CANADA RECEIVES QUOTA SPOTS FOR SIX EVENTS IN TRACK CYCLING AT RIO GAMES

(Ottawa, ON – March 17, 2016) Cycling Canada is pleased to announce that Canada has received entry spots for six events in the track cycling events at the 2016 Olympic Games to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in August.

The final event that counted towards the quotas was the Track World Championships in London, Great Britain, which finished on March 6th. Canada had a strong showing there with four medals [two silver, two bronze]. Subsequently, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has announced the list of 36 nations that will be able to participate in the Track Cycling events at the Rio Games, and the rider quotas per event.

Canada will be able to enter riders in all five women’s events and one men’s event. Only seven nations received higher quotas then Canada, with Australia, Germany and New Zealand the only nations to receive full quotas for all events for men and women.

“It’s a great feeling to officially know that we’ve reached our primary goal of qualifying our top internationally performing track programs,” said Cycling Canada’s High Performance director, Jacques Landry. “After focussing all our collective energies on Olympic qualification for the last 2 years, it is now time to recover and start really focussing on Rio.”

For the women, Canada has qualified in all five events on the track. After the team of Kate O’Brien and Monique Sullivan finished ahead of their Continental rivals (Colombia and Venezuela) in the Team Sprint at the world championships, it guaranteed a Rio spot for the Team Sprint, plus two rider spots for both the Sprint and Keirin events.

The women’s Team Pursuit squad, who won the silver medal at the world championships, have a Rio position, and Canada has a position for the Omnium, with Allison Beveridge coming off a fourth place at the world championships and a World Cup win in the Omnium.

For the men, the only event Canada has qualified for is the Keirin. Canada had an outside chance at the start of the World Cup season to qualify for the Team Sprint, however, a bad crash for Hugo Barrette prior to the first World Cup dashed those hopes. Barrette fought back to score a silver medal in the final round of the World Cup.

Canada also had a chance to qualify Remi Pelletier-Roy in the men’s Omnium, but Pelletier-Roy suffered a collarbone injury prior to the start of the World Cup season and fell out of contention.

“While it’s a great feeling to have qualified our top programs,” commented Landry, “the feeling is bitter-sweet. We would have wanted to qualify more male spots in the Team Sprint, Omnium and Team Pursuit events, but the reality is that we probably would have needed another year to get there. These programs will be top-8 to top-3 competitive come 2020. For the time being, the focus is on the preparatory process that will lead to great performances in August for our track athletes.”

The actual athlete selections will be announced later in the year, based on published selection criteria from Cycling Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee.

March 17, 2016/by Communications

CANADA FINISHES TRACK WORLDS WITH FOUR MEDALS

(London, GBR – March 05, 2016) Canada’s Allison Beveridge came within one spot of adding a fifth medal to Canada’s total at the Track World Championships in London, Great Britain, on Sunday, the final day of competition. Beveridge finished fourth overall in the two-day, six event Women’s Omnium, surging back after struggling on Saturday.

Beveridge finished 16th, 8th and 10th in the first three competitions, making it difficult to mount a comeback. However, in the 500 metre Time Trial she was fifth, and then won the Flying Lap competition, setting a new track record of 13.924 seconds in the process.

“I had a pretty disastrous first day,” admitted Beveridge. “I made some big tactical errors and that really cost me quite a few points. It was pretty disappointing. I was frustrated with myself because I felt I had decent legs and I just didn’t execute well. So coming into the second day I tried to make it up in the timed events, and then just do what I could in the Points Race.”

“I take some confidence away from that [setting a track record in the flying lap]. It’s one of my better events and I know I can win it, and that’s 40 points in the Omnium.”

Going into the final event, the Points Race, a medal was unlikely, but a top-5 result was still possible. Beveridge was battling riders from Belgium, Australia and the Netherlands for the highest placing possible, and took points in three intermediate sprints, as well as lapping the field. It was enough to boost her into fourth place, just off the podium.

“I’m disappointed that I couldn’t add to the medal tally; a medal in every event [endurance women] would have been pretty fantastic. I think it shows as a program that we are pretty successful and the girls are amazing. It’s just a testament to the seven girls that we have here, and that anyone can perform when they go to the line.”

In other Canadian performances, Kate O’Brien had a career-high sixth place overall in the Women’s Sprint, making it to the quarter final round before losing to the eventual world champion, Zhong Tianshi of China.

“It was unexpected,” said O’Brien. “It’s funny…you get sixth in the world and it doesn’t really occur to you that it’s ‘sixth in the world’, it’s more like ‘oh well, I didn’t win, I should have done better, I should have done this or that’. But in the end I have the utmost respect for the other riders. It was so amazing to be able to compete at that level and I’m just grateful I was able to get in as far as I did.”

