March 24/12 9:16 am - CCA Announces Track Worlds Team

Posted by Editoress on 03/24/12
 

The Canadian Track Cycling Team will hit the boards one more time before the 2012 Olympic Games as the team makes the long trip down under to compete at the 2012 UCI Track World Championships in Melbourne, Australia, on April 4th to 8th.

The smal,l but powerful, team will be hoping to post strong results at this event, sending a strong message that they will be ready to compete for Olympic medals this summer.

Although the 2012 Olympic Test event was the pinnacle event for the Canadian Team in its preparations for the Olympic Games, the World Championships in Melbourne will be another opportunity to gain experience and fine-tune the operations for London 2012.

“The 2012 London Olympic Test event was the big one for us this year. Our key is now is small daily improvements, as I am sure they will give us staggering long-term results when we get to London in August. Melbourne will be another test but not the main focus,” said Richard Wooles, head coach of the Canadian Track Cycling Team.

Tara Whitten of Edmonton will be defending her title in the Women’s Omnium, a race has she won for the last two years at the World Championships. Whitten will certainly be the rider to watch among the group of riders in the Omnium as she attempts to once more retain her famous rainbow jersey this year.

In the Men’s Omnium, Zach Bell of Watson Lake, Yukon, who currently resides in North Vancouver, will also be among the top riders. Bell won the 2011 UCI World Cup title in the event, and has stepped on the podium in the two UCI World Cup events he in competed in this winter.

The Men’s Team Sprint squad, comprised of Hugo Barrette of Sherbrooke, Québec, Travis Smith of Calgary and Joseph Veloce of Fonthill, Ontario, will be laying everything down at the velodrome, hoping to snatch a coveted Olympic spot. The task will not be easy, because they will need to have the performance of their lives to beat the United States and Venezuela in the race for the one remaining spot.

Both Smith and Veloce will also take part in the Men’s Sprint event, still hoping to grab those important UCI Olympic qualifying points available.

The Women’s Team Pursuit squad is a team that has shown a lot of depth and power this season by grabbing the silver medal at the 2012 London Prepares Olympic Test event in February. This time around, Tara Whitten, Laura Brown of Vancouver, Jasmin Glaesser of Coquitlam, BC, and Gillian Carleton of Victoria will be sporting the Maple Leaf. The final team selection will be named shortly prior to the event.

Glaesser will also race the Women’s Points race, while Whitten will race the Individual Pursuit as part of her busy schedule.

Finally, Monique Sullivan of Calgary, who is coming off an exceptional Pan-American Championships, with a gold medal in both the Women’s Sprint and Keirin, will be hoping one more time to improve her ranking and gain valuable race experience that will come in handy at the Olympic Games. Sullivan will take part in the Sprint and Keirin events at these UCI World Championships.

Women
Laura Brown (Vancouver, BC): Women’s Team Pursuit
Gillian Carleton (Victoria, BC): Women’s Team Pursuit
Jasmin Glaesser (Coquitlam, BC): Women’s Team Pursuit, Points
Monique Sullivan (Calgary, AB): Sprint, Keirin
Tara Whitten (Edmonton, AB): Women’s Team Pursuit, Omnium, Individual Pursuit

Men
Hugo Barrette (Sherbrooke, QC): Men Team Sprint
Zach Bell (Watson Lake, Yukon/North Vancouver, BC): Omnium
Travis Smith (Calgary, AB): Sprint, Men Team Sprint
Joseph Veloce (Fonthill, ON): Sprint, Men Team Sprint