In its third year, the BMX Canada Cup Series to feature nine races

(Ottawa, ON – July 7, 2014) In only its third year of operations, the BMX Canada Cup series will offer a record-high nine races to the young and fast BMXers of Canada.

The series will kick off in July, and will travel to Alberta, Quebec, British Columbia to finish in Drummondville, QC, where the new Canada Cup Champions will be crowned.

The Canada Cup was introduced in 2012 as a way to help bridge provincial competitions to the international stage, and since has been an efficient tool in providing national competition to young riders, which is propelling Canada to some of its best international results since BMX became an Olympic discipline in 2008.

“The 2014 Canada Cup series will offer some great opportunities for young aspiring BMXers to compete against some of Canada’s best,” said Nicholas Vipond, the series coordinator for Cycling Canada. “The growth of the BMX Canada Cup series has been impressive over the last three years, and we are counting on more young BMXers to join the series this year.”

Calgary, AB, will host the opening weekend of racing for the series on July 12 and 13 – the first time the city hosts races from the national series. The Calgary BMX Racing club was established over 30 years ago and has been hosting regular races on the Alberta provincial cup circuit. The 2013 Junior women Canada Cup Series champion, Eliane McAdam, is racing for the Calgary BMX Racing Club.

The top riders will then move to Drummondville, QC for two races in La Belle Province, on August 2 and 3. The races organized by the Cub de BMX St-Charles-de Drummond will take place on a brand new track. The club began its operations in 2006 and has been hosting races of the Coupe du Québec series since 2008.

St-Albert, AB, near Edmonton, will then be hosting the third weekend of races on August 23-24, on the same revamped track used for the 2013 Canadian BMX Championships. The impressive track was significantly improved in the spring of 2013 to host the Canadian Championships, and should offer very competitive races throughout the weekend.

The following weekend, the tour will head to Abbotsford, in British Columbia, for a set of two races at the training home base of the Canadian National BMX Team. The venue, which features a Supercross start ramp for the more experienced, was the host of a UCI BMX Supercross World Cup race in 2012.

Finally, the 2014 BMX Canada Cup Champions will be crowned during the 2014 Canadian BMX Championships weekend, in Drummondville, QC on October 5th.

Connor McCormack and Amelia Walsh both won the BMX Canada Cup Series Elite titles in 2013, while Tanner Vandenhoven and Eliane McAdam took the top honours of the junior categories.

CALENDAR 2014 CANADA CUP BMX SERIES

• 07.12.14 – BMX Canada Cup #1-2 – Calgary, AB
• 08.02.14 – BMX Canada Cup #3-4 – Drummondville, QC
• 08.23.14 – BMX Canada Cup #5-6 – St Albert, AB
• 08.30.14 – BMX Canada Cup #7-8 – Abbotsford, BC
• 10.03.14 – BMX Canada Cup #9 Finals – Drummondville, QC

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Canada determined to score big qualifying points to bring more riders to Rio 2016

(Ottawa, ON – June 03, 2014) The game is on. Now that the 2016 Olympic Games qualification process for the cycling sport of BMX has begun, Canada is more determined than ever to qualify more than one spot for these upcoming Games in Rio, Brazil.

The UCI World Cup Supercross event to be held in Berlin on June 13-14 will be the first Supercross race of the qualifying process for the 2016 Olympic Games for BMX. Canada will send its largest team so far this season, five men and three women all racing in the elite category, with the objective to collect as many points as possible for the Olympic Qualification process.

Canada’s Head Coach for BMX Ken Cools explains: “Berlin SX will be the first race in which we will compete for qualification points towards the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. With the valuable points available, the size of the team will be the largest to date competing in the 2014 race season, with a full support team to lead the way. The event will showcase one of the most famous tracks from last season – the Berlin Mellowpark – which was the former venue to the Redbull Revolution race, making it an exciting event for the athletes.”

Canada’s Tory Nyhaug of Coquitlam, BC will lead the team at the Berlin event, coming back from a crash during the Time Trials SuperFinals at the last World Cup event in Papendal. Nyhaug did not suffer any serious injury and will be ready to race for a podium performance in Germany.