Hugo Barrette competed in the Men’s Keirin, but did not make it past the first round repechage; a disappointing result for a rider that won a silver medal at the World Cup a month ago.

“A big disappointment. I knew I had the legs to run and I just made some bad choices, and my head was not in it. All in all, I’m proud of what I accomplished in coming back for Worlds [from a major crash]. But a big disappointment because I knew I could do a lot more today. I got caught in some bad situations, but that was all on me.”

Overall, Canada finished with two bronze medals (Women’s Individual Pursuit and Scratch Race) and two silver medals (Women’s Team Pursuit and Points Race). This puts Canada fourth in the medal standings among nations. This is almost certainly a modern era record for the Canadian track program.

March 6, 2016/by Communications

CANADA ADDS FOURTH MEDAL AT TRACK WORLDS ON SATURDAY

(London, GBR – March 05, 2016) Canada continues to add to its medal count at the Track Cycling World Championships in London, Great Britain, adding a fourth medal on Saturday, a silver medal for Jasmin Glaesser in the Women’s Points Race. Canada now sits fourth in the nation rankings, with two silver and two bronze medals.

Glaesser, who had previously won a silver medal in this same event, came within half a wheel of winning the title, finishing third in the final sprint for a total of 14 points, one less then Katarzyna Pawlowska of Poland. One position higher, and Glaesser would have donned the Rainbow Jersey.

“The Points Race has always been my best event,”” said Glaesser, “but I’ve never made it to the top step, and I really wanted it out there today. It came down to half a bike length in that final sprint for one point… so it’s a tough one to swallow when you get that close. It’s within your reach, but it wasn’t quite enough.”

“I was hoping for a bit of a harder race. I prefer it more when it’s a race of attrition, but it was a lot more tactical with positioning going into the early sprints. So I was too hesitant and holding back too much at the beginning, and having to scramble to make up those points at the end. There was definitely a moment when I was worried I wasn’t even going to claw myself back onto the podium. I didn’t race my best race out there and I’m a little frustrated with myself for that. But at the same time, you can’t predict how these races are going to turn out, and I was able to adapt mid-race to a more tactical race.”

“I knew I needed to finish ahead of the British rider and the Australian rider, because we were all close on points. I didn’t realize until after that it was just that one point that would have made the difference between gold and silver. So it’s a tough one to swallow.”

Canada had riders in two other events, both of which conclude on Sunday. Kate O’Brien had the best showing of her career in the opening rounds of the Women’s Sprint, winning her first round race against Kaarle McCulloch of Australia, and then moving on to the quarter finals on Sunday after winning her Repechage race.

“It’s kind of funny,” commented O’Brien, “I’m pretty new to the whole sprint thing, and this was the first time I was able to go in a sprint tournament as part of it, rather then thinking I didn’t belong, or that everyone else was better. I went in not really expecting anything good or bad, and tried to ride my own race. And it worked out, which was nice.”

“All this is just gravy to me. We are always aiming for better and better results, but I’m going to try to go into tomorrow thinking the same things I was thinking today. You never know what can happen, and I’m just going to try to execute the best race that I can. Whatever happens, happens.”

Allison Beveridge is competing in the Women’s Omnium, and after the first three events is tied for ninth with 58 points. The Omnium concludes on Sunday with the final three events.

Hugo Barrette will also compete on Sunday, in the Men’s Keirin.

March 6, 2016/by Communications

CANADA WINS THIRD MEDAL AT TRACK WORLDS

Women Team Pursuit squad earns silver medal in North American match-up

(London, GBR – March 04, 2016) Canada kept its medal streak alive at the Track World Championships on Friday, in London, Great Britain, by taking the silver medal in the Women’s Team Pursuit. This is the third consecutive day that Canada has medaled at the championships, with bronze medal performances on each of the first two days.

The Canadian team of Allison Beveridge, Jasmin Glaesser, Kirsti Lay and Georgia Simmerling qualified second behind the United States on Thursday, and raced New Zealand in an early session on Friday, with the winner moving on to the gold medal race in the evening. After leading comfortably for much of the qualifying race, a poor exchange late in the race meant the Canadians had to struggle to beat New Zealand by a mere three-thousandths of a second to get into the gold medal race.

Against the Americans – who had set the fastest time of the competition in their qualifying race – Canada held their ground for the first 1000 metres, but gradually began to lose time through the remainder of the race, eventually finishing 2.723 seconds behind.

