April 05, 2018 (Gold Coast, Australia) – Team Canada’s Aidan Caves from Vancouver is the sole member at these Games who was also on the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games team pursuit squad, their first major race. At Glasgow he was the youngest member of the team and now at 23 he’s the oldest and is also the squad’s most experienced rider. A lot of new faces have come on board like Adam Jamieson, Derek Gee, Jay Lamoureux and last year Michael Foley. Caves will race on both the track and the road events. We caught with the talented B.C. rider prior to the Games getting underway.

Are you also in the road race and if so have you ridden on the course?
Adain Caves: Yeah…no, we haven’t ridden on the course yet.

When did you arrive?
AC: We arrived three days ago.

Are you going to do course recon?
AC: Yes we’re going to do course recon. I think they close the road course the day before so we’ll definitely hit it then. We might go see it tomorrow because we have a rest day so we might see the first little bit of it before we go back to the hotel.

How do you like the track here – is this your first time on the track today?
AC: It’s my second day on the track. It’s a really nice facility, first off. We didn’t have any issues with coming in and finding a line, it was pretty easy to ride on it so we’re doing our first standing effort here today so we’ll see how that goes. I’m not worried at all, how it’s going to run. It’s pretty fast.

Compared to Glasgow?
AC: It’s a little better for riding team pursuit. This track is better than Glasgow’s because that one was built for sprinting. This has wider corners, it’s a little easier to exchange for team pursuit. It was pretty easy to hold the lines here.

Youngest in Glasgow and the oldest here in the Gold Coast… tell us about the changes on the team?
AC: There’s been a lot of new faces. Actually Glasgow was the first race the Canadian men’s team pursuit ever did. After that first year a couple of riders retired so we filled the gaps with Adam Jamieson, then Derek Gee joined a couple years ago. This past season we had Michael Foley step in – I guess I’ve kind of just been the constant in the group. It’s pretty awesome to see it evolve now four years later for these Commonwealth Games… and we’ve dropped a ton of seconds off what we did in Glasgow.

How much time is that?
AC: Fourteen seconds. I mean it was our first race at the time, so obviously there was going to be a big difference.

How about your chances here in the competition?
AC: We came fourth in Glasgow so we’re definitely looking for a podium. I think our chances are fairly good if we can piece together a perfect ride but obviously we’ll have New Zealand and England giving us a run and we’re hoping to give them a run as well.

And Australia, the home squad?
AC: They didn’t go to Worlds so I think they’ve put a big focus on these Games at home. They also won it in Glasgow so we’re kind of thinking it’s going to be the same. We’re definitely looking to edge onto a podium spot for this one.

Your individual events – which will they be?
AC: Scratch Race and Kilo.

How do you think about your chance there?
AC: The Scratch Race is always a toss up and there’s a different dynamic with bunch races at the Commonwealth Games where you’re allowed to enter multiple teammates. so it’s a lot faster, a lot steadier racing. We’re going to race it hard and I got a couple of strong boys with me so hopefully we an put something together there. And the Kilo… I haven’t done one for a while but I’ve been pretty good at them in the past so hopefully I can get together a good four laps. I mean, there’s not much you can do tactically with those, it’s just like four laps.

You only have to get 58 to beat Matt….
AC: Yeah, exactly. It shouldn’t be that big of an issue. Hopefully I can get him on home soil too, that would be good.

How is the Canadian road team fairing?
AC: It’s actually the same team as the team on the track and the Scratch Race.

But not the sprinters?
AC: Not the sprinters… as much as they want to.

So it’s the same team.
AC: Yeah, the same team. I think we’re all kind of secretly hoping for – I know it’ll sound weird – but a little bit a rain to cool it down for us. The heat in the past couple days of road riding has been really hot. But the road races are so far in the future of the Games I’m sure we’ll adapt to the weather. It should be good. I know Adam Jameson, he’ll be looking for something so I’ll probably just be there more in support role.

Jameson will be your anchor for the road race?
AC: Yes, I think so – him and Gee.

Who are the favourites for the road race – have you seen the start list yet?
AC: No. We haven’t seen that start list yet but there’s a couple WorldTour guys racing that we’ll have our eyes on…perhaps they’ll be super jet lagged.

Back to the team pursuit and your high points in Glasgow (bronze) and Apeldoorn (gold) in 2016.
AC: Yeah, that was a breakthrough for the team, really. Just to get onto the world stage and break onto the podium twice in a row. We also got on the podium at the Minsk World Cup and broke four minutes a couple times…so a lot of big things.

As the oldest rider have you naturally taken on a leadership role?
AC: I hope so…I’ve come in with the mind set of how I looked up to the older guys like Remi [Pelletier-Roy] and Zach [Bell] and when I was coming to Glasgow. I’ve tried to take on a role in a similar way and if anyone had questions I tried to help.

You’ve also done some World Cups on your own – do you think that’s helped you prepare for these Games?
AC: It’s always good to get in some high quality races. That’s really the only way to learn how to race, especially as some of the same guys are here. I think every event is a good race to get under your belt to help you win at this.