April 7, 2005 – The Canadian Cycling Association is happy to announce that it has signed Michel Leblanc of St-Nicolas, Quebec, to a four-year contract as National Mountain Bike Coach.

Leblanc has an enormous amount of experience and qualifications for his new position, which he will begin May 2. He is personal coach to Olympic silver medallist Marie-Hélène Prémont, has managed or coached the Canadian team at numerous international events since 2001 — including the Athens Olympics — and he has held the position of Quebec coach since 1999. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in physical education from the University of Sherbrooke, and is a certified teacher.

The National Mountain Bike Coach’s responsibilities include developing the National Team mountain bike program, monitoring national team athletes, recommending athlete selection to the High Performance Committee, contributing to the development of selection criteria and working with the National Cycling Centres to ensure the development of future National Team members.

“Michel will be a key player as we work towards the 2008 Olympics and beyond,” said CCA Chief Operating Officer Steve Lacelle. “We are very fortunate to have been able to add someone so competent, passionate and dedicated to our National Team coaching staff, which already includes Eric Van den Eynde.”

“Michel has played an active role within our MTB program over the last few years,” added High Performance Manager Sean O’Donnell. “He was the guy we wanted to fill this role and we couldn’t be happier to have him. He’s familiar with most of our athletes across all age categories and more importantly the athletes are familiar with him.”