November 13, 2015 (Ottawa, ON) – When the NextGen program (previously known as the Talent Development Program) was introduced by Own the Podium, the sport of cycling was identified as one of the few summer and winter sports to be given the opportunity to access funds that would contribute to building future champions that were positively trending towards Olympic and Paralympic podium performances within five to eight years.

After the success of the Victoria NextGen program, Cycling Canada continued the growth of its NextGen program by expanding to Milton, ON, and Bromont, QC. With the Mattamy National Cycling Centre as its home, both the Men’s and Women’s NextGen track endurance programs will benefit from this world class training facility, through an enhanced Daily Training Environment, and access to an integrated network of professional support staff.

Utilising infrastructure already in place from Cycling Canada’s successful national Para-Cycling program, the Para-Cycling NextGen program will be based in Bromont, QC.

The four NextGen programs that are hosted by Cycling Canada could never operate without valuable partners like the Canadian Sports Institutes, the Provincial Cycling bodies, Own the Podium, and the Canadian Paralympic Committee. By September 2016, all NextGen program will target specific cycling sports as they fast track the development of nominated cycling candidates to international performances.

In Victoria, the NextGen program led by Coach Jeff Ain (jain@csipacific.ca) will transition in September 2016, to solely cater towards Cross-Country Mountain Bike athletes. For the 2015-16 season; however, the targeted riders to the BC NextGen Program are:

– Erin Atwell, from Victoria, BC; initially coached by Lister Ferrar
– Felix Burke, from Mont-Tremblant, QC; initially coached by Keith Wilson
– Gillian Elsay, from Courtenay, BC; initially coached by Richard Wooles
– Catherine Fleury, from Alma, QC; initially coached by Jude Dufour
– Emily Handford, from West Vancouver, BC; initially coached by Andrew Pinfold
– Max McCulloch, from Victoria, BC; initially coached by Dan Proulx
– Soren Meeuwisse, from Toronto, ON; initially coached by Kevin Simms
– Rachel Pageau, Chicoutimi, QC; initially coached by Dan Proulx
– Haley Smith, from Uxbridge, ON; initially coached by Dan Proulx
– Rhys Verner, from Squamish, BC; initially coached by Mike Charuk
– John Wilcox, from Victoria, BC; initially coached by Steve Lund

In Milton, ON, the NextGen Track Endurance Women’s Program will be led by Coach Cameron Jennings (cameron.jennings@cyclingcanada.ca), who recently relocated to Ontario from Edmonton to work with targeted track endurance women that will eventually start integrating into our international performing National Team squad post Rio Games. The targeted 2015-16 riders to the NextGen Track Endurance Women’s Program are:

– Arianne Bonhomme, from Gatineau, QC; initially coached by Craig Griffin
– Kinley Gibson, from Edmonton, AB; initially coached by Cameron Jennings
– Jamie Gilgen, from Dundas, ON; initially coached by Rob Good
– Meghan Grant, from Delta, BC; initially coached by Jenny Trew
– Catherine Ouellette, from Saint-Lambert, QC; initially Pierre Hutsebaut
– Georgia Simmerling, from Vancouver, BC (No previous cycling coach)

The Town of Milton will also host the NextGen Men’s Track Endurance Program that has been led by Coach Ian Melvin for the past year. This group of riders has already shown international competitiveness at the recent Pan-American Games and will have a full road and track program. It will be managed in part by Development Coach Luc Arseneau (luc.arseneau@cyclingcanada.ca) on the road and by Ian Melvin (ian.melvin@cyclingcanada.ca) when the program hits the velodrome boards. The targeted 2015-16 riders to the NextGen Men’s Track Endurance Program are:

– Willem Boersma, from Winnipeg, MB; initially coached by Jayson Gillespie
– Evan Burtnik, from Edmonton, AB; initially coached by Cameron Jennings
– Aidan Caves, Vancouver, BC; initially coached by Jeff Ain
– Alec Cowan, from Calgary, AB; initially coached by Nich Jendzjowsky
– William Elliot, from Barrie, ON; initially coached by Kevin Simms
– Adam Jamieson, from Barrie, ON; initially coached by Rick Lee
– Jay Lamoureux, from Victoria, BC; initially coached by Jeff Ain
– Sean Mackinnon, from Hamilton, ON; initially coached by Kevin Mackinnon
– Bayley Simpson, from Lindsay, ON; initially coached by Rob Good
– Edward Walsh, from Halifax, NS; initially coached by Luc Arseneau

Finally, the Centre National de Cyclisme Bromont will be hosting the Para-Cycling NextGen Program for the first time, which will be led by Coach Guillaume Plourde (guillaume.plourde@cyclingcanada.ca). As para-cyclists tend to develop faster than in other cycling sports, it is anticipated that some NextGen athletes will graduate to our National Team program shortly after the Rio Games. In the meantime the targeted 2015-16 riders to the Para-Cycling NextGen Program are:

– Myriam Adam, from St-Jean sur le Richelieu, QC; initially coached by Sébastien Travers
– Annie Bouchard, from Baie-St-Paul, QC; initially coached by Eric Van den Eynde
– Tristen Chernove, from Cranbrook, BC; (No previous cycling coach)
– Joey Desjardin, from Hawkesbury, ON; initially coached by Arnaud Litou
– Sebastien Heroux, from Bromont, QC; initially coached by Sébastien Travers
– Elsa Lalonde, from Hawkesbury, ON; (No previous cycling coach)
– Cindy Morin, from Levis, QC; initially coached by Pierre Pomerleau

For any additional cycling NextGen program inquiries, please contact CyclingNextGen@cyclingcanada.ca