February 7/17 10:21 am - Canada Sends Strong Squads to Final Rounds of Track World Cup

Posted by Editoress on 02/7/17
 

Cycling Canada is pleased to announce the teams that will represent Canada at the final two rounds of the UCI Track World Cup in late February.  Round 3 of the World Cup will take place in Cali, Colombia on February 17-19, followed one week later by the World Cup final in Los Angeles, California, on February 25-26.

Canada will send a full men's and women's sprint squad to both events, led by Rio Olympians Kate O'Brien of Calgary, AB, and Hugo Barrette of Iles de la Madeleine, QC.  O'Brien will be joined by Amelia Walsh of Ayr, ON, who will be attending her first World Cup, and will team up with O'Brien for the Team Sprint.  O'Brien will also compete in the Sprint and Keirin events.

Kate O'Brien

Hugo Barrette

Barrette will be joined on the men's squad by Stefan Ritter [Edmonton, AB], the 2016 Junior world champion and world record holder for the Kilo, plus Joel Archambault [St-Christine, QC] and Patrice St-Louis-Pivin [Sherbrooke, QC].  The team will compete in the Team Sprint, with Barrette also competing in the Keirin and Sprint, while Ritter will race the Kilo as well in Cali.

On the endurance side, Canada will send a women's squad to both events, but not the men's team, who competed in the first two rounds of the World Cup, winning the Team Pursuit in Apeldoorn, Netherlands and finishing third in Glasgow, Scotland.

For Cali, the squad will consist of Rio Olympic bronze medalist Laura Brown [Calgary, AB], plus Steph Roorda [Vancouver, BC], Kinley Gibson [Edmonton, AB] and Ariane Bonhomme [Gatineau, QC].  They will compete in the Team Pursuit, as well as the Scratch Race, Points Race and Omnium.  Selections for the individual events will take place closer to the event dates.

Steph Roorda

Laura Brown

At the final round in Los Angeles, Brown and Roorda will be joined by two more members of the Rio squad - Jasmin Duehring [Vancouver, BC] and Kirsti Lay [Montreal, QC] - plus Rio alternate and current national road champion, Annie Foreman-Mackey [Kingston, ON].  In addition to the Team Pursuit, riders will compete in the Madison, Scratch Race and Individual Pursuit.  Selections for the individual events will take place closer to the event dates.

Jasmin Duehring

Kirsti Lay

Annie Foreman-Mackey

Kinley Gibson

Kinley Gibson and Ariane Bonhomme

Amelia Walsh

"The Cali World Cup marks the start of the second part of the World Cup season and the first time our sprint and women's track endurance programs hit the boards in this level of competition since the Olympic Games," explained Jacques Landry, Director of High Performance at Cycling Canada.  "This first incursion into higher level of international competition since August will serve as a gauge to see where other countries are in terms of being competitive in this new quadrennial."

Stefan Ritter

Joel Archambault

Patrice St-Louis-Pivin

"Our men's track endurance program, in the first two World Cups, have set the bar with a third place and a win in the Team Pursuit events, and so it will be interesting to see what our sprint and women's track endurance programs can come up with; keeping in mind of course that Tokyo is still 1,266 days away."

Women

Sprint
Kate O'Brien - Calgary, AB [Cali, Los Angeles]
Amelia Walsh - Ayr, ON [Cali, Los Angeles]

Endurance
Ariane Bonhomme - Gatineau, QC [Cali]
Laura Brown - Calgary, AB [Cali, Los Angeles]
Jasmin Duehring - Vancouver, BC [Los Angeles]
Annie Foreman-Mackey - Kingston, ON [Los Angeles]
Kinley Gibson - Edmonton, AB [Cali]
Steph Roorda - Vancouver, BC [Cali, Los Angeles]
Kirsti Lay - Montreal, QC [Los Angeles]

Men
Joel Archambault - St-Christine, QC [Cali, Los Angeles]
Hugo Barrette - Iles de la Madeleine, QC [Cali, Los Angeles]
Stefan Ritter - Edmonton, AB [Cali, Los Angeles]
Patrice St-Louis-Pivin - Sherbrooke, QC [Cali, Los Angeles]