“We came here with the expectation that we could win Worlds,” admitted Lay, “so it’s bittersweet to come in second. But at the same time, I think we put everything that we could into this race. We have our eyes on Rio [Olympic Games] and that’s the most important thing. So we will regroup and move forward. We know we are capable of so much more, so a silver is still pretty good.”

“We have been changing positions up, trying to see what is the best strategy. I’ve been more on the front end this week, so it takes more out of me at the end. We’ll keep switching up and see what is the best combination.”

“It’s been an amazing track season. I think it’s a testament to our staff and Cycling Canada, and everything that they’ve done for us. We have such a team behind us that we have no reason not to succeed. We have evidence that we can put great rides together, so we’ve just got to keep that in our minds and keep moving forward.”

In other Canadian performances, Hugo Barrette qualified 17th for the Men’s Sprint with a time of 9.992 seconds, in a field where 18 of 24 qualifiers went under 10 seconds. For his first round of racing, Barrette was paired up with the defending and four-time world champion Gregory Bauge of France. Barrette went to the front and controlled the race, and was still leading with 50 metres to go, before Bauge caught him on the line in a photo finish.

“It is the fastest competition of all time, by far,” commented Barrette. “It’s pretty amazing; in 2012 at the Olympics [on this track], only three guys were under 10 seconds.”

“It was interesting [to go against Bauge], but no matter who is in front of me, I’m going to try to win. I didn’t look at it as ‘I’m going against the world champion’, I just gave it my best shot, and at the end of the day, he beat me by one tire [width] in a photo finish. I raced really well and no mistakes were made, it was just that he was stronger today. I’m not disappointed, I think I did a good ride.”

Remi Pelletier-Roy also competed, in the Men’s 4000m Individual Pursuit. Pelletier-Roy qualified 14th, and did not move on to the next round.

“This was the first time [at the world championships] for our men’s Team Pursuit program,” said Pelletier-Roy, “and also the first Worlds for myself and everybody on the team. It was pretty exciting to qualify after we didn’t qualify last year, and qualifying through the World Cups was a big achievement for us. To put up a 4:05 time [for the Team pursuit]; I think we can be pretty proud of that.”

“Usually in the IP [Individual Pursuit] I’m conservative, because when I do it in the Omnium it is only one of six events. Since this was a standalone IP, we thought it would be good to have a go. Last week at Milton [velodrome] I did a 4:23, which is a pretty good time, so we went with a bigger gear and faster schedule, because it’s Worlds and I didn’t want to have any regrets. I blew up a bit, but I’m still happy I went for it. It’s been a pretty good year, I’m pretty happy with it.”

Canada has a full day of competition on Saturday, with Allison Beveridge starting the Women’s Omnium, Jasmin Glaesser the Points Race and both Monique Sullivan and Kate O’Brien entered in the Sprint.

March 4, 2016/by Communications

ROORDA WINS A SECOND MEDAL FOR CANADA AT TRACK WORLDS

Stephanie Roorda takes homes bronze medal in women’s scratch race

(London, GBR – March 03, 2016) Steph Roorda won Canada’s second medal of the 2016 Track World Championships on Thursday, in London, Great Britain, when she attacked the field in the last 500 metres of the Women’s Scratch Race, and held on to take the bronze medal. Canada sits fifth in the standings with two bronze medals after two days of competition.

Roorda launched what would prove to be the decisive attack with less then two laps to go in the 40 lap race, catching a breakaway group with half a lap left and still leading with 100 metres to go. However, Laura Trott (Great Britain) came up fast from behind with Kirsten Wild (Netherlands), and the pair caught Roorda on the final straight to take gold and silver, with Roorda hanging on for third.

This was Roorda’s first individual medal at a world championships, and she said “It feels great. I think it’s a testament to the work we do on the Team Pursuit. We’re really fit and it proves we can perform in other events as well, so I’m really, really happy.”

“No one was really keen to catch that [breakaway] group and there was a bit of a hesitation, and that was the moment that I saw it was the right move to make, and I knew some of the big names were behind me, and if I could open the gap and go over that [breakaway] group of riders, then it was going to be to my advantage. You just go as hard as you can at that point, sprinting for the finish line, and not thinking about anything, really.”

In other Canadian action, the Women’s Team Pursuit squad of Allison Beveridge, Jasmin Glaesser, Kirsti Lay and Georgia Simmerling, finished second in the qualifying round, with a time of 4:20.664. The United States were the top qualifiers. Canada will face New Zealand in the next round on Friday, with the winner going on to the gold medal final.

