September 6/17 11:05 am - Canada Announces Junior, Under-23 Men and Elite Women Squads for Road World Championships

Posted by Editoress on 09/6/17
 

Cycling Canada is pleased to announce the team of athletes that will represent Canada at the 2017 UCI Road Cycling World Championships, to be held in Bergen, Norway, on September 16-24.  The Road World Championships are the culmination of the road season, with title winners awarded the Rainbow Jersey, which they will wear at competitions around the world for the following 12 months.

Team selections have been confirmed for Junior men and women, Under-23 men and Elite women, in both the Individual Time Trial and Road Race events.  The Elite men selection will be confirmed following the WorldTour races to take place in Quebec City and Montreal on September 8-10.

"The 2017 Road Worlds mark a special time for Cycling Canada," commented Jacques Landry, Chief Technical Officer and Head Coach at Cycling Canada.  "It highlights the culmination of the first year that Cycling Canada has truly invested in our road athletes through the Maple Leaf Project.  Under the leadership of road manager Kevin Field, a team has been selected from among our best road athletes, as well as some track endurance riders.  They are equipped to battle both the gruelling time trial and road courses designed by the Bergen organizing committee, in addition to the challenging weather condition that only this part of the world can offer."

Maggie Coles-Lyster

Laurie Jussaume and Erin Attwell

Simone Boilard

Charles-Etienne Chretien

Michael Foley

Kurt Penno

Graydon Staples

The Junior squad includes recently crowned track world champion Maggie Coles-Lyster of Maple Ridge, BC, and national road champion Charles-Etienne Chretien of Amos, Quebec.  The Junior squad includes four women and four men, with all riders participating in the road races, and two from each team entered in the time trials.

Pier-Andre Cote

Alec Cowan

Jack Burke

Nickolas Zukowsky and Marc-Antoine Soucy

The Under-23 men's squad of five riders includes recent Canada Summer Games champion Pier-Andre Cote of St-Henri de Levis, QC, as well as Alec Cowan of Calgary, Alberta, who was 12th in the time trial at last year's world championships.  All five are scheduled to start the road race, with Cowan and Jack Burke of Squamish, BC, entered in the time trial also.

Lex Albrecht

Sara Bergen

Karol-Ann Canuel

Leah Kirchmann

Kirsti Lay

Alison Jackson

"It's always a thrill to bring our team to the World Championships," said Kevin Field, Road Manager at Cycling Canada.  "We're seeing really interesting progressions in our performances at Road Worlds and I'm excited for our outcomes in Norway.  I'm especially thrilled with the work happening across the cycling community in Canada at the regional, provincial and national level, through the work we're doing with the Maple Leaf Project. We're building fantastic relationships with new funders like Bob and Kim Disbrow, and Bernard Leroux, and we are working really closely with our provinces and trade teams to create more holistic and aligned athlete development."

"We're seeing our system-work pay off, notably in our U23 category, where we've established consistency with our ability to qualify for the world championships, and are developing athletes sooner. This year it was a particular pleasure for me to reconnect with our Junior categories while working closely with our provinces."

Junior Women
Erin Attwell - Victoria, BC [Trek-Red Truck]
Simone Boilard - Quebec City, QC [Desjardins-Ford]
Maggie Coles-Lyster - Maple Ridge, BC [TAG]
Laurie Jussaume - Contrecour, QC [VC Contrecour]
TT: Attwell, Jussaume
Reserves: Ann-Pascale Ouellet, Dana Gilligan

Junior Men
Charles-Etienne Chretien - Amos, QC [IAM Gold]
Michael Foley - Milton, ON [La Bicicletta]
Kurt Penno - Brandon, MB [Trek-Red Truck]
Graydon Staples - Orillia, ON [Toronto Hustle]
TT: Chretien, Staples
Reserves: Guillaume Davidson, Noah Simms

U23 Men
Jack Burke - Squamish, BC [Aevolo]
Pier-Andre Cote - St-Henri de Levis, QC [Silber Pro]
Alec Cowan - Calgary, AB [Silber]
Marc-Antoine Soucy - Amos, QC [Silber/Garneau-Quebecor]
Nickolas Zukowsky - Ste Agathe, QC [Silber Pro]
TT: Cowan, Burke
Reserve: Adam Roberge, Will Elliot, Adam Jamieson

Elite Women
Lex Albrecht - Montreal, QC [Tibco-SVB]
Sara Bergen - Coquitlam, BC [Rally]
Karol-Ann Canuel - Gatineau, QC [Boels-Dolemans]
Alison Jackson - Vermilion, AB [BePink - Cogeas]
Leah Kirchmann - Winnipeg, MB [Team Sunweb]
Kirsti Lay - Montreal, QC [Rally]
TT: Canuel, Kirchmann
Reserve: Sara Poidevin [Rally], Joelle Numainville [Cyclance]