November 18/04 7:14 am - CCA in Battle with Former D-G, No Langkawi for Team Canada?, New CCA Website

Posted by Editor on 11/18/04
 

CCA in Battle with Former Director-General

It appears that the recent announcement of a formal search for a COO (Chief Operating Officer) is the latest salvo in an ongoing battle by the Board to remove Pierre Hutsebaut as the Director-General.

Canadian Cyclist has learned from sources that the Board intended to remove Mr Hutsebaut from his position in April, however, before they could do so, the Director-General went on sick leave. That sick leave has been extended twice (with medical documentation), with the latest extension ending on November 15th. At that time, Mr Hutsebaut was supposed to either inform the Board he was fit to return to duty, or of his intention to apply for a further extension of his medical leave. It is our understanding that if he did declare himself fit to return to duty, the Board would resume its dismissal actions (which, we assume, Mr Hutsebaut would contest). We have no word at this time of whether Mr Hutsebaut will end his medical leave or not.


No Canadian Squad at Langkawi?

At this time Canada has not received an invitation to the 2005 Tour de Langkawi in Malaysia, which is scheduled to start January 28th. Now in its 10th year, the Tour de Langkawi has become a traditional season opener for many top teams, with riders such as Olympic champion Paolo Bettini participating. Canada is one of the only foreign countries to have entered a team every year since the inception of the race, and Canadians have won multiple stages, and worn the leader's jersey.

Canada may still receive an entry (depending upon which invited squads decline their invitation), but the lack of an invite can be traced to a couple of factors. The race organizer, First Cartel, has had some changes in top management, and is re-evaluating foreign team participation. This is related to the new Pro Tour and Continental Tour status of races - Langkawi used to be a 2.2 ranked race, offering good UCI ranking points, and attracting higher ranked teams and sponsors. Now, the new system does not make the race as attractive to the top pro teams (and those from outside of the local continent), so the organizers may be considering scaling back their entries (the organizers paid all of the considerable expenses to bring foreign teams from North America and Europe). In addition, the event is used to showcase Malaysia to foreign markets for tourism, and Europe is considered a stronger focus than North America.

A number of top Canadian riders who we have contacted have said that they had planned or hoped to attend Langkawi this year, so we can only hope that the organizers decide to offer a spot to Team Canada.


The Canadian Cycling Association Launches a New Look!

The Canadian Cycling Association is pleased to announce the upcoming launch of it’s new and improved website, www.canadiancycling.ca

The main purpose of redesigning the site was to maintain consistency in appearance with affiliated CCA websites for the National Championships: www.roadnationals.com, and www.mtbnationals.ca, as well as for the Track, BMX and Cyclo-Cross national championships, whose websites are in the works.

The site also features a link to the CCA Sprockids National Introduction to Cycling website, www.sprockids.ca

In order to better serve our membership, we have listened to feedback, and included a number of new sections in the site. The easier navigation features drop-down menu bars for perusing the CCA network of web site, and easier access to frequently used pages. Some new pages have been included, such as a photo gallery, and a merchandising section, which will soon house the CCA’s on-line store.

The new site will be up and running in the next day or so, look for it! Over the coming months, there will be additional improvements made in this site. The new CCA website has been launched in time for our AGM, and Cycling Gala, both held in Toronto the weekend of November 19-21, 2005.

L’Association cycliste canadienne annonce le lancement de leur nouveau site web

L'Association cycliste canadienne est heureuse d'annoncer le lancement de leur site web amélioré, www.canadiancycling.ca.

Le but principal pour remodeler le site web était de maintenir l'uniformité avec nos autres sites web affiliés à l’ACC, pour nos championnats nationaux:

www.roadnationals.com et www.mtbnationals.ca, comme pour les championnats nationaux sur piste et de Cyclo-Cross, qui sont dans les travaux. Le site web comporte également un lien au site du ACC/Sprockids PNIC, www.sprockids.ca.

Afin de mieux servir nos membres, nous avons écouté les suggestions, et avons inclus un nombre de nouvelles caractéristiques. La navigation plus facile comporte des barres de menu déroulant, et un accès plus facile aux pages fréquemment utilisées. Quelques nouvelles sections ont été ajoutées, y compris une galerie de photos, et une section de vente, qui logera le magasin en ligne de l’ACC.

Le site web sera être lancé dans la prochaine jour ou deux. Au cours des mois à venir, il y aura des améliorations additionnelles dans ce site web. Le site web de l’ACC a été relancé pour notre AGA, et gala de cyclisme, tous les deux tenus à Toronto la fin de semaine du 19-21 novembre, 2005.