“I’m optimistic for our team,” said Simmerling. “Today was not our best ride, but we can make some small changes and go a lot faster. It was a crazy day out there but we’re sitting in a good position. We can execute.”

Canada also had two entrants in the Women’s Keirin – Kate O’Brien and Monique Sullivan. Both raced aggressively in the opening rounds, but did not make it past the Repechage round.

“Anything can happen in the Keirin,” said Sullivan. “It was pretty exciting to have two of us in the race today; that’s never happened before. It was actually Katie’s first real international Keirin at the world championships, so it’s a pretty big step for us. We’ve been focussed on getting that Team Sprint spot [for Rio], so that was the real mission for the season, and we were both feeling the effects of that here. We don’t really have the best legs, but that’s a sacrifice for the Olympics.”

“We were focussed on execution, and getting good, aggressive rides in, so that when we have the legs, we’ll know what to do with them. For me personally, in the second race I used up my bullets too early and misjudged the speed of the racers coming behind me. We were both racing aggressively and were in the mix, and it does show progress and that we are going in the right direction, even though it doesn’t always look like it from the results.”

On Friday, Canadians will race in the Women’s Team Pursuit, Men’s Sprint and Men’s Individual Pursuit.

March 3, 2016/by Communications

CANADA WINS BRONZE MEDAL ON FIRST DAY OF TRACK WORLDS

Kingston’s Annie Foreman-Mackey takes bronze medal in individual pursuit

(Ottawa, ON – February 25, 2016) Canada scored its first medal of the 2016 Track World Championships in London, GBR, on Wednesday, the opening day of competition, when Annie Foreman-Mackey of Kingston, Ontario, won the bronze medal in the Women’s Individual Pursuit. It is Foreman-Mackey’s first world championships, and her first time competing in the Individual Pursuit at the international level.

The 24 year old rider joined the national Team Pursuit program last year, and was brought to the world championships as a potential member of the Team Pursuit squad. However, she was not selected to the TP squad, and entered in the 3000m Individual Pursuit instead. Foreman-Mackey qualified third, and raced against Ruth Winder of the United States in the bronze medal final, beating Winder by 3.847 seconds to win the bronze medal.

“It’s pretty exciting,” agreed said Foreman-Mackey. “We came into the world championships with a lot of focus on the Team Pursuit. We’ve done a lot of training and so it was awesome to be able to let that training shine today. I’m really excited. It was a surprise, and I’m really happy. I’ve done one [Individual] Pursuit at Pan Am Championships before but, other then that, this is the biggest ride I’ve done.”

“I came in [to the national program] last year around November/December, and I’ve gradually been joining into the lineup. The team is getting bigger and stronger, and I think we have a lot of momentum. I’m so excited to be able to cheer on my team mates over the next couple of days.”

In other competition, the Canadian women’s Team Sprint duo of Kate O’Brien and Monique Sullivan qualified ninth after a false start. The result was meant that they did not qualify for the medal round, however, they did beat Americas rivals Colombia (11th) and Mexico (12th), ensuring a spot for Canada at the Rio 2016 Olympics Games in August.

“Coming into this, the goal was always aiming towards that August race in Rio…the little thing called the Olympics!” explained O’Brien. “But, we came into the race after chasing points against the Colombians and the Mexicans for the entire qualification, and it was only after the last [Hong Kong] World Cup that we managed to sneak ahead. We had a bit of luxury in that respect, but we knew we still had to come out and give it our best. It was nice to know that we needed a solid race, but not our best race and we would still qualify.”

“It’s a bit surreal actually [qualifying for Rio]. I don’t think it’s really hit yet. It’s been such a long process to get there; clawing for those points race after race … and now it has culminated in the end goal.”

National Sprint Coach, Erin Hartwell, said “Top-8Top-eight was our objective, but at the world championships everyone brings their A–Game. We still have a ways to go. The girls have been on fumes for the last couple of World Cups, sustaining the unsustainable and chasing Olympic points. Going into Hong Kong [World Cup], we were still 17 points down to Colombia for the last Olympic spot. So the objective here was ‘Finish the Job’, and that’s what we did. After the false start, I could tell that Monique was being a bit more conservative, waiting for the beep. That put us a couple of tenths down, but the reality is that there was still a four or five tenths differential between us and eighth place, so overall I’m very happy with it because we did solidify the Olympic position.”

The Canadian men’s Team Pursuit squad suffered technical mishaps in their qualifying ride, finishing 12th and not advancing to the next round. Halfway into the 4000m race, a bobble in one of the corners resulted in the fourth rider, Ed Veal, having to swing wide up the track to avoid crashing, and subsequently unclipping. Canada continued to finish with three riders.

