Cycling Canada has announced a team of ten riders for the upcoming Track World Championships, to be held in Shanghai, China, on October 14-18. Canada will send five sprint riders (two women/three men) and five endurance riders (five men). Notably, there are no endurance women, even for individual events, after the announcement this summer that the women's Team Pursuit program would cancel the elite program and focus on development.

The 2026 World Championships will mark the return of Tokyo 2020 women's sprint gold medalist Kelsey Mitchell to competition, following her participation at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympic Games in Bobsleigh. She will be joined by 2020 Olympic Keirin silver medalist Laurianne Genest in the Sprint and Keirin events, alongside a strong Canadian men's squad that will be hunting for medals in the Team Sprint, Sprint and Keirin events.

Sprint

Lauriane Genest - Lévis, QC (Sprint + Keirin)

Kelsey Mitchell - Sherwood Park, AB (Sprint + Keirin)

James Hedgcock - Ancaster, ON (Team Sprint + 1000m TT)

Cole Dempster - Milton, ON (Team Sprint)

Tyler Rorke - Baden, ON (Team Sprint)

"The World Championships in Shanghai mark much more than the start of a new season," explains Franck Durivaux, National Team Coach (Track Sprint Lead). "As the first qualifying event on the road to LA 2028, the stakes are incredibly high for our entire team. For the men, both in Team Sprint and the individual events, this is an opportunity to establish themselves in the emerging world hierarchy. We are especially excited to see Kelsey Mitchell return to World Championship competition following her successful bobsleigh campaign. Across the program, an enormous amount of work has gone into improving key performance areas, and we are eager to see those efforts translate on one of the sport’s biggest stages."

On the endurance side, Canada will take on the pursuit events with a group focused on making a run towards the 2028 LA Games. Matthias Guillemette returns to the squad after spending the spring and summer on the road with Tudor Pro Cycling. Matthias brings his experience from the Paris 2024 Games to the team and will be a welcome addition to the group in Shanghai.

Endurance

Matthias Guillemette - Trois-Rivières, QC (Team Pursuit)

Chris Ernst - Kitchener, ON (Team Pursuit + Individual Pursuit)

Campbell Parish - Vancouver, BC (Time Trial + Team Pursuit)

Jonathan Hinse - Vaudreuil-Dorion, QC (Team Pursuit)

Carson Mattern - Ancaster, ON (Individual Pursuit)

"The World Championships in Shanghai are the start of our quest for qualification to the L.A. 2028 Olympic Games," says Phil Abbot (Director of Endurance & National Team Coach). "The team has spent the past few weeks in Milton training and preparing for the event. The event is incredibly important to the men's endurance team, and we look forward to competing in the Team Pursuit against the best in the world."