August 30, 2006 (Dieppe, NB) — The Tim Hortons Track National Championships will be hosted from September 7-10, 2006 by the Vélodrome Caisse populaire Dieppe, which has been totally revamped to welcome the cream of the crop of Canadian Elite cyclists.

Elite Tim Hortons Track National Championships
The event, organized in a partnership with the Mike’s Bike Shop Cycling Club, will take place from September 7 to 10 and will run events from 10 am to 4 pm everyday. Most qualifiers will take place in the morning with the major finals later in the afternoon. Spectators will be more than welcome to witness these very spectacular events at a rate of $2 a day, or a small 5$ for the whole event. “Track racing is always very spectacular and fun to watch. Imagine Canada’s top riders coming to the finish line at over 60 km/h shoulder to shoulder: how much better can it get?” says National Cycling Centre — Atlantic Canada’s head coach, Luc Arseneau. “Spectators will also have the chance to witness local talent. Among them, Sacha Leblanc (Moncton, NB), Ryan Belliveau (Campbellton, NB), Dustin MacBurnie (Truro, NS) and Craig de Gier (Sackville, NS) will battle it out and represent our region very well.”

This year’s Tim Hortons Championships are run under a new format. With increasing participation, a decision was recently taken by the Canadian Cycling Association to split the junior, master and paralympic categories up from the elite.This being the reason why the Dieppe event will showcase the elite men and women exclusively.

Face-lift given to the Vélodrome Caisse populaire Dieppe
Thanks to the great contribution of the City of Dieppe, incredible support of the volunteers and the cycling community, the Vélodrome Caisse populaire Dieppe has been totally revamped during the summer. Local cyclists are now glad to hop on the 250 m track once again to do their final preparation for the event.

According to the organizing committee, this was a major need to ensure the success of the event: “The last couple of weeks have been a few stressful, but it’s now looking really great. We are ready to welcome the best elite riders in the country” says event organizer Andrew Scott. Among those riders, we can count on the presence of number one scratch rider in the world, Gina Grain (Victoria, BC). Commonwealth Games’ silver and bronze medalist Travis Smith (Calgary, AB) will also be present.

For further information on the event and results, please visit the official web site at http://www.atlanticcyclingcentre.com/track2006/.