Team Canada for Paris 2024 announced

Cycling Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee have announced the roster of Team Canada cycling athletes nominated to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The 21 athletes are listed below.

BMX Racing:

Molly Simpson (Red Deer, Alta.)

Mountain Bike:

Isabella Holmgren (Orillia, Ont.)
Gunnar Holmgren (Orillia, Ont.)

Road:

Olivia Baril (Rouyn-Noranda, Que.)
Derek Gee (Ottawa)
Alison Jackson (Vermilion, Alta.)
Michael Woods (Ottawa)

Track (Endurance):

Erin Attwell (Victoria)
Dylan Bibic (Mississauga, Ont.)
Ariane Bonhomme (Gatineau, Que.)
Maggie Coles-Lyster