January 24/06 5:54 am - Final Commonwealth Games Team Announced

Posted by Editor on 01/24/06
 

Commonwealth Games Team Announced
Courtesy CCA

The Canadian Cycling Association is pleased to announce the final list of athletes selected to the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Canada is entitled to a total of 19 athletes for the cycling competitions at the Games, which will be held in Melbourne, Australia, from March 16 to 26.

"The process of selecting a team of 19 riders covering the men's and women's categories in three disciplines and 12 medal events was very difficult," said CCA High Performance Director Kris Westwood.

"Some tough choices were made and some experienced riders were left off the team, but the limited team size made those decisions necessary. Every rider was evaluated based on his or her ability to either win medals or provide support to a medal candidate, and I'm very happy with the work our national coaches and High Performance Committee accomplished."

The mountain bike team will compete in the Oceania championship in Rotorua, New Zealand, on March 5, and will stay there for a week before traveling to Melbourne. The track team will take part in the final World Cup of the season in Sydney on March 3-5. The road athletes are all following programs set by their trade teams and will travel direct to Melbourne on or about March 13.

The team staff will include National Mountain Bike Coach Michel Leblanc, National Track Coach Eric van den Eynde, National Road Coach Vincent Jourdain, CCA High Performance Manager Sean O'Donnell, CCA High Performance Director Kris Westwood, massage therapist Sophie St-Jacques and mechanic Chad Grochowina (pending confirmation).

Mountain Bike XC Women
* Marie-Hélène Prémont
* Kiara Bisaro

Mountain Bike XC Men
* Geoff Kabush
* Seamus McGrath

Road Women

Road Race
* Sue Palmer-Komar
* Lyne Bessette
* Erinne Willock
* Amy Moore
* Gina Grain
* Mandy Poitras

Time Trial
* Sue Palmer-Komar
* Lyne Bessette
* Erinne Willock

Road Men

Road Race
* François Parisien
* Svein Tuft
* Gord Fraser
* Dominique Perras
* Geoff Kabush
* Martin Gilbert

Time Trial
* Svein Tuft
* Zach Bell

Track Women
* Mandy Poitras (scratch race, points race)
* Gina Grain (scratch race, points race)

Track Men
* Travis Smith (team sprint, sprint, keirin)
* Cam MacKinnon (team sprint, sprint, kilo)
* Yannick Morin (team sprint, sprint, kilo)
* Martin Gilbert (scratch race, points race)
* Zach Bell (scratch race, points race)