer, one of the favourites for Elite Women, crashed in the final.

“I’m pretty happy, but it’s not exactly the way I wanted to win,” commented Mechielsen, referring to rival Daina Tuchscherer’s crash. “But other than that, I’m happy with how the day went, and of course I’m happy about the title. It’s my first Elite title and I’m really excited about that. It’s really awesome and it was a big goal of mine, so I’m very happy.”

In the Junior Men, Alex Tougas took the title, followed by Josh Samells and Ben Leslie.

“I’m really happy with how it went,” said Tougas. “I felt good coming into the race but there is always tough competition, so it was a good day overall. I just took it like any other race; the guys you are racing are fast and you never know what’s going to happen.”

August 27, 2016/by Communications

OLYMPIAN TORY NYHAUG IN CALGARY AS CITY HOSTS 2016 CANADIAN BMX CHAMPIONSHIPS

(Calgary, AB – August 24, 2016) Canada’s top BMX riders, including two-time Olympian and 12-time Canadian Champion Tory Nyhaug, are set to compete for the coveted Canadian titles this weekend at the 2016 Canadian BMX Championships in Calgary, Alberta.

The Calgary BMX track has been revamped since hosting the 2015 Canada Cup BMX Finals last year, setting the table for a great weekend of competition.

The Time Trial will kick start things on Friday night, followed on Saturday by the BMX motos for all categories. On Sunday, riders will compete in the 2016 Canada Cup BMX Finals, where the series Champion will be crowned.

Josh Peacock, Competition Coordinator at Cycling Canada, is excited about the event: “We are extremely pleased with how the event is shaping up. We are expecting a large participation from BMXers coming from all over Canada. We saw a glimpse of the excitement and popularity of BMX in Western Canada and Alberta last year with the 2015 Canada Cup BMX Finals, and this year should be even better.”

The event holds significant importance for the BMX community as it represents a selection criterion for anyone who want to compete at the 2017 UCI BMX World Championships in Rockhill, South Carolina. The Top 8 of each challenge class automatically qualifies for the selection pool.

All race information can be found in the Technical Guide, found here.

The event will be televised live across Alberta and the Interior BC on ShawTV, as well as web streamed for all BMX fans to catch the action.

August 24, 2016/by Communications

TORY NYHAUG FIFTH IN OLYMPIC BMX FINAL

(Rio, BRA – August 19, 2016) Canada’s Tory Nyhaug finished just off the podium in the Men’s BMX at the Olympic Games on Friday. Nyhaug was 1.032 seconds behind gold medal winner Connor Fields of the United States. Jelle van Gorkom of the Netherlands took silver and Carlos Alberto Ramirez Yepes won the bronze medal.

Nyhaug had a poor draw in the semifinal heats, and did not get a good lane choice. He finished sixth in the first of three runs, but managed to fight his way back into the final selection of eight by taking third in each of his next two runs.

In the gold medal final, Nyhaug had a difficult start, hitting the first turn in seventh place, he improved to sixth by the next turn and up to fifth in the final turn before the finish.

“It was a pretty tough day because everybody is going fast,” said Nyhaug, “I had to battle back all day. But it’s pretty cool to make an Olympic final and I had a lot of fun. Fifth place at the Olympics is good; obviously, I’m disappointed not to have a medal, but I’m proud that I left it all on the track and gave it my best. In the final my start wasn’t great and I got caught in some traffic. So I tried to find a way through, but it was a tough line up. I just did the best I could.”

“With Tory it seems that he starts gradually and ramps it up towards the end,” explained Jacques Landry, High Performance Director at Cycling Canada. “Making the finals is a great accomplishment. Every round he was getting better and better and he made the Main [final]. A lot of top riders didn’t make it that far. Anything can happen in the Main because of crashes and mistakes, so once he made it, we just had to see what happened.”

August 19, 2016/by Communications

NYHAUG THROUGH TO BMX SEMIFINALS WITH STRONG PERFORMANCE

(Rio, BRA – August 18, 2016) Canada’s Tory Nyhaug qualified for the final day of BMX competition in Rio with an extremely strong performance in the quarterfinals on Thursday. Nyhaug, who was seeded 18th after the time trial on Wednesday, was up against number two seed David Graf of Switzerland and two-time Olympic champion Maris Strombergs of Latvia in his eight rider heat. He won his first two races and finished second in the third one to record the second best performance of the day, only behind Sam Willoughby of Australia, who won all three of his races.

“I definitely really like this course,” agreed Nyhaug. “It’s fast and fun. The wind was pretty tough, and we had trouble with the headwind on the second straightaway. I’m in Lane One, and it’s the best lane to be in, because the farther you can go inside, the better on this track. I didn’t get touched in the crash on the first run, but I heard it behind me.”

“To go 1-1-2 on the first day is pretty much as good as it could go on the first day, so I’m definitely stoked and ready to go for tomorrow. I’m just doing the best I can, and I had a ton of fun today.”

Jacques Landry, Director of High Performance at Cycling Canada, said: “It was the best situation for Tory; you have the best gate position on all three rides, and he was qualified [for the semifinals] after his second ride. He’s showing good form, he’s quick out of the gate and he’s got acceleration after he is out of the gate as well. So he is in control of a lot of elements right now. It’s a good position to be in.”

August 18, 2016/by Communications

NYHAUG 18TH IN BMX TIME TRIAL

(Rio, BRA – August 17, 2016) Tory Nyhaug, Canada’s lone entrant in the Olympic BMX competition, finished 18th among 32 competitors on Wednesday, the opening day of competition. The time trial will seed the riders for quarterfinal racing, which takes place on Thursday, followed by the semi-finals and finals on Friday. Nyhaug’s time was 35.422 seconds, 0.805 seconds behind the top finisher, Joris Daudet of France.