National men’s endurance coach Ian Melvin, commented “It was a challenging ride for the boys out there today, but I think sometimes we forget how inexperienced this program is. We’ve only actually had a handful of races together, so every time we step out there we are learning. Physically, the boys were in great condition, but unfortunately we got caught out with some technical issues. We took a bit too much speed into the first kilometre and a half, and that caught up with us around the two and a half K mark.”

“Then we had a wobble coming out of Turn 2 and it cost us one of our riders. There’s always growth and we are going to learn from this. So I’m proud of the boys, and we’ll come back for the next World Cup season in a much better place.”

“Last year we didn’t qualify for the world championships and we finished the World Cup season in 17th place. This season we made up five places and we beat all the other teams in the Americas. We’re starting to become competitive with a number of teams, so overall there are huge positives to take away.”

March 2, 2016/by Communications

TEAM CANADA 15-STRONG FOR UCI TRACK WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Canadian track cyclists get one more shot at qualifying for Rio 2016 Olympic Games

(Ottawa, ON – February 25, 2016) Cycling Canada is pleased to announce the team of athletes who will represent Canada at the 2016 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in London, GBR, at the Lee Valley Velodrome, site of the 2012 Olympic track events. The World Championships will take place March 2-6, and are the final event to count towards qualifying starting spots for the Rio Olympic Games later this year.

Team Canada will enter these world championships with a squad of 15 riders – 9 women and 6 men. The Team is coming off an exceptionally strong World Cup season, with seven medals and the overall World Cup title for the Women’s Team Pursuit.

Canada is particularly strong in the Women’s Team Pursuit, Women’s Omnium, Women’s Points Race, Women’s Team Sprint, Women’s Keirin and Men’s Keirin.

Cycling Canada’s High Performance Director, Jacques Landry, commented, “As the Olympic Games are quickly approaching the Track World Championships in London become a critical step in testing all of our systems. In essence, these Track Worlds, that will be held 160 days prior to the Olympic track events in Rio, are our ultimate dress rehearsal.”

The Women’s Endurance Team will make up the largest contingent of athletes, with seven riders named to the squad. “Initially, the team was to be six of the seven [on the short list], however, over the course of the last training phase our riders and staff all fell prey to different degrees of the flu,” explained Landry.

“While everyone is on the mend, training sessions that would have normally determined which riders would have made the trip to London proved to be inconclusive. In the spirit of picking the best possible riders for the different rounds of the Team Pursuit event and the Omnium, Cycling Canada has decided to have all seven riders travel to London as opposed to the originally planned six. It is hoped that once on the boards at the Lee Valley velodrome, more evidence will become available to determine the best possible starters.”

The Women’s Endurance Team will have riders entered in the Team Pursuit, Omnium, Points Race, Scratch Race and Individual Pursuit events. The final determination of participants for each event will be made in London.

The Men’s Endurance Team will consist of five athletes who will compete in the Team Pursuit and Individual Pursuit events. The final determination of participants for each event will be made in London.

The Women’s Sprint Team consists of two athletes – Monique Sullivan and Kate O’Brien. Both athletes will compete in three events – the Team Sprint, Sprint and Keirin.

Hugo Barrette will be Canada’s lone male Sprint rider, and will compete in both the Keirin and the Sprint events.

Landry continued, “I am looking forward to seeing our top track riders going up against the world’s best in London. I am confident in our riders’ capacity to take on the world and reach new heights next month, as these athletes have been working hard for this, and have the full support and leadership from our international level coaches and dedicated and professional support staff.”

WOMEN’S ENDURANCE (TEAM PURSUIT, OMNIUM, POINTS RACE, SCRATCH RACE AND INDIVIDUAL PURSUIT)

Allison Beveridge – Calgary, AB
Laura Brown – Calgary, AB
Annie Foreman-Mackey – Kingston, ON
Jasmin Glaesser – Coquitlam, BC
Kirsti Lay – Montreal, QC
Steph Roorda – Vancouver, BC
Georgia Simmerling – Vancouver, BC

WOMEN’S SPRINT (TEAM SPRINT, SPRINT AND KEIRIN)

Kate O’Brien – Calgary, AB
Monique Sullivan – Calgary, AB

MEN’S ENDURANCE (TEAM PURSUIT, INDIVIDUAL PURSUIT)

Aidan Caves – Vancouver, BC
Adam Jamieson – Barrie, ON
Sean Mackinnon – Hamilton, ON
Rémi Pelletier-Roy – Longueuil, QC
Ed Veal – Queensville, ON

MEN’S SPRINT (SPRINT, KEIRIN)

Hugo Barrette – Îles de la Madeleine, QC

February 25, 2016/by Communications

Interview with Ian Melvin

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Interview with Men’s Track Endurance Coach Ian Melvin

Over the past two and a half years, Cycling Canada has been developing, from scratch, a men’s track endurance program, headed by Ian Melvin. The program has already begun to show success in the Team Pursuit, with a bronze medal at last summer’s Pan Am Games, fourth place at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and, during this past Track World Cup season, a top-10 at the second round (ninth in Cambridge, New Zealand). Remi Pelletier-Roy also took a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games.