Jim Brown of Airdrie, AB, James Palmer of North Vancouver, BC and Brandon Reid of Victoria, BC have all raced the UCI Supercross series this year for Canada. Misha Partridge of Duncan, BC will be joining the team travelling to Berlin and will race his first UCI Supercross World Cup of 2014.

In the women’s race, Amelia Walsh of Ayr, ON is the only women who has raced the World Cup series this year. Walsh will be joined by two upcoming stars: Junior Canadian BMX Champion Eliane McAdam and Junior Canadian BMX Time Trial Champion Morgan McAdam, both of Calgary, AB. The twin sisters will compete in their first international event in the Elite category.

The UCI BMX World Cup SuperCross in Berlin begins on June 13 with the qualifying motos and time trials SuperFinals, and ends on June 14 with the elimination motos and Main Events.

TEAM CANADA – 2014 UCI BMX SUPERCROSS – BERLIN, GER

• Jim BROWN (Airdrie, AB/Surrey, BC) [Elite Men] (@JimBrown94)
• Tory NYHAUG (Coquitlam, BC) [Elite Men] (@tnyhaug49)
• James PALMER (North Vancouver, BC) [Elite Men] (@jamespalmer66)
• Mischa PARTRIDGE (Duncan, BC) [Elite Men] (@MPartridge112)
• Brandon REID (Victoria, BC) [Elite Men] (@BReid244)
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• Amelia WALSH (Ayr, ON) [Elite Women] (@walshie802)
• Eliane McADAM (Calgary, AB) Elite Women
• Morgan McADAM (Calgary, AB) Elite Women

Coaches/Staff

• Ken COOLS, Head Coach (@CoachKenCools)
• Adam MUYS, Development Coach (@AMuys73)
• Alex ICHÉ, Osteopath
• Roger FRIESEN, Mental Performance coach

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Tory Nyhaug to lead Canada into BMX World Championships

(Ottawa, ON – May 27, 2014) Cycling Canada is pleased to announce its selections for the 2014 UCI BMX World Championships, scheduled to take place in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, from July 23 to 27 2014.

Canada will be led by Tory Nyhaug of Coquitlam, BC, who has had a consistent season among the best BMXers in the World Cup Supercross races. Nyhaug, who has won six consecutive Canadian Championships title including four in the Elite category, was the sole BMXer representing Canada at the 2012 Olympic Games.

Last season, Nyhaug finished in fifth place of the World Championships, his first Finals berth since joining the Elite rank in 2010. Back in 2009, Nyhaug had narrowly missed the podium of the Junior main event, taking the fourth place.

Nyhaug will be joined by Jimmy Brown of Airdrie, AB, James Palmer of North Vancouver, BC, and Brandon Reid of Victoria, BC.

Canada qualified three spots for the Elite Men in addition to the automatic invite to Nyhaug. Canada is currently ranked eighth in the Elite men UCI Nations Rankings.

The reigning Canadian Champion Amelia Walsh of Ayr, ON will be representing Canada in the Elite Women category, while Tanner Vandenhoven of Didsbury, AB and Daina Tuchscherer of Airdrie, AB will be racing in the junior races.

Ken Cools, Head Coach of the Canadian BMX team, is pleased with the selection of athletes who will race for Canada. “The World Championships is the one event of the year where athletes have the opportunity to show what they are made of and earn a rainbow jersey. This is what all athletes will be striving for, to become the best in what they do.”

Cools added: “With Rio just over two years away, the qualification system has begun and the World Championships is the event that will offer the most amount of points in 2014. We aim at maximizing the points we earn as a country as we work towards getting as many athletes qualified for the Olympics as possible.”

Also traveling with the Canadian Team, Alex Tougas of Pitt Meadows, BC will be competing in the 16-year-old men Challenge Class. Tougas is a targeted development rider with the BMX National Team and was the World Champion in his category last year during the UCI BMX World Championships in Auckland, New Zealand.

