Over the next four weeks, keep your eyes, ears and vocal cords ready to cheer for Canada's top athletes competing in the non-stop series of Track events at Provincial, National and International levels.
Starting this past weekend, July 26th-27th, Alberta hosted their Provincial Track Championships in Edmonton, hosted by the Juventus Cycling Club. The name 'Juventus' roughly translates to 'Youth or Juvenile' in Latin, and there is sure to be some young talent following in the footsteps of role models Lori-Ann Muenzer, Steen Madsen, and Lars Madsen. These National Team athletes are Canada's top sprinters and are proud to call Edmonton.
Following this six of Canada's top track athletes will be assembling in Stuttgart, Germany to compete in the Track World Championships from July 30th-August 3rd. More then 300 participants are taking part in these Championships from over 40 nations. The small Canadian contingent includes, Mandy Poitras and Mark Ernsting of British Columbia, Lori-Anne Muenzer of Alberta, Erin Carter of Manitoba and Martin Gilbert and Alex Cloutier of Quebec. More then 5,000 spectators are expected to fill the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer Hall Velodrome every night and even more are going to be following the daily coverage – stay tuned!
Two days after the World Championships many of the same athletes will continue onwards to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic where they will compete in the Pan American Games from August 3rd-17th. The team will consist of Ernsting, Cloutier, Gilbert, and will be joined by three Quebec riders, Clara Hughes, Jean-Francois LaRoche and Charles Dionne. All of these riders were chosen on their ability to do multiple disciplines on the road and on the track. Even Dionne, well-known for his road success, will try out his sprinting powers in the challenging Points Race.
Meanwhile, concurrent to the Games, the National Track Championships are scheduled to be held in Bromont, Quebec from August 14th-17th. With some of the key senior track riders absent other athletes will be looking to claim the top podium spots.
Last, but not least, Canada's top juniors will be looking for their chance to shine by representing their country at the Junior Track World Championships in Moscow, Russia on August 20th-24th. Several Quebec athletes have made the time-standards for their respective events and are hoping to be named to the team. Kevin Lacombe and Audrey Lemieux, both from Quebec, have qualified in the men's and women's Individual Pursuit and Cynthia Beaulieu of Quebec has qualified in the sprints and 500meters. While these athletes anxiously await the final team selection, there might be a few more that will prove that they too can be competitive at the world level!
Each of these track events promises to be thrilling because they all have successive qualifying outcomes. A provincial title ensures a provincial team spot, a national title ensures a national team spot and a world title means a birth to the Olympics. The Track World Championships, beginning next week, is the first of five qualification races towards the Olympic Games next year in Athens, Greece and therefore it is important for all Canadians to encourage the athletes on their plight towards Athens.
Cheer Loud For Canada!