“The track is fast,” commented Nyhaug. “I made a couple of mistakes but it’s alright for a time trial. It’s our first time on the track; I’ll be good to go for racing tomorrow. It’s definitely really hot, and that’s something I’m going to have to be aware of, and really hydrate. It would have been nicer to have a faster lap for sure, but it doesn’t change anything for tomorrow. A race is different than a time trial and I’m ready to go.”

August 17, 2016/by Communications

OLYMPIC PROFILES – CANADIAN BMX SOLO ATHLETE

Meet Cycling Canada’s solo BMX athlete who will be competing at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games from August 17 to 19!

Tory Nyhaug

Tory Nyhaug is Canada’s lone BMX athlete in Rio, competing at his second Olympic Games. Hailing from New Westminster, BC, the 24 year old rider began BMX at the age of four.

Tory attended his first world championships in 2009 as a Junior, finishing fourth. In 2011 he finished ninth at his first Elite world championships. His 2012 Olympic debut was in jeopardy less than three months before the Games, when he ruptured his spleen (for the second time), and had to have it removed. Less than 11 weeks later he finished 18th in London.

In 2013 he took silver at two World Cups and made it into the Final at the world championships, and he continued to improve the next season, with two more World Cup silvers and a silver medal at the world championships. In 2015, he won the gold medal at the Pan Am Games before a home crowd in Toronto, and 2016 got off to a good start with time trials victories in the first three World Cups.

“I’m coming into this Games with more experience, and the more times that you can race a major Games, the better. I’m older now, I’ve been on more podiums, and I have a lot more under my belt. I’m coming in relaxed and I just want to do my best.”

“This course is really wide open, especially in the corners, and it’s really fast; definitely one of the fastest tracks I’ve ever ridden. It’s pretty fun to ride and for racing it’s going to be cool. It’ll be a good show.”

“Maris [Strombergs, Latvia, two-time Olympic champion] is one of the guys to watch and there’s a long list behind him. It’s going to be a battle, a battle from the get-go.”

August 16, 2016/by Communications

CYCLING CANADA NAMES 2016 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

(Ottawa, ON – August 5, 2016) The Canadian Cycling Hall of Fame, which has its permanent home at the Mattamy National Cycling Centre in Milton, Ontario, is pleased to name its class of inductees for 2016.

1908 MEN’S TEAM PURSUIT

1908 Olympic Bronze medal – 4000m Team Pursuit: William Anderson, Walter Andrews, Frederick McCarthy and Willie Morton. At the London 1908 Olympic Games Canada sent a team of ninety-one athletes of which sixteen won medals. The Men’s Team Pursuit was 1,980 yards (1,810.5 meters) which was three laps of the track. In addition to the MTP the four combined for an additional twenty-two event entries at those Games.

GORD FRASER

Fraser was a three-time Olympian and five-time Commonwealth Games competitor who logged over two hundred individual race or stage victories in his career. He is considered the most successful professional sprinter in North America. In addition to his three wins in the Tour de Langkawi (2000, 2001 & 2004) he also had wins in the GP du Midi Libre, Criterium International, and GP Rennes. Other highlights included winning two NRC season points’ titles, a Canadian National Championship and a memorable silver medal in the199 Pan Am Games on home soil where Brian Walton won the gold. His top Olympic result was 16th in Sydney.

LOUISE LALONDE

The primary focus at sporting events is rightfully on the participants, but behind the scenes are individuals who provide the framework that ensures the competition takes place. One such person is cycling commissaire Louise Lalonde. Highly regarded as an international commissaire for road, track, and para-cycling, Lalonde has also officiated in mountain biking, cyclo-cross, BMX and served as an anti-doping officer. She has served at countless events, from local races to the Olympics in addition to serving on the Cycling Canada Officials’ Committee. Louise was also the first person certified by the UCI to train commissaires in the discipline of para-cycling and wrote the initial curriculum.

MARIE-HÉLÈNE PRÉMONT

Prémont was the National Champion in Cross Country Mountain Bike from 2003 to 2009. Internationally her record is outstanding including 2008 where she won a medal in every World Cup she entered (2 gold, three silver, three bronze). The two-time Olympian claimed the silver medal at the 2004 Olympic Games to add to her World Cup Gold Medals obtained in 2005 and 2006. In 2007 she was second overall in the World Cup standings and fourth overall in 2011. She won a Commonwealth Games Gold in 2006 and Pan American Championships Gold in 2000 and 2001.

ALEX STIEDA

Stieda was the first North American to wear the Tour de France Yellow Jersey on the second day of the 1986 TdeF. He went on to wear five jerseys in total that year including the polka dot as best climber, white as best rookie, red for intermediate points, and the combination. After losing the yellow, Alex held the polka dot jersey for an additional five days over the hills of northern France. At the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, he won a bronze medal in the individual pursuit and claimed the same result at the 1983 Universiade.

BRIAN WALTON

Walton represented Canada at the Olympic Games on three occasions with 1996 being the most successful with his silver medal performance in the Track Points Race. He was also a three-time 1995 Pan American Games medalist including Gold in the Road Race and Points Race and the Bronze medal in the individual pursuit. At the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Brian defended his Road Race title with another Gold medal performance. Brian won numerous international races including the 1989 Milk Race during his twelve-year professional career.

The induction of this class will take place on Sunday, October 2nd in Milton, ON at the Canadian Cycling Hall of Fame luncheon. This year’s luncheon will be preceded by Cycling Canada’s inaugural Legends Ride event, an exclusive opportunity for cycling fans and supporters to join the Hall of Fame inductees as well as current National Team athletes for a fully-supported VIP road ride around the beautiful Halton Hills area. Ticketing information and additional event details will be available soon at cyclingcanada.ca.

August 5, 2016/by Communications