A 3D model of the track can be seen here: http://youtu.be/F2SrM-MOQX0

For more information on the event, please visit: http://www.wkbmx.com/BMX2014_EN/home.aspx

TEAM CANADA – 2014 UCI BMX WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

ELITE WOMEN

• Amelia Walsh (Ayr, ON)

ELITE MEN

• Tory Nyhaug (Coquitlam, BC)
• James (Jim) Brown (Airdrie, AB/Surrey, BC)
• James Palmer (North Vancouver, BC)
• Brandon Reid (Victoria, BC)

JUNIOR MEN

• Tanner Vandenhoven (Didsbury, AB)

JUNIOR WOMEN

• Daina Tuchscherer (Airdrie, AB)

SCHEDULE – 2014 UCI BMX WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

• July 23: UCI BMX World Challenge 17 and over/UCI BMX World Championships Masters
• July 24: UCI BMX World Challenge 5-16 year
• July 25: UCI BMX World Challenge Cruisers
• July 26: UCI BMX World Championships Time Trial Qualifications and Super Finals
• July 27: UCI BMX World Championships Race Motos and Finals 

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Canada continues to improve on international scene

(Ottawa, ON – May 5, 2014) Five Canadian BMXers will make the trip to Papendal in the Netherlands for the second UCI BMX Supercross World Cup of the 2014 season.

The event, which is the last before the Rio 2016 Olympic qualification window opens, will allow riders to improve their individual rankings and contribute to Canada’s quota for the 2015 UCI BMX World Championships.

In the opening Supercross World Cup of the season, Canada’s Tory Nyhaug of Coquitlam, BC raced to the third place, while James Palmer of North Vancouver, BC, qualified for the motos and finished a career-high 25th.

Racing in Papendal begins on Friday, May 10, with the qualifiers and SuperFinals, followed by the motos and main events on Saturday May 11.

TEAM CANADA – 2014 UCI BMX SUPERCROSS – PAPENDAL, NED

• Hayden MECHIELSEN (Langley, BC) [Junior Men] (@HaydenTHEBMXER)
• Tory NYHAUG (Coquitlam, BC) [Elite Men] (@tnyhaug49)
• James PALMER (North Vancouver, BC) [Elite Men] (@jamespalmer66)
• Brandon REID (Victoria, BC) [Elite Men] (@BReid244)
• Amelia WALSH (Ayr, ON) [Elite Women] (@walshie802)

Coaches/Staff

• Ken COOLS, Head Coach (@CoachKenCools)
• Adam MUYS, Development Coach (@AMuys73)
• Alex ICHÉ, Osteopath 

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Nyhaug, James Palmer advance to BMX Supercross World Cup motos

(Manchester, GBR – April 18, 2014) Canadian BMXer Tory Nyhaug of Coquitlam, BC finished fifth of the opening BMX Time Trial World Cup of 2014, the top Canadian of the event.

Nyhaug raced in the SuperFinals with an automatic entry, and posted a time of 29.313 seconds in the SuperFinals to take the fifth place.

“It went pretty well. I felt strong in practice and I wanted to be on the podium,” said Nyhaug, who boasts five podium performances in Time Trial SuperFinals and two in Supercross Finals throughout his career. “I had a pretty good lap, but ended up getting fifth. I’ll take it, and looking forward to racing tomorrow.”

Local star Liam Phillips of Great Britain won the race, stopping the clock at 28.942 seconds. Among Canadian BMXers present, James Palmer of North Vancouver, BC, also qualified for the SuperCross World Cup, taking te 44^th place of the qualifying rounds.

Corey Walsh of Ayr, ON suffered from minor injuries as results of a crash in the qualifying rounds, while Jimmy Brown of Airdrie, AB did not race as a result of injuries in sustained in training while in Manchester.

For more information, please visit www.uci.ch or http://bmxsuperx.com . All BMX Supercross World Cups results can be found at www.bmx-results.com.

RESULTS – BMX TIME TRIALS SUPERFINALS – MANCHESTER, GBR

Elite Men

1. PHILLIPS, Liam (GBR) 28.942

2. FIELDS, Connor (USA) 29.156           

3. TREIMANIS, Edzus (LAT) 29.253       

4. ANDRE, Sylvain (FRA) 29.309           

5. NYHAUG, Tory (CAN) 29.313

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