Cycling Canada hosts “Beijing to London Cycling Celebration” and Annual General Meeting this weekend in Toronto

(Ottawa, ON – October 24, 2012) Cycling Canada is capping off another exceptional season that saw many accomplishments –on and off the field of play—by its Canadian cyclists and support personnel.

The Canadian cycling community will convene in Toronto from Friday to Sunday to celebrate the success of the last season, and engage in discussions that will continue to strengthen cycling in Canada with the vision to become a leading cycling nation by 2020 and beyond, touching critical areas such as High Performance, the development of young cyclists through the long term athlete development models (LTAD), the ongoing fight against doping in cycling, coach and officials development, as well as nation-wide rules and regulations.

For Canadian cycling, the 2012 season was marked by many accomplishments in all disciplines, including memorable moments, such as:

• The historical Giro d’Italia victory of Canadian cyclist Ryder Hesjedal;
• The Olympic medal won by the Women’s Team Pursuit squad at the London 2012 Olympic Games;
• The bronze medal won by Canadian Svein Tuft in the Team Time Trial at the World Championships;
• The sixth Olympic Games appearance of legendary Clara Hughes;
• The all-time high three medals won by the Canadian Track Cycling team at World Championships;
• The third place by Joëlle Numainville at the UCI Tour de Flandres World Cup;
• The UCI World Cup Champion title from Catharine Pendrel with three World Cup victories, and the first (Top3) podium performance of Emily Batty;
• The best Canadian result in Men Mountain Bike at the Olympic Games, an eighth place by Geoff Kabush;
• Four Top 10 performances at Track World Junior Championships;
• Five Track cycling medals and two Road cycling medals at the 2012 UCI Pan-American Championships;
• Ten Top 5 results by Canadian cyclists at Mountain Bike World Cups;
• The first-ever World Cup victory by Canadian cyclist Steve Smith in Mountain Bike Downhill;
• The bronze-medal performance of Steve Smith in Downhill at Mountain Bike World Championships;
• The UCI World Championships title won by Holly Feniak in Women Junior Mountain Bike Downhill;
• Hugo Houle’s fourth-place performance in the U23 Road Race at the World Championships;
• The Paralympic Gold medal in the Women B Road Race by Robbi Weldon and Lyne Bessette;
• The Paralympic medal won by Marie-Claude Molnar in the time trial;
• The three-medal performance of the Canadian Para-cycling Team at the Track World Championships;
• A strong Seven UCI Para-Cycling World Cup titles, representing 28% of available titles, and;;
• An impressive 26 victories by Canada at Para-cycling World Cups.

“We are exceptionally pleased with the results our Canadian cyclists have achieved this past season on the international scene at World Cup events, World Championships and at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. We had a very successful 09-12 quadrennial plan, and we will strengthen our operations and support to better serve the athletes as they compete for Canada,” said Jacques Landry, Director of High Performance at Cycling Canada. “It’s important to thank everyone that is involved either directly or indirectly with the athletes and help them in their performances. There is a large support group of professionals from many walks of life that work relentlessly to support the athletes, and they are deserving of recognition.”

Further to these outstanding athletic accomplishments by cyclists, many accomplishments have occurred inside the headquarters at Cycling Canada. These administrative and domestic achievements play a significant part in the long-term success and growth of cycling in Canada. Those achievements include:

• Continued its anti-doping education efforts with the improved RaceClean program
• Advocated around the approval of a permanent velodrome for the 2015 Pan-American Games in the Greater Toronto Area;
• Successfully hosted nine Canadian Championships in all cycling disciplines, including the first Mountain Bike Marathon Canadian Championships;
• Appointed four new National Commissaires;
• Launched the inaugural BMX Canada Cup with five events on the domestic calendar;
• Nurtured and increased corporate relationships with industry and non-industry partners;
• Hosted Corporate opportunities around the Olympic Games;
• Increased its Business Development activities and Vision 2020 plans;
• Established a licensee agreement for a full line of Cycling Canada merchandise;
• Worked with Sportsnet to increase Television coverage of UCI Properties;
• Increased its media reach in traditional and new media to new heights;
• Rebranded its Corporate and visual identity;
• Launched a major strategic planning initiative, and;
• Achieved for the fifth consecutive year a financial surplus.

“Our Board of Directors and administrative staff continue to demonstrate excellence in their work, on a daily basis. We have been able to achieve a long list of objectives this past year, and without the work and dedication of everyone in the cycling community —from race volunteers to administrative committees, including our dedicated and passionate network of Provincial/Territorial Sport Associations—, cycling would not have benefited from the growth it witnessed. We must continue to work together, with the vision to become a leading cycling nation by 2020 and beyond,” explained Greg Mathieu, Chief Executive Officer and Secretary General of Cycling Canada.

Athlete testimonies:

Catharine Pendrel, 2011 World Champion, 2010 & 2012 UCI World Cup Champion:

“The Mountain Bike program at Canadian Cycling, under the guidance of Coach Dan Proulx has become a program other countries are looking to as the model for performance.  We are viewed internationally as a cohesive team with a long term development plan that allows today’s champions to mentor our future riders while taking advantage of the professional level of support Cycling Canada offers.”

Clara Hughes, 6x Olympian, 5x Olympic Medallist:

“Although my life as an Olympic athlete ended in London, I can’t emphasize enough how much it meant to me to pursue my dreams in the sport of cycling one last time.  The most important thing for me was the environment I worked in and what I was able to bring into it every day.  Canadian Cycling is presently in a fantastic place of growth and development.  The environment has evolved in the best of ways in the past four years.  I look forward to seeing the young athletes flourish in all it has to offer in the future.”

Monique Sullivan, 2012 Olympian, 2012 Pan-American Champion (Sprint, Keirin):

“The Canadian Cycling Team has made a huge step forward in the last few years. With the support of an amazing coaching staff and many innovative IST services, every athlete on the team now believes they can win Olympic medals. The team pursuit girls showed us how it’s done in London, and now the team is working furiously to bring home more medals in Rio!”

Robbi Weldon, 2012 Paralympic Champion, 2011, 2012 World Champion:

“From making my first phone call to Cycling Canada in April 2010 to today, happily back in my hometown with a Paralympic Gold Medal.  In the past two years as a tandem cyclist on the Canadian Para-Cycling Team, I have experienced nothing but passion for cycling from the font-line employees at the National Office to the coaches and IST staff.”

Cycling Canada will host a public event this Friday, honouring athletes, coaches and members of the community of who have played a critical part of the success of Canadian cycling over the last year. The event starts at 6pm at the Arcadian Loft in Toronto, and will gather most members of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Cycling teams, including Clara Hughes, Catharine Pendrel, Tara Whitten, Gillian Carleton and Jasmin Glaesser.

Tickets to the “Beijing to London Cycling Celebration” at the Arcadian Loft are $50 each and can be purchased at the link below. Kids under 12 years old will be admitted for free if they arrive before 7pm. Guests will experience a vibrant ambiance, including a draw for a high-end road bike, a silent auction with unique items, merchandise booth, autograph and photo session with athletes just to name a few. http://www.issmembership.com/oca/events/2012-10-26_Celebration_of_Excellence_October_26/register.asp?volunteer=0