August 26, 2014 (Ottawa, ON) – Cycling Canada is pleased to announce its roster for the 2014 UCI Mountain Bike and Trials World Championships, to take place in Hafjell/Lillehammer, Norway from Sept. 2 to 7.
With a total of 39 athletes – 10 downhillers, 27 cross-country riders and two trialists, Canada will have most of its 2014 Canadian Champions competing in the pinnacle event of the season.
“We continue to have the ability to stand on the podium at this event. Our cross-country program has been one of the strongest in the world over the last Olympic cycle with World Titles and World Cup titles. We are heading to Norway with the objective to continue our momentum of performance at the highest level as continue our road to Rio 2016,” said Jacques Landry, High Performance Director and Head Coach at Cycling Canada.
Of note, Canadian mountain bikers have excelled in 2014, with Catharine Pendrel of Kamloops, BC making a strong comeback, after breaking a collarbone, to step on the podium on three occasions, including a victory in Windham, USA (1 – Windham, 2 –Nove Mesto Na Morave, 2 – Mont Sainte-Anne). Pendrel ended the season ranked second in the UCI World Cup standings.
Emily Batty of Brooklyn, ON finished the World Cup in fourth place overall. She was on the World Cup podium once this season, a second place in Cairns, AUS.
At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Pendrel and Batty took the top two spots on the podium with Pendrel winning the title.
In the U23 category, Léandre Bouchard of Alma, QC posted three Top 10 performances, including a fifth place in Nove Mesto Na Morave, while Evan McNeely finished seventh in Mont-Sainte-Anne.
In the UCI Nations rankings, Canada is third in the women’s ranking and eighth in the men’s ranking.
Team Canada – 2014 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships
XCO Elite Men
– Raphaël Gagné (Québec, QC)
– Evan Guthrie (Peachland, BC)
– Geoff Kabush (Courtenay, BC) *
– Derek Zandstra (Trenton, ON)
XCO Elite Women
– Emily Batty (Brooklin, ON)
– Mikaela Kofman (Toronto, ON)
– Catharine Pendrel (Kamloops, BC) *
– Sandra Walter (Coquitlam, BC)
XCO – U23 Men
– Mitch Bailey (Barrie, ON)
– Léandre Bouchard (Alma, QC) *
– Peter Disera (Barrie, ON)
– Jérémy Martin (Boischatel, QC)
– Evan McNeely (Kingston, ON)
XCO – U23 Women
– Catherine Fleury (Alma, QC)
– Rachel Pageau (Chicoutimi, QC)
– Maghalie Rochette (St-Jérôme, QC)
– Haley Smith (Uxbridge, ON)
– Frédérique Trudel (Breakeyville, QC) *
XCO – Junior Men
– Felix Belhumeur (Quebec, QC)
– Felix Burke (Mt-Tremblant, QC)
– Marc-André Fortier (Victoriaville, QC) *
– Guillaume Larose Gingras (Lac Beauport, QC)
– Rhys Verner (Squamish, BC)
XCO – Junior Women
– Laurie Arsenault (Terrebonne, QC)
– Paige Foxcroft (Nottawa, ON)
– Marine Lewis (St-Sauveur, QC)
– Soren Meeuwisse (Orillia, ON) *
Downhill – Elite Men
– Remi Gauvin (Nanoose Bay, BC)
– Kyle Sangers (Kingston, ON)
– Mckay Vezina (Newbury Park, CA)
– Mark Wallace (Duncan, BC)
Downhill – Elite Women
– Casey Brown (Revelstoke, BC)
– Micayla Gatto (North Vancouver, BC)
– Vaea Verbeeck (North Vancouver, BC) *
Downhill – Junior Men
– Jack Iles (Whistler, BC)
– Max Scharf (Salmon Arm, BC)
– Daniel Shaw (North Vancouver, BC) *
Trials
– Jeff Anderson (Vancouver, BC) [Elite Men- 26” Trials]
– David Herr [Elite Men- 26” Trials]
* Current Canadian Champions
Schedule – 2014 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships
– Sept. 02 – XCE Qualifying round and Finals
– Sept. 03 – XCO Team Relay
– Sept. 04 – XCO Women Juniors, XCO Men Juniors
– Sept. 05 – XCO Women Under 23, XCO Men Under 23, DH Seeding Run – Juniors
– Sept. 06 – XCO Women Elite, XCO Men Elite, DH Timed Session – Elite
– Sept. 07 – DH Finals