Milton, August 11, 2017 – Erin Hartwell is returning to Trinidad and Tobago after a successful three-and-a-half years building the foundations of Cycling Canada’s track sprint program.

As of September 18, Hartwell will take on the role of Technical Director of Cycling for the Sports Company of Trinidad and Tobago, to service the Trinidad and Tobago Cycling Federation.

“This has been an incredibly difficult decision,” Hartwell said. “Cycling Canada is a world-class organization with an amazing group of coaches and staff working tirelessly to support cycling in Canada. I’ve grown a lot as a coach and manager over the past three-and-a-half years, through the wonderfully synergistic and collaborative relationships I’ve developed with our athletes and staff. Canada has been good to me. ”

“Nevertheless, I am grateful for the opportunity to take a leadership position in cycling in the nation that I call my spiritual home. My wife and daughter are Trinbagonian and I’m looking forward to returning to Trinidad and Tobago to further the growth and prominence of cycling in the Caribbean. More than anything, I’m excited to support the Pan American region’s newest world-class indoor velodrome located on the island of Trinidad in our collective effort to showcase the sporting talent and vibrant cultures of this amazing part of the world.”

During his tenure as Head Track Sprint Coach, Hartwell was tasked with identifying talent through Cycling Canada’s talent identification initiatives, such as Pedal to the Medal, and developing that talent. This has resulted in multiple medals at World Cups, Pan American Games and Pan American Championships.

“It was somewhat of a shock to learn from Erin that he was contemplating moving back to TTO, and eventually making that move a reality”, said Jacques Landry, Chief Technical Officer – Head Coach at Cycling Canada. “Over the years of working with Erin, I discovered a man who is passionate about the success of his athletes, someone who wears his heart on his sleeve and who will tread through hell and high water for the people around him. Our loss is Trinidad and Tobago’s gain.”

With Hartwell’s departure, newly hired sprint coach Franck Durivaux will lead both the Sprint Program’s Olympic Performance Pool athletes and the Development Performance Pool athletes. Following an adaptation period, the Sprint Program will be re-evaluated to determine the next steps leading towards the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

OTTAWA, August 7, 2017 – Olympic track cyclist Kate O’Brien continues to make positive progress as she recovers from a serious training crash early last week.

Kate crashed during a motor pacing session at the Glenmore Velodrome in Calgary on Monday, June 24. She was taken to the Intensive Care Unit at the Foothills Medical Centre where she was initially placed under sedation.

A big step in Kate’s recovery came this weekend, when she was moved out of the ICU into the neurosciences ward, where her medical monitoring and assessment will continue.

Kate’s friends and teammates have rallied in support of Kate’s family in this difficult time and have put together a journal of all the messages of support that have been sent in from around the world.

Anyone who has a message of support for Kate can send them to Cycling Canada High Performance Director Kris Westwood at kris.westwood@cyclingcanada.ca so they can be added to the journal.

Cycling Canada joins the rest of the Canadian cycling community in wishing Kate a speedy and complete recovery.

OTTAWA, July 26, 2017 – Olympic track cyclist Kate O’Brien is in hospital following a serious crash while training in Calgary Monday evening.

Kate was motorpacing as part of a training session when her rear tire blew out, resulting in the fall. Kate was treated immediately and taken to Foothills Hospital, where she is under sedation as doctors treat her injuries.

While initial neurological tests have shown encouraging results, it will be several days before it will be possible to make a full prognosis of Kate’s injuries and her timeline for recovery.

Kate’s many friends and fellow national team members have rallied around to support her and her family. Cycling Canada asks that their privacy be respected in this difficult time; any major updates on Kate’s condition will be announced in due course.

Cycling Canada joins the rest of the Canadian cycling community in wishing Kate a speedy and complete recovery. We would ask that any expressions of well wishes be directed to High Performance Director Kris Westwood at kris.westwood@cyclingcanada.ca so they can be forwarded to Kate’s family.

OTTAWA, June 1st, 2017 – Cycling Canada is pleased to announce the team of 13 athletes who will represent Canada at the UCI Junior Track Cycling World Championships, to be held in Montichiari, Italy, between August 23rd and 27th.

