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Cycling Canada Launches NextGen U23 Men’s Track Endurance Program

release by Cycling Canada

March 20, 2015 – Our vision is to create a World Class Men’s Track Endurance program that will be medal competitive by Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. for emerging talent supported by world class infrastructure and ambitions creating a long-term career pathway towards World Tour professional status.

Aiden Caves  ©  Guy Swarbrick

It is well documented that track cycling is a leader in youth development and a long term career pathway towards professional road status. Many nations have proven this over the years and continue to do so today; e.g. GBR, AUS, DEN, NZL, SUI, etc. Canada, with the opening of the Mattamy Homes Cycling Center, built for the 2015 Pan- American Games, now has the crucial tool to allow us to follow in these footsteps.

A World Class Team Pursuit program relies on the identification of young emerging talent with appropriate physiology and skill sets. These riders will have to commit to a year-round training and international racing program leading up to the ultimate goal: a world class performance at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020.

Canadian Men's Team Pursuit (l-r) Caves, Mackinnon, Pelletier-Roy, Johnstone  ©  Guy Swarbrick

To support the development of the program and to underpin its track performances, a strong road program is required to maximise the physiological preparation needed to deliver on the boards. Such a program will also offer these young cyclists the best possible opportunity to develop towards a long-term professional road career through a developing network of connections with professional agents and Pro-Continental and World Tour teams.

In the spring of 2015, the merge of the track and road programs will take a fundamental turn with the creation of Cycling Canada’s NextGen U23 Men’s Track Endurance Program. A core group of riders will head to Europe to participate in a planned calendar of road events to provide the necessary road preparation for the 2015 Toronto Pan Am Games and beyond.

Cycling Canada NextGen program, the Men’s Track Endurance group includes:

– Aidan Caves, BC
– Alexander Cowan, AB
– William Elliott, ON
– Adam Jamieson, ON
– Eric Johnstone, AB
– Sean MacKinnon, ON
– Edward Walsh, NS

Staff
Ian Melvin – Cycling Canada NextGen Men’s Endurance Track Coach
Luc Arseneau – Cycling Canada NextGen Men’s Road Coach

(l-r) Kinley Gibson, Rob Good (Coach), Eric Johnstone  ©  courtesy of Kevin Gibson

After a season beginning last July at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, the team raced through the UCI Track Cycling World Cup season gaining valuable experience in the build up to this summer’s Toronto Pan Am Games and they are now headed to Europe for a 2 months project that will combine training camps and races in several countries, including 3 Nations’ Cup events.

William Elliott  ©  Andrew Rogers

To develop from the current level of performance to world class in just a handful of years is ambitious and requires clear, objective and measurable goals. To better define the planned development within the program, maintaining clear focus on the single long term goal of being medal competitive by Tokyo 2020, the following short to medium- term goals have been established.

Read about the entire NextGen Program here.





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