February 25, 2005 – Thanks to strong performances at the final UCI Track World Cup in Sydney, Australia, last weekend Canada will field a team of six athletes at the 2005 Track Cycling World Championships in Los Angeles (March 24-27).

In Sydney, Travis Smith of Calgary posted a time of one minute, 4.945 seconds to finish seventh in the men’s kilometre time trial; the team sprint squad of Smith, Yannick Morin (Montreal) and Cam MacKinnon (Calgary) rode 47.885 seconds to finish sixth; Martin Gilbert of Montreal bounced back from a scratch race ruined by a flat tire to finish sixth in the men’s points race; and Olympic champion Lori-Ann Muenzer of Edmonton came fourth in the women’s sprint and third in the 500 m time trial with a time of 35.608 seconds.

As a result of these and earlier World Cup performances, Canada’s worlds quota is one entry each in the men’s kilo, men’s team sprint, men’s points race, women’s 500 m, women’s sprint, women’s scratch race and women’s points race.

The worlds team will be made up of Smith (kilo and team sprint), Morin and MacKinnon (team sprint), Gilbert (points race), Muenzer (sprint and 500) and Mandy Poitras of Vancouver (women’s scratch race and points race).

The team will be led by national track coach Eric Van den Eynde.