Melvin came to Cycling Canada from Australia, where he was head coach with the Queensland Academy of Sport, as well as working with the Australian road team and British Cycling.

Canadian Cyclist spoke with Ian before the MTE squad headed to California for final preparations for the Track World Championships at the beginning of next month, in London, England.

CC: Now that you have finished the 2015-16 World Cup and are gearing up for the Worlds, what is your feeling about where the program is?

Ian Melvin: I think the program is progressing at a steady rate. As we finish the [World Cup] season, I’m really happy with the growth we are seeing. Last year we finished the World Cup in 17th place, this season we are finishing in 12th place.

We are certainly seeing a lot more consistency in our performances and our times are becoming a lot more competitive. Slowly but surely, I can see us chipping away at some of the teams that have been in front of us. We are now getting ahead of countries like Colombia and Argentina, who are the main challengers in the Americas. We are within a second of countries like France and China now. There are countries in front of us still, and we’ve put targets on their backs, and we want to try and step over them in the next 12 months or so.

CC: Is there still a chance that the team will qualify for Rio?

IM: This program has always been very much focussed on Tokyo; 2020. If Rio happened, it would have been fantastic, but the reality is, right now it is not mathematically impossible, but just applying some common sense … the reality is that it is highly unlikely.

That’s something that within the team we’ve talked about for the last 12 months. I’ve been very open with all the boys, and they all understood where we were in the pecking order. So we are just approaching each event one at a time. This past year our focus has been the Pan Ams and then the World Cup season. Rio was always a case of ‘if it happens, fantastic’, but we are all keeping our eyes on four years time.

CC: You have the primary squad and the NextGen program; so are you pretty happy with the structure, or are there still some gaps to fill?

IM: I think for the most part, they are one and the same. The NextGen program is a Men’s Endurance Track program [not just Team Pursuit]. It’s not that they are necessarily identified as young athletes, it’s more about the program being where it is, and still being a Next Generation type of program. It still encompasses the likes of Remi [Pelletier-Roy] and Ed [Veal].

The challenge is about trying to – and it’s been a challenge from Day 1 – develop the talent pool that enables us to still remain competitive when we have an injury or we have an illness. This year, Remi broke his collarbone around the first World Cup, and [Sean] MacKinnon was sick for the second World Cup, which really tested the depth of our squad, and while we survived, I’m still aware that we need another couple of riders in the program.

You don’t go down to Walmart and buy one off the shelf; they take a long time to develop. The amount of technical work that goes into these boys is really quite significant. So it’s going to take another couple of years, but the whole program is moving to a point where we are becoming quite a strong, resolute unit.

CC: So, Worlds is next. What will be an acceptable result for you, in terms of where the program is?

IM: The goal for this whole season has been a top-10 performance, at a World Cup or the world championships. We achieved that in New Zealand, so I think, for ourselves, anything else from this point on is really a bonus. I know the time that I think we can ride [secret for competitive reasons], but it comes down to a lot of variabilities on the day. I believe, in an ideal world, we can ride top-10 at Worlds, but it just comes down to making sure that all the T’s are crossed and the I’s are dotted on race day.

CC: Remi didn’t have a strong Omnium in Hong Kong (World Cup #3), but what is the status for Canada in that event going forward to Rio?

IM: It is very much on the table. It is out of our hands at this point, because we have the Asian Championships at the end of this month, which will have a large impact on whether or not we achieve that qualification. But we are very much in the picture still for one of the final spots. But certainly his performances in Hong Kong highlight the ongoing problems that Canada has had with bunch races. The young riders emerging through our pathway really struggle with that side of the Omnium events, so moving forward towards Tokyo it’s something we have to address with a lot more forethought.

February 8, 2016/by Communications

Sport leaders sign landmark agreement for B.C

SPORT LEADERS SIGN LANDMARK AGREEMENT FOR B.C.

