March 16, 2006 (Ottawa ON) – 13 events have been registered with the Canadian Cycling Association (CCA) in 2006, including seven with the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI): 3 circuit races (RR), 3 stage races, 2 point to point races, 2 points races, 2 criterium races and 1 time trial are on the agenda.

The National Championship will be hosted by Québec City from June 29th to July 2nd. Specific information about the race will be available in early April at www.roadnationals.com

2006 Road National Ranking Events

Over 50 road events will count for the 2006 Road National Ranking.

25 circuit races (RR), 16 time trial races (TT), 3 stage races (SR), 2 point to point races (PP), 2 points races (PO) and 2 criterium races (Crit) have been registered with the CCA in the seven available event classes.

The National Ranking will be composed of 16 Provincial races, 21 Provincial Championships, 5 National bronze, 2 National silver, 1 National gold, 4 National Championships and 2 Internationals.

The National Ranking will be maintained from April 1st to September 31st.

Launching of a National Ranking System

In 2006 the CCA is launching a new National Ranking system. In this system, Canadian citizens with a valid UCI code will be ranked according to their results in events at all levels hosted in Canada. This initiative will allow each province to register at least two (2) provincial level events on the National Calendar in Road, Mountain Bike, Track, BMX and Cyclocross.

Please take note that the National Ranking will not replace the Canada Cup. The National Ranking is intended to complement the Canada Cup as a talent identification tool. The mountain bike Canada Cup will continue to exist in 2006 in the Olympic cross country and individual downhill events, though changes are expected in the 2007 Canada Cup, mainly in standards of organization and the number of events that will compose the series.

The details regarding the structure of the National Ranking will be released throughout the week for each discipline. The National Ranking will be updated once a month in the target period of each discipline. Selection criteria for some National Team projects may be attached to the National Ranking results.