July 04, 2018 (Emmen, Netherlands) – Canada has selected a team of 13 athletes for the second round of the UCI Para-cycling World Cup, which will take place on July 6-8 in Emmen, Netherlands. This will be the first event during the qualifying period for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, when riders and nations begin to collect ranking points that will determine country quotas for the Games.
The team is led by world champions Shelley Gautier [T1 women] and Michael Sametz [C3 men], and includes a mix of both experienced athletes and newcomers to World Cup competition.
National Para Head Coach Sebastien Travers explains, “From a high performance standpoint, we are bringing a very small team to Emmen, mostly to improve World Cup rankings in hopes of getting some leader jerseys for the next round of the World Cup in Baie-Comeau. Some of our targeted athletes have decided to opt out of the Emmen event, to further prepare for Road World Championships happening in about five weeks. From a program perspective, attending Emmen is key in our long term preparation, as they will be the host site of the 2019 Para-cycling Road World Championships.”
Guillaume Plourde, Para NextGen coach, added, “For the NextGen group, the Emmen World Cup will have two-fold purposes: for some athletes, it’ll be a first international exposure that will allow them to gain experience and assess where they stand compared to the international field. For others who are already active on the World Cup circuit, it’ll be the last chance to qualify for the 2018 Para-cycling Road World Championships.”
Women
– Annie Bouchard (Tandem) Baie-St-Paul, QC
– Evelyne Gagnon (Tandem Pilot) Quebec City, QC
– Nicole Clermont (C5) St Denis de Brompton, QC
– Shelley Gautier (T1) Toronto, ON
– Keely Shaw (C4) Saskatoon, SK
Men
– Matthieu Croteau Daigle (Tandem) Sherbrooke, QC
– Benoit Lussier (Tandem Pilot) Montreal, QC
– Joey Desjardins (H3) Hawksbury, ON
– Charles Moreau (H3) Victoriaville, QC
– Michael Sametz (C3) Calgary, AB
– Mike Shetler (T2) Montreal, QC
– Lowell Taylor (Tandem) Lethbridge, AB
– Andrew Davidson (Tandem Pilot) Calgary, AB