RICHMOND, B.C. (February 5, 2016) – Today, a new sport memorandum of understanding was introduced by the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC), Own the Podium (OTP), the Province of British Columbia (B.C.) and viaSport BC, whereby the five partners commit to collaboration on a set of pertinent principles. This partnership aims to further develop and explore new opportunities for British Columbian youth to realize their full potential from playground to Olympic and Paralympic success.

In its resolution dated October 16, 2014, the United Nations recognized sport as a means to promote education, health, development and peace. As such, it represents an important asset to society – and each partner is committed to that resolution.

To ensure this promotion of education, health and development through sport, as well as B.C. and Canada’s performance on the field of play, the five partners recognize the importance of increasing collaboration and efficiency to achieve common success. This agreement represents a shared commitment to work together to support B.C.’s sporting communities.

Through this agreement, the partners will explore opportunities to collaborate based on principles such as:

Providing the best conditions and support possible for the athletes and coaches of today and tomorrow;
Increasing collaboration between provincial sport organizations and national sport federations;
Working collaboratively on actions and initiatives to get youth more active and adopt healthy lifestyles, progressively enlarging the pool of youth engaged in sport;
Continuing to make sport and its funding a priority and influence this priority with strategic public and private partnerships in the Province of B.C.;
Continuing to work collaboratively in B.C. to achieve Canada’s international sport objectives.

The COC, CPC, OTP, B.C. and viaSport agree to work together and with other partners to create increased opportunities for sport and physical activity to be a relevant and important part of British Columbians’ lives.

The event livestream can be viewed at: http://www.viasport.ca/events/live-announcement-canadian-sport-alignment-strategy-partnership

High-res event photos will be available here: http://olympicca.webdamdb.com/albums.php?albumId=1379660

QUOTES

“The Canadian Olympic Committee strongly believes in the importance of this provincial and national collaboration in favor of sport development, and applauds the Province of British Columbia for exploring further opportunities with sporting partners. Together, we are working toward a strong Canadian sport system from the playground up, inspiring our youth to lead healthy, active lives while at the same time, ultimately growing the pool of future potential Olympians. Our best chance of success is to work as one team from coast to coast to coast.”

– Tricia Smith, President, Canadian Olympic Committee

“The Province of British Columbia has such a strong sport system and with the leadership of all partners aligning efforts, together we can further bolster the growth of Canada’s national sport system. This will in turn provide greater opportunities for athletes with a disability to prosper and reach Paralympic success, and for Canada to become a world-leading Paralympic nation.”

– Gaétan Tardif, President, Canadian Paralympic Committee

“It takes a cohesive team to achieve success in any walk of life, and that certainly holds true in developing Olympic and Paralympic champions. These champions can come from anywhere in our great country and perform at their best when there is strong collaboration between all partners. Our partnership with British Columbia will attract more youth to sport and ultimately increase our pool of high performance athletes, inspiring new champions well into the future. This is a vehicle for developing a healthier population, more active communities and a prouder, stronger and united Canada.”

– John Furlong, Chair, Own the Podium

“This agreement aligns with British Columbia’s commitment to sport and to encouraging our youth to become more involved in a healthy and active lifestyle. The Province looks forward to building on its already strong reputation as a national leader in developing Olympic and Paralympic athletes. The signing of this new memorandum of understanding will further the relationship between our province and its partners.”

– Hon. Peter Fassbender, Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development

“viaSport envisions an active, healthy British Columbia where sport inspires a field of possibilities for all. It is through partnerships at the community, provincial and national levels that we are able to support the delivery of programs aimed at fostering excellence from the playground to the podium. We are excited to be part of this ground-breaking initiative which will continue to make sport and physical activity relevant for all British Columbians.

– Caley Denton, Board Chair, viaSport

About the Canadian Olympic Committee:

The Canadian Olympic Committee leads the achievement of the Canadian Olympic Team’s podium success and advances Olympic values in Canada. Independent and predominantly privately funded, the Canadian Olympic Committee delivers resources that Canada’s elite athletes need to perform at their best and give their everything, every day. The backbone of Canada’s Olympic movement, the Canadian Olympic Committee works with National Sport Federations to prepare the Team for the Olympic, Youth Olympic and Pan American Games. By sharing our athletes’ stories, we inspire all Canadians through the power of sport: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

About the Canadian Paralympic Committee:

The Canadian Paralympic Committee is a non-profit, private organization with 27 member sports organizations dedicated to strengthening the Paralympic Movement. The Canadian Paralympic Committee’s vision is to be the world’s leading Paralympic nation. Its mission is to lead the development of a sustainable Paralympic sport system in Canada to enable athletes to reach the podium at the Paralympic Games. By supporting Canadian high performance athletes with a disability and promoting their success, the Canadian Paralympic Committee inspires all Canadians with a disability to get involved in sport through programs delivered by its member organizations. For more information, visit www.paralympic.ca.

