August 09, 2012 (London, UK) – Gordon Campbell, Canada’s High Commissioner to London, hosted a reception to celebrate the incredible accomplishment of the Canadian Women’s Team Pursuit including Tara Whitten, Gillian Carleton, and Jasmin Glaesser on Wednesday, August 8.

The three fast women received a standing ovation as the Canadian Olympic Committee feted them, along with coach Tanya Dubnicoff. Dubnicoff spoke and talked about what it took to get the team onto the podium – going up against the mighty Brits, Americans and Aussies. She, along with Gillian Carleton, thanked Cycling Canada, the COC and Own The Podium, as well as their private sponsors, who they say believed in them before anyone else.

Cycling Canada’s president, John Tolcamp, was on hand along with high-performance director Jacques Landry and CEO Greg Mathieu. Tolcamp is pleased with what the cycling team has done so far as these Games as is Landry. “We’re doing well,” Landry told Pedal, above the din of celebration. “We still have a couple of medal chances to go. I’m happy because everyone’s given it one hundred percent. We’ve come up a little short in places, but this is the Olympics.”

Tolcamp and Landry both look to the women’s mountain bike race where Catharine Pendrel goes in as the reigning world champion while Emily Batty, who is a consistent top-six finisher this season, is also a medal threat. “Both are feeling confident with the course. They are where they have to be,” added Landry, referring to their fitness and outlook for the weekend.

But what about the huge use of technology the Brits and Americans are employing to try to get the extra edge beyond training? How do we compete against that? Landry replies saying, “…on the technical side I’m confident that we have put in place everything we had – altitude training, the best equipment we have, the riders have it. But the Brits with timed events – where you can program a performance, this is not haphazard. They are very good at this.”

With a covered velodrome planned for Milton and the 2015 Pan Am Games, Landry says Canada will have created a prime location in which track athletes can train. He’s looking forward to it.