August 4, 2010 (Offida, Italy) – The 2010 UCI Road World Junior Championships will be held this weekend in Offida, Italy, and the Canadian delegation taking part in the two-day event is ready to compete for the top junior honours in the road race and time trial events.

A total of 10 Canadian junior cyclists will partake in the World Championships road events for junior riders, including four females and six men. Riders come from seven different provinces, including two riders from the Maritimes and one from the Prairies.

Amongst the riders will be Canadian Junior Time Trial champions Julia Garnet (Saskatoon, SK) and Stuart Wight (Riverview, NB) and the Canadian Junior Road race champions Véronique Drapeau-Zgoralski (Montreal, QC) and Ryan MacDonald (Greenhill, NS) amongst others.

Overall, 49 nations will be represented at the 2010 UCI Road World Junior Championships.

The time trial events will be held on Friday for both the men and the women. After a well deserved break on Saturday, the riders will hit the road for the mass start road race on Sunday.

The women’s time trial course spans over 14.7 kilometres, starting in Acquaviva to finish in Offida. The men’s time trial course will be a loop of 27.7 kilometres with both the start and the finish in Offida.

The road race will be on a loop course of 15.8 kilometres. The women will complete five laps to finish the 79 kilometre race, while the men will finish eight laps for a total distance of 126.4 kilometres.

Luc Arseneau (Dieppe, NB) will be leading the crew as the head coach, assisted by Nathaniel Faulkner (Bracebridge, ON).

In 2003, Canada hosted the UCI Road World Junior Championships in Hamilton, Ontario. The event has been held annually since 1975, where it was first run in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Situated in the heart of the Marche Region and the Province of Ascoli Piceno, Offida (5300 residents) is located in the hills stretching from the Ascoli mountains to the Adriatic Sea. Part of the Riviera delle alme tourist area, Offida offers its visitors splendid historical sites, gastronomy and natural beauty which is perfect for cycling tourism.

Schedule of Events – 2010 UCI Road World Junior Championships

Friday, August 6th
– 11:00am – Time Trial, Women
– 2:00pm – Time Trial, Men

Sunday, August 8th
– 10:00am – Road Race, Women
– 2:00pm – Road Race, Men

Canadian Team – 2010 UCI Road World Junior Championships

Junior Women – Road
– Julia Garnet (Saskatoon, SK) – Road and Time Trial
– Véronique Drapeau-Zgoralski (Montreal, QC) – Road
– Annie Ewart (Brentwood Bay, BC) – Road and Time Trial
– Laura Bietola (Greenwood, ON) – Road

Junior Men – Road
– Stuart Wight (Riverview, NB) – Road and Time Trial
– Ryan MacDonald (Greenhill, NS) – Road
– Kris Dahl (Calgary, AB) – Road and Time Trial
– Craig Logan (North Saanich, BC) – Road
– Jean-Samuel Deshaies (Amos, QC) – Road
– Frédéric Poisson (Trois-Rivières, QC) – Road

Support Staff – Road
– Luc Arseneau – Head Coach (Dieppe, NB)
– Nathaniel Faulkner – Assistant Coach (Bracebridge, ON)
– Matthew Knight – Team Manager (Ottawa, ON)
– Eddy Torrekens – Mechanic (Belgium)
– Jean-Marc Rossignon – Soigneur (Belgium)