January 07, 2015 (Milton, ON) – The timber boards of the Cisco PanAm Velodrome are ready to welcome athletes from nine countries in Milton, ON, as the 2015 Milton International Challenge is only days away.

The venue played host to the 2014 Canadian Track Championships this past week, and Canadian athletes took the opportunity to feel the track prior to the Milton International Challenge.

Athletes representing Canada, USA, Jamaica, Trinidad, Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom have landed in the Greater Toronto Area to compete in the Canada’s top track cycling race.

The velodrome will host Olympians and future stars of track cycling alike, such as Trinidad’s Aki Capbell a 2014 Junior National Champion, and Nijsane Phillip, who finished fourth at the 2012 Olympic Games in the sprint event, and seventh in the Keirin. Also representing Trinidad is Kollyn St. George, double silver medalist at the 2014 junior Pan-American Championships.

In the women’s competition, the recent Queen of the Canadian Championships with four titles will line up in the women’s sprint events, as well as racing with her teammate Kate O’Brien in the women’s team sprint. The two began working together this sprint, and make continuous improvement each and every day of training and racing.

Canada’s recently formed men team sprint squad is comprised of Joseph Veloce, Evan Carey and Joel Archambault. Team Canada is making gains in international standings, and the trio will look to improve their ranking this weekend as it continues its journey to qualify for the Olympic Games.

The team sprint will be disputed Friday, while the fast-paced individual sprints will be featured on Saturday. The sprinters will then race shoulder to shoulder in the Keirin on the last day of competition, Sunday.

Two-time silver medallist at World Championships and Olympic Bronze medallist Jasmin Glaesser will be racing for Canada in the women’s team pursuit, alongside Allison Beveridge, Stephanie Roorda and Kitsty Lay. Canada’s strength in the women’s team pursuit is evident with a streak of seven consecutive podium performances at World Cup and World Championships. Canada has enough power to field a second national team, which will be comprised of Kinley Gibson, Annie Foreman-Mackey; Catherine Dessureault and Arianne Bonhomme.

The Men’s team pursuit, a team that has shown immense progress on the World Cup tour this season, will be in action represented by Rémi Pelletier-Roy, Sean Mackinnon, Aiden Caves, Eric Johnstone and
Adam Jamieson.

Team pursuit and team sprint event finals will take place on the opening day of competition.

The two-day Omnium event will take place Saturday and Sunday. Canada Rémi Pelletier-Roy and Jasmin Glaesser will be athlete to watch in the gruelling six-race contest, both hoping to score important qualification points for the Olympic Games. Canadian Champion Allison Beveridge is coming off a hot Canadian Championships heading into this International Challenge.

The event kicks off on Friday, January 9, and ends on Sunday, January 11. The full schedule of the Milton International Challenge is posted here.