August 21, 2018 (Aigle, Switzerland) – Team Canada finished the 2018 UCI Junior Track World Championships in Aigle, Switzerland, with four top-10 performances from a young team that had only one returning athlete from last year, with two-thirds of the team being first year Juniors.

Five-time national champion Riley Pickrell of Victoria, BC, had the top performance of the project, finishing fourth in the men’s Scratch Race. Other top-10 results include:  Kaitlyn Rauwerda and Sarah Van Dam finishing seventh in the women’s Madison; seventh for the women’s Team Pursuit squad of Micaiah Besler, Ainsley Black, Kaitlyn Rauwerda, Victoria Slater and Sarah Van Dam; and Kaitlyn Rauwerda finishing tenth in the women’s Points Race.

“The Junior Worlds project was a great trip,” said Team Manager and NextGen coach Jenny Trew.  “As one would hope for a project of this nature, there was a high level of learning; especially given how young the team was. Riley’s fourth place in the Scratch Race on his 17th birthday was a standout performance, but each of the riders left their all out on the velodrome in Aigle and should be proud of their performances. The momentum in the team grew with each day of competition as they supported one another’s performances. I’m excited to be a part of this group’s introduction and progression through the high performance stream of cycling in Canada. This is just the beginning for this cohort.”

Team Canada at 2018 UCI Junior Track World Championships

Endurance Women [Hometown] – Personal Coach
Sarah Van Dam [Victoria, BC] – Richard Wooles
Kaitlyn Rauwerda [Hamilton, ON] – Rick Lee
Micaiah Besler [Saskatoon, SK] – Houshang Amiri
Ainsley Black [Jerseyville, ON] – Rick Lee
Victoria Slater [Hamilton, ON] – Rick Lee

Endurance Men [Hometown] – Personal Coach
Riley Pickrell [Victoria, BC] – Richard Wooles
Jackson Kinniburgh [Calgary, AB] – Tanya Dubnicoff

Sprint Men [Hometown] – Personal Coach
Tyler Davies [Vancouver, BC] – Keith Bruneau
Ethan Ogrodniczuk [Vancouver, BC] – Tim Sherstobitoff