March 15, 2007 (Ottawa, ON) — The Canadian Cycling Association has selected three athletes to compete at the 2007 track world championships in Palma, Mallorca, Spain, March 29-April 1.

Gina Grain, of Victoria, BC, a scratch race silver medalist last year, will compete in the women’s points race only this year. She is aiming to position herself as a Beijing medal contender, and as the scratch race is not part of the Olympic program she is focusing on making the transition to the points race this season. Her objective is a top-five finish, possibly a medal.

Zach Bell from Whitehorse, YK (residing in Kingston, ON), will compete in the men’s points race after shifting his focus from the individual pursuit. He is aiming for a top-8 finish to establish himself as a contender for Olympic qualification. He will still ride the individual pursuit, but only as a warm-up for the points race later in the program.

Travis Smith (Long Beach, CA) will compete in the men’s sprint and keirin. His goal is a top-8 finish in either event to show he is capable of qualifying for the Olympics.

Support staff for this project will be Kris Westwood (manager), Houshang Amiri (coach) and Alex Jaffrey (mechanic).

UCI Track Cycling World Championships, Palma de Mallorca, Spain:
www.mundipalma2007.com