Many of the athletes will be competing at the world championships for the first time, including Micaiah Besler of Saskatchewan in the women’s endurance events and Je’Land Sydney of Ontario in the men’s sprint events.  Returning athletes include multi-time national champions Erin Attwell and Maggie Coles-Lyster, both from British Columbia.  Also returning are Laurie Jussaume, Tristan Guillemette, Ali Van Yzendoorn and Nick Wammes.

The athletes will have a Pre-Worlds camp at the Mattamy National Cycling Centre in Milton, Ontario from August 6th to the 16th, before leaving for Italy on the 17th. Women’s national endurance coach Craig Griffin will be the lead coach on the project.

“I’m thrilled to be leading our best and brightest junior track athletes to Italy in August,” said Griffin.  “This is an exciting time for Cycling Canada, our programs and athletes as we continue to build upon the ground work that has been laid these past years. I’m expecting great results from this group and, in particular, the women’s team pursuit who finished fourth in 2016. With the same group returning in 2017, the expectation is to improve upon that performance. It will be a fantastic learning experience for everyone, including myself and the personal coaches who are currently preparing these athletes at home prior to the final training activities in Milton. There’s a ton of talent here that I’m hoping will deliver multiple top-6 performances and, hopefully, a couple of medals at Worlds before these riders graduate into both the men’s and women’s Olympic Performance Pools in the coming years.”

Endurance Men
Gabriel Drapeau-Zgoralski [Montreal, QC]
Chris Ernst [Kitchener, ON]
Michael Foley [Milton, ON]
Tristan Guillemette [Trois-Rivieres, QC]
Ethan Sittlington [Elora, ON]

Endurance Women
Erin Attwell [Victoria, BC]
Micaiah Besler [Saskatoon, SK]
Maggie Coles-Lyster [Maple Ridge, BC]
Laurie Jussaume [Contrecoeur, QC]
Ali Van Yzendoorn [Orillia, ON]

Sprint Men
Je’Land Sydney [Georgetown, ON]
Nick Wammes [Bothwell, ON]

Sprint Women
Charlotte Creswicke [Tottenham, ON]

MILTON, May 16, 2017 – Mattamy Homes, North America’s largest privately owned home builder, has extended its financial support for Canada’s elite cyclists.

The renewal of the Tier 1 partnership with Cycling Canada, which was first announced in February 2016, will continue to provide critical program funding for Canada’s National Track Cycling Team through the 2017-18 season.

Mattamy’s support helps to deliver key resources such as technical services, sport science, logistical support as well as year-round accommodation for Canadian team athletes near the velodrome in Milton.

Mattamy Homes and its founder and CEO Peter Gilgan both played vital roles in the development and construction of the Mattamy National Cycling Centre in Milton, which hosted the Toronto 2015 Pan-American Games. In a joint release by Cycling Canada and the Town of Milton earlier this week, it was confirmed that the facility will play host to the UCI World Cup in each of the next three seasons. The events will bring over 300 of the world’s best cyclists to Milton, with the first event confirmed for December 1-3, 2017.

Canada’s only UCI-approved 250m indoor velodrome, the Mattamy National Cycling Centre is the home training base for Canada’s National Track Cycling program and continues to be an invaluable asset for Canada’s cyclists as they target the World Championship and Olympic podium.

“It takes passion and dedication to compete at the level that our national track cycling athletes do, and we’re very proud of all of them for their commitment,” said Peter Gilgan. “To succeed it also takes financial support and access to world-class training and facilities. At Mattamy we’re very pleased to be able to help and to continue to be associated with cycling excellence as we support our national team as they pursue their goals and make us proud.”

“We are indebted to Mattamy Homes for their continued support of the National Track program and the athletes who are delivering world class performances as a result of this optimal training environment,” said Pierre Lafontaine, Chief Executive Officer of Cycling Canada. “Our success in Rio would not have been possible without this vital support and we are thrilled and grateful to continue this collaboration through the 2017-18 season.”

The Canadian National Track Cycling Team recently completed its 2016-17 campaign which was highlighted by a total of four medal-winning performances at the Rio 2016 Olympics and Paralympics as well as numerous breakthrough results at the World Cup and World Championships level.