September 7, 2006 (Ottawa,ON) — Fifteen of Canada’s cyclists that are members of the Paralympic National Team are heading to the first Paralympic Worlds ever organized by the UCI. Aigle, Switzerland, will host approximately 300 athletes from 40 countries, taking part in Track and Road competitions at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Cycling World Championships, to be held September 10-18.

Jean Quévillion (Ste-Adèle, QC), a member of the National Team since 1999, is among the medal hopes for Canada in the Cerebral Palsy (CP) category. The silver medallist at Sydney 2000 and 2006 overall winner of the European Cup will particularly focus on the time-trial, in which he excels and could make it for gold.

“Québec’s Stéphane Côté and Pierre-Olivier Boily are expected to do really well in the Tandem category as well,” commented Head Coach Stephen Burke. It is definitely a very successful duo. They are top contenders. Women in the Tandem are still in development but could achieve a top-8 performance.”

For Mark Breton (Charlesbourg, QC), who placed 5th in the 2004 Athens Olympics time trial race in the Amputee (LC) category, a top-five performance is expected in the time-trial as well, which is also his strength, according to Stephen Burke.

Official results will be available on the UCI web site at the following link.

Canada’s Paralympic Cycling Team selected to the Worlds is as follows:

Cerebral Palsy (CP):
РJean Qu̩villon РSte-Ad̬le, QC Braydon McDougall РCalgary, AB

Amputee (LC):
– Mark Breton – Charlesbourg, QC Eric Bourgault — Orford, QC
– Lisa Stowe – AB

Hand Cycles (HC):
РMark Beggs РMontr̩al, QC Rico Morneau РMontr̩al, QC

Tandem (VI):
– Gene Della Siega – Surrey, BC (Pilot: Craig Deveer – Ottawa, ON)
– Brian Cowie — Burnaby, BC (Pilot: Murray Solem – Port Moody, BC)
– Stéphane Côté — Charlesbourg, QC (Pilot : Pierre-Olivier Boily – Sherbrooke, QC)

Team Staff
– Manager: Larry MacDougall
– Coach: Stephen Burke
РAssistant : S̩bastien Travers
– Soigneur: Sylvie Trudel
– Mechanic: Chad Grochowina

It will be the first time that the UCI has organized the IPC Cycling World Championships, which are existing since 1994. It is an important stage in the inclusion of athletes with a disability to the disciplines governed by the UCI and will crown the excellent co-operation between the IPC and UCI.

For further information, please contact Miriam Wilkens, IPC Media and Communication Director on +49-228-2097-180, e-mail: miriam.wilkens@paralympic.org or www.paralympic.org or Laetitia Stefani, UCI Sports Coordinator – Cycling for riders with a disability, on +41-24-468-58-11, e-mail: laetitia.stefani@uci.ch or www.2006ipc-cycling.com.

For more information about the World Championships please visit the official website on www.2006ipc-cycling.com. For general info on Paralympic Sport, including Cycling, go to www.paralympic.org.