Ryder Hesjedal represents Canada at London Olympics
Clara Hughes, Joelle Numainville and Denise Ramsden race women’s events
Giro d’Italia winner Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Barracuda) will represent Canada in the men’s time trial and road race at the Olympic Games in London. The women’s team will include three riders six-time medallist Clara Hughes (Specialized-lululemon), Joelle Numainville and Denise Ramsden (Optum-Kelly Benefit Strategies).
Canada only qualified one spot for the men’s road events and the same rider will compete in both the time trial and the road race. The Canadian Cycling Association and the Canadian High Performance Advisory Committee selected Hesjedal from a long-list of 11 riders.
“I am honored and excited to represent Canada in the Olympic Games. It is my hope that the sport of cycling continues to grow in Canada and that the spirit of the Olympics shines an even greater spotlight on it. I am extremely proud to represent Canada,” said Hesjedal who competed in the Beijing Olympics.
The other riders who qualified for the original long-list included Svein Tuft (Orica-GreenEdge) who was arguably the favourite to medal in the time trial event. Also on the list were Christian Meier (Orica-GreenEdge), Michael Barry (Sky Procycling), David Veilleux (Europcar), Dominique Rollin (FDJ-BigMat), Will Routley (SpiderTech p/b C10), David Boily (SpiderTech p/b C10), Guillaume Boivin (SpiderTech p/b C10), Ryan Roth (SpiderTech p/b C10) and Bruno Langlois (Garneau-Quebecor-Norton).
The Canadian High Performance Advisory Committee selected Hughes and Ramsden who will compete in both the time trial and road race, and Numainville, who will compete in the road race.
“It will be my sixth Olympic Games and yet I still feel the same pride and joy to represent my country. After twelve years, I am excited to compete again at the summer Olympics. I am heading to London with the confidence that I could not be better prepared to perform at my best in London,” said Hughes.
The long-list they were selected from also included Julie Beveridge (Vienne-Futuroscope), Karol-Ann Canuel (Vienne-Futuroscope), national champion Veronique Fortin (Tibco – To The Top), Leah Kirchmann (Optum – Kelly Benefit Strategies), Rhae Shaw (Exergy2012) and Tara Whitten (Tibco – To The Top).
