July 22, 2014 (Glasgow, Scotland) – The opening ceremonies of the XXth Commonwealth Games in Glasgow begin tomorrow featuring Scottish icon Rod Stewart among others with 40,000 spectators expected. Canada is fielding a total team of 265 athletes, competing in 16 out of the 17 sports, the largest team by the CGC for Commonwealth Games not held on Canadian soil.

“It is exciting that our Canadian athletes are starting to arrive at the Games’ Village,” says Team Canada Chef de Mission, Chantal Petitclerc. “While we have had a small advance team on site for over a week, having athletes now living in the Village has made it come alive. Everything is operational and working very well, the accreditation centre, the dining hall, the transport mall and all amenities. Glasgow 2014 is ready – as are the Commonwealth’s best athletes who are starting to gather for these great Games.”

In early June, Cycling Canada confirmed the sixteen riders selected to compete at the Games including a mix of established performers and young up-and-comers with the potential to win as many as 10 medals in track, mountain bike and road events. Later in the month two more top riders – Svein Tuft of Langley, B.C. and Will Routley of Whistler, B.C. – were added. These Games also mark the international debut of Canada’s new men’s team pursuit and team sprint programs.

“These Games are a huge opportunity for us to bring these new track programs to the next level,” said Jacques Landry, High Performance Director at Cycling Canada. “We have done a careful performance analysis of our athletes and are confident they will be competitive in Glasgow, and this will help us hit the ground running when we move into the new Pan American Games Velodrome in Milton, ON, later this year.”

The track events are up first running July 24-27th at the Emirates Arena and Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome and the Canadian team hit the boards today to stretch their legs.

The MTB races run July 29th at the Cathkin Braes Mountain Bike trails and the time trials and road races close the Games running July 31st and August 3rd respectively on the Glasgow City road and time trial courses. (photo gallery below).

Canada’s Commonwealth Games Cycling Team

Track Cycling
– Jasmin Glaesser (Coquitlam BC)
– Laura Brown (Vancouver BC)
– Steph Roorda (Vancouver BC)
– Joseph Veloce (Fonthill ON)
– Hugo Barrette (Sherbrooke QC)
– Vincent De Haître (Cumberland ON
– Zach Bell (Watson Lake YK)
– Rémi Pelletier-Roy (Quebec City QC)
– Nic Hamilton (Victoria BC)
– Ed Veal (Toronto ON)
– Aidan Caves (Vancouver BC)

Mountain Bike
– Catharine Pendrel (Kamloops BC)
– Emily Batty (Brooklin ON)
– Max Plaxton (Victoria BC)
– Raphaël Gagné (Quebec City QC)

Road
– Leah Kirchmann (Winnipeg MB)
– Jasmin Glaesser (Coquitlam BC)
– Laura Brown (Vancouver BC)
– Steph Roorda (Vancouver BC)
– Zach Bell (Watson Lake YK)
– Nic Hamilton (Victoria BC)
– Ed Veal (Toronto ON)
– Svein Tuft (Langley BC)
– Will Routley (Whistler BC)

Non-travelling alternates
– Men’s team pursuit: Sean MacKinnon (Hamilton ON)
– Men’s team sprint: Joakim Albert (St-Augustin-des-Desmaures QC)
– Women’s Cross-Country: Mikaela Kofman (Toronto ON), Sandra Walter (Coquitlam BC)
– Women’s road: Joëlle Numainville (Montreal QC), Lex Albrecht (Montreal QC)

More on Canada’s Commonwealth Games Cycling Team here.
More on XXth Commonwealth Games in Glasgow here.