January 20, 2006 – Travis Smith of Alberta can relax a little going into today’s races at the UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Carson, California.

“Because the other two were so good, I’m training through this event,” said Smith, whose eyes are already set on the Commonwealth Games, running from March 16-19, in Melbourne Australia. “I can take this less serious.” He is currently ranked 3rd in the world for the 1K Time Trial, 6th in the Sprint event and 22nd in the Keirin event.

Despite Smith’s nonchalant attitude, he still has goals for the event. “I need another top ten finish in the Keirin to secure a spot at Worlds.” He also wants to qualify for the sprints, something he wasn’t able to do last year at the same event, and go faster than his last year’s time of 10.9 seconds.

Smith attributes his recent success to a switch in coaches after the Pan Am Championships last year. He is now currently being coached by Jamie Staff of Great Britain, who was the 2004 World Keirin Champion, and Roger Young. He says his training has changed and he is much more focused on doing quality over quantity training. He also feels that his training environment has jumped up a few notches. “The group of people I train with here are fantastic, we all push each other.”

Stay tuned for all the exciting race results to come!!

LA Track World Cup 2006 Schedule

Friday, January 20, 2006
– Men’s 15km Scratch Race Final
– Women’s 20km Points Race Final
– Men’s Keirin
– Men’s Individual Pursuit
– Men’s Kilometer Time Trial
– Women’s Sprint

Saturday, January 21, 2006
– Men’s Team Pursuit
– Women’s 500meter Time Trial
– Women’s Individual Pursuit
– Men’s 30km Points Race
– Men’s Sprint

Sunday, January 22, 2006
– Women’s 10km Scratch Race
– Men’s 40km Madison
– Women’s Keirin
– Men’s Team Sprint

Here’s the CCA’s official press release on the Canadian team which we reported on earlier this week.

CANADA SENDS AN EIGHT MEMBER TEAM TO TRACK WORLD CUP

The Canadian Cycling Association (CCA) is pleased to announce the eight-member team that will represent Canada in the third leg of the 2005/06 UCI Track World Cup in Los Angeles from January 20-22, 2006. The CCA have entered six men and two women for the weekend of events to be held at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

The selected athletes are:

– Matt Barlee, Vancouver, BC
– Zach Bell, Watson Lake, YK
– Martin Gilbert, Chateauguay, QC
– Gina Grain, Victoria, BC
– Cam Mackinnon, Calgary, AB
– Yannik Morin, Montreal, QC
– Mandy Poitras, Langley, BC
– Travis Smith, Calgary, AB

Travis Smith, now residing in Los Angeles, uses the track at the Home Depot Center as his primary training location. He will be looking to use home-field advantage as he tries to improve on his strong showings at the 2nd World Cup last December in Manchester, UK where he placed an impressive 6th in the Sprint, 8th in the Keirin and 10th in the Team Sprint with Cam Mackinnon and Yannik Morin.

This will be the final opportunity for athletes to post a result that could make them eligible for selection to the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, AUS in March. As well, all athletes will be looking to post results in Los Angeles that will make them eligible for participation at the UCI Track World Championships, to be held in Bordeaux, FRA in April.

LE CANADA ENVOIE UNE ÉQUIPE DE HUIT À LA COUPE DU MONDE DE PISTE

L’association cycliste canadienne (ACC) est heureux d’annoncer l’équipe de huit coureurs qui représentera le Canada dans la troisième manche de la coupe du monde de piste UCI 2005/06 à Los Angeles à partir de 20 au 22 janvier 2006. L’ACC a inscrit six hommes et deux femmes pour les épreuves du week-end qui aura lieu au Home Depot Center à Carson, Californie.

Les athlètes choisis sont :

– Matt Barlee, Vancouver, CB
– Zach Bell, Watson Lake, YK
– Martin Gilbert, Chateauguay, QC
– Gina Grain, Victoria, CB
– Cam Mackinnon, Calgary, AB
РYannik Morin, Montr̩al, QC
– Mandy Poitras, Langley, CB
– Travis Smith, Calgary, AB

Travis Smith, résidant maintenant à Los Angeles, utilise la piste au Home Depot Center comme son endroit primaire d’entraînement. Il essayera d’utiliser cette avantage pour améliorer ses fortes performances de la deuxième coupe du monde en décembre à Manchester, où il a réussi une 6eme place dans l’épreuve de vitesse, 8eme dans le keirin et 10eme dans la vitesse par équipe avec Cam Mackinnon et Yannik Morin.

Ce sera la dernière opportunité pour les athlètes à faire des résultats pour être considéré pour sélection à l’équipe des Jeux de Commonwealth qui aura lieu à Melbourne, Australie, en mars. Les athlètes essayeront également d’avoir des résultats qui les rendront éligible pour participation aux championnats du monde de piste qui aura lieu à Bordeaux, FRA en avril.