May 17, 2019 (Albstadt, Germany) – A strong contingent of 20+ Canadian riders will be on the start line to compete against the world’s best as another exciting season of the UCI XCO World Cup racing kicks off this weekend in Albstadt, Germany.

In addition to the strong Team Canada squad announced many Canucks are on hand with their trade teams including Elite Women riders Emily Batty (Trek Factory Racing) , Haley Smith (Norco), Jenn Jackson (AWI Racing) making her World Cup debut, and Rebecca Beaumont (Independent).

For the Elite Men veteran Peter Disera (Norco Factory Team) has his eyes set on the podium, while teammate Andrew L’Esperance looks to follow suit. Look for Leandre Bouchard (Pivot Cycles – OTE) who will also be gunning for top results after coming off a recent 4th-place result at the Sea Otter Classic. Bouchard is joined by teammate Marc-Andre Fortier who will also be hitting the start line this weekend looking to make his mark.

Canadians have also stacked the U23 ranks with Sean Fincham and Quinton Disera both with the Norco Factory Team and Raphael Auclair (Pivot-OTE) leading the way for the men, while Sophianne Sampson (Independent) and Juliette Tetreault (Ride with Rendall) will do the same for the U23 women.

In addition Emilly Johnston (Pendrel Racing) and Carter Woods (Rocky Mountain Factory) will challenge the Junior fields in Albstadt. Check out the full list of Canadians below – the action starts Friday, May 17 with the Short Track XCC event, followed the main XCO event on Sunday, May 19 in the afternoon.

The full start list of Canadian athletes can be found listed below –

Elite Women
Emily Batty
Haley Smith
Catharine Pendrel
Sandra Walter
Cindy Montambault
Jenn Jackson
Rebecca Beaumont

Elite Men
Peter Disera
Raphaël Gagné
Léandre Bouchard
Andrew L’Esperance
Marc-Andre Fortier

U23 Women 
Laurie Arseneault
Marianne Theberge
Mackenzie Myatt
Sophianne Samson
Juliette Tetreault

U23 Men
Quinton Disera
Sean Fincham
Raphael Auclair
Gunnar Holmgren
Tyler Orschel
Victor Verreault

Juniors
Emilly Johnston
Carter Woods