January 11, 2005 – Here is the selection process for 2005 Canadian Cycling BMX development project on February 12-13, in Abbotsford, B.C.

Objective: To select a team of six to eight athletes to compete as the Canadian National Team at two UCI events on the North American calendar: the NBL Easter Classic in Orlando, Florida (March 26) and the NBL Gator National in Tampa, Florida (April 2). During the week between the events, the athletes will also participate in a skills camp in Florida.

How this fits into our long-term plans: Qualifications for the 2008 Olympics will be based on the UCI rankings. Of the 10 UCI events in North America, only two are in Canada. Therefore, we will need to travel to events in the U.S. in order to qualify for the Olympics. This project will be an opportunity for riders to get a taste of this kind of UCI racing, and it will also give us a chance to see how we stack up against the competition in North America.

Why Florida? Of all the UCI events in the U.S., the Florida races are the only two that are both on consecutive weekends and close geographically, which makes them the most economical to attend.

Selection process The Canadian Cycling Association has chosen to use the Abbotsford Indoor competitions on February 12 and 13 to select the athletes for this project. The Abbotsford Indoor is one of very few locations where there is BMX activity in Canada at this time of year.

Carded BMX athletes will be given first right of refusal on this project and do not have to attend the selection event, but they must indicate their participation by February 11 or their participation is forfeit.

Selection will be made by the Canadian Cycling Association coach attending the events in Abbotsford, and will be based on the results of the races on both days, as outlined below. There will be separate selection races for elite men, elite women, junior men and junior women. Racing will follow the usual three-moto format.

Spots will be offered as follows: Elite men 1. Rider with lowest cumulative finishing placing over both days’ racing (number of moto wins to be used as tiebreaker) 2. Discretionary choice by coach based on observed performances in Abbotsford Elite women 1. Rider with lowest cumulative finishing placing over both days’ racing (number of moto wins to be used as tiebreaker) 2. Discretionary choice by coach based on observed performances in Abbotsford Junior men 1. Rider with lowest cumulative finishing placing over both days’ racing (number of moto wins to be used as tiebreaker) 2. Discretionary choice by coach based on observed performances in Abbotsford Junior women 1. Rider with lowest cumulative finishing placing over both days’ racing (number of moto wins to be used as tiebreaker) 2. Discretionary choice by coach based on observed performances in Abbotsford

The CCA coach in charge of selection reserves the right to adjust the size and composition of the team based on athletes’ readiness to race at the international level, but in no case will the team exceed eight athletes.

In the event one spot in a given category is already taken by a carded athlete, the other spot will be a discretionary choice by the coach based on observed performances in Abbotsford.

Funding Athletes selected to this project will have travel from the nearest major airport to their residence and accommodation in Florida paid for by the CCA. Food and incidentals will be the athletes’ responsibility.

Please note that athletes selected to this project are representing Canada and should conduct themselves accordingly at all times.

Travel details will be released at a later date.

For more information, please contact National Development Coach Kris Westwood at 613-248-1353 ext. 2607, or by email at coach@canadian-cycling.com.