August 21/02 8:23 am - 2002 Road Worlds Update, Burnaby Velodrome, Red Bull Call for Entries
Posted by Editor on 08/21/02
Road Worlds 2002 Eligibility
The CCA has updated us on the reason Canada did not receive any entry positions for elite men in the road race, despite being in 30th place on both August 11th and 18th.
The final national spot was for the country which was in 30th place on August 15th. According to the UCI, Canada was the 31st nation in ranking (by 14.25 points) on the 15th, although they did move back to 30th a few days later. Also, our highest ranked individual rider was 422nd (Mark Walters).
Below is the ranking on August 15th and August 11th, and the calculation the UCI used to determine ranking.
| Rank August 15 | Rank August 11 | Country | Points |
| 1 | 1 | ITALY | 11727 |
| 2 | 2 | SPAIN | 9743.82 |
| 3 | 3 | BELGIUM | 6992.25 |
| 4 | 4 | GERMANY | 6707.1 |
| 5 | 5 | FRANCE | 6316 |
| 6 | 6 | U.S.A. | 5965.35 |
| 7 | 7 | NETHERLANDS | 5644.2 |
| 8 | 8 | SWITZERLAND | 4995.3 |
| 9 | 9 | AUSTRALIA | 4900.25 |
| 10 | 10 | RUSSIA | 3448 |
| 11 | 11 | DENMARK | 3427 |
| 12 | 13 | POLAND | 2775.49 |
| 13 | 12 | KAZAKHSTAN | 2771 |
| 14 | 14 | AUSTRIA | 2647 |
| 15 | 15 | COLOMBIA | 2542.4 |
| 16 | 16 | UKRAINE | 2523.25 |
| 17 | 18 | PORTUGAL | 2390.67 |
| 18 | 17 | CZECH REPUBLIC | 2294.75 |
| 19 | 19 | SLOVENIA | 2073 |
| 20 | 20 | LITHUANIA | 1883.53 |
| 21 | 21 | GREAT BRITAIN | 1874.5 |
| 22 | 22 | ESTONIA | 1630 |
| 23 | 23 | SWEDEN | 1411.5 |
| 24 | 24 | NORWAY | 1403 |
| 25 | 25 | LATVIA | 1259.2 |
| 26 | 26 | SOUTH AFRICA | 946 |
| 27 | 27 | HUNGARY | 653.75 |
| 28 | 28 | MEXICO | 600 |
| 29 | 29 | LUXEMBOURG | 528 |
| 30 | 32 | BULGARIA | 501 |
| 31 | 30 | CANADA | 486.75 |
| Canada's Ranking Calculation | |||
| 422 | WALTERS Mark | NAVIGATORS CYCLING TEAM | 123 |
| 533 | WOHLBERG Eric | SATURN CYCLING TEAM | 89 |
| 552 | BARRY Michael | US POSTAL SERVICE | 85.75 |
| 598 | FRASER Gordon | MERCURY CYCLING TEAM | 75 |
| 907 | GREEN Roland | 31 | |
| 1032 | RANDELL Andrew | SYMPATICO - JET FUEL COFFEE | 23 |
| 1054 | LANGE Cory | 22 | |
| 1171 | HESJEDAL Ryder | 17 | |
| 1328 | VAN VELZEN Min | SYMPATICO - JET FUEL COFFEE | 12 |
| 1448 | PERRAS Dominique | ITEAMNOVA.COM | 9 |
| 486.75 |
Note: Technically, if a Canadian wins the men's road race at the Pan-American Championships in Ecuador, they will become the Continental champion for the Americas, and would be eligible to start (no substitutions). In reality, even if a Canadian did win, the likelihood of Canada sending them is negligible.
Burnaby Velodrome Reopens
Courtesy Jeremy Storie
After nearly a year and a half of closure the Burnaby Velodrome was opened for riding on August 20th. Mandy Poitras, Canadian National Team member preparing for the World Championships September 25-29 in Copenhagen, Denmark, was given special permission to ride the track on a limited basis. Mandy will be training on the track for a few more sessions prior to the grand opening in order to help make assessments for the final adjustments to the track. The official public opening for the track will be Sept 4 with a meeting to be held at the Velodrome at 7 PM for any and all interested in track riding and racing. There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony and information on memberships, schedules and programs, and of course riding. The Burnaby Velodrome Club has worked hard over the past year and a half and has come to agreement terms with Volleyball BC and the City of Burnaby to put track riding and racing back on the schedule.
The Red Bull Ride Back For 2003
After an awesome 2002 event which saw an invited list of 25 riders from 9 countries, to one very seriously technical and in-your-face course, the search for a hand full of the world‚s leading riders from all corners of the world is on again.
The Red Bull Ride 2003 will be held between the 19 - 24 January in Jindabyne, Australia.
The checklist for 2003 goes something like this:
Prize money: AUS$15,000.00
World class quality television and video production of the event
Major world wide television distribution program
World wide video distribution
Warm weather, beaches and Aussie girls
The Riders
The course is designed to challenge the best riders in the world so our quest to round up a field of 25 riders from around the planet is now under way.
This is purely a preliminary invitation. We are seeking expressions of interest from all interested riders. We are also keen to hear of riders you know or would like to recommend - especially from Europe and Asia. Keep in mind the field will be limited to 25 riders.
Final selection of riders is not an easy process. To have a good chance of making the final cut you need to convince us that you can compete with the best in the world and rip it up. If you can send video footage and pictures of yourself or if you can be recommended by competitors who have competed in the Red Bull Ride . . . these are all things that will help us make an educated decision on whether your style of riding will cope with the Red Bull Ride course.
A final list of competitors will be decided by November 2002.
Start Planning
The event organisers will pay accommodation and ground transport (from accommodation to event site) during the event, although airline tickets will not be covered. There will also be AUS$15,000 in prize money and extensive media coverage via international television, video, internet and print media distribution.
For more information about the 2002 Red Bull Ride go to: www.redbullride.com.
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