About Own the Podium

Own the Podium, a not-for-profit organization, prioritizes and determines investment strategies for national sport organizations in an effort to deliver more Olympic and Paralympic medals for Canada. Own the Podium’s largest contributor of funding is the Government of Canada with additional funding provided by the Canadian Olympic Committee and its Canadian Olympic Foundation, the Canadian Paralympic Committee, along with the corporate community.

Own the Podium was created in 2005 to help Canada become the number one nation at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, and to place in the top-three nations in the gold medal count at the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. Own the Podium continues to drive Canada’s high performance sport system forward in a quest to help more athletes and coaches win more medals in future Olympic and Paralympic Games.

About viaSport

viaSport British Columbia is a not-for-profit organization created in 2011 as a legacy of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Our mandate is to increase awareness, opportunity and participation in sport across the province–at every stage of life and in every community.

By leading the province in building a stronger, more effective sport system, we will bring more families to the field of play, more fans into the stands, more athletes to the podium and more sports events to the province.

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Canadian Olympic Committee Media Office:

Cherry Ye, Program Manager, Media Relations

Tel: 416-324-4123 / Cell: 416-427-4341

Email: cye@olympic.ca

Ricky Landry, Manager, Communications

Tel: 514-861-3696 / Cell: 514 229-4833

Email: rlandry@olympic.ca

Own The Podium Media Office:

Chris Dornan, High-Performance Public Relations

Tel: 403-620-8731

Email: hpprchris@shaw.ca

Web site: www.chrisdornan.ca

Canadian Paralympic Committee Media Office:

Alison Korn, Sr. Manager Media Relations & Communications

Tel: 613-569-4333 ext. 243 / Cell: 613-298-4927

Email: akorn@paralympic.ca

Province of B.C.:

Gillian Rhodes

Communications Director

Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development

Tel: 250-888-1462

Email: gillianrhodes@gov.bc.ca

viaSport:

Alyson Gourley-Cramer, A/Director, Communications & Engagement

Tel: 250-961-5366

Email: AlysonGC@viasport.ca

February 5, 2016/by Communications

MATTAMY HOMES TO SUPPORT CANADA’S CYCLISTS ON ROAD TO RIO

Cycling Canada welcomes North America’s largest privately owned homebuilder to its family

(Milton, ON – January 21, 2016) Mattamy Homes, North America’s largest privately owned home builder, is now part of the growing Cycling Canada family.

Through a one-year partnership announced today in Milton, Mattamy Homes will become a Tier 1 partner of Cycling Canada and will provide critical program funding for Canada’s National Track Cycling team over the next twelve months as they prepare for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The support provided by Mattamy will help 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 this past July. The facility, Canada’s only UCI-approved 250m indoor velodrome, is now the home training base for Canada’s National Track Cycling program and has become an invaluable asset for Canada’s cyclists as they target the World Championship and Olympic podium.

Mr. Gilgan was present at the Mattamy National Cycling Centre to make the announcement on Wednesday. “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 Mr. 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 on their road to Rio.”

“We are indebted to Mattamy Homes for their continued and enhanced support of the National Track program and the athletes who are delivering world class performances as a result of this optimal training environment.” said Greg Mathieu, Chief Executive Officer of Cycling Canada. “Peter Gilgan has provided the necessary support to ensure our Olympic-bound athletes can focus on their training and performances through the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.”

Also on hand for the announcement was three-time Olympic medalist Curt Harnett, as well as 6 current members of the Canadian National Cycling Team. The athletes are presently in Milton making their final preparations for the UCI Track Cycling World Championships which will be held March 2-6 in London, England.

“The Mattamy National Cycling Centre has played an instrumental role in the growing success of our program over the past twelve months,” notes Hugo Barrette, a triple gold medalist at the recent PanAm Games and an Olympic hopeful on the verge of qualifying for Rio 2016. “This additional support from Mattamy will be vital in ensuring that we have everything we need to be at our very best in Rio in August.”

“With the velodrome now in place it is fantastic to see the private sector partners once again stepping up to ensure that the athletes have the programs and resources required to fully capitalize on the facility,” notes Harnett. “Mr. Gilgan was a clear leader in the development of the velodrome and we’re very grateful for Mattamy’s leadership and support here once again.”

The Canadian National Track Cycling Team recently returned from the third and final round of the 2015/2016 UCI World Cup season in Hong Kong. The final event of the Olympic Qualification period will be the 2016 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in London, England, March 2-6.

January 21, 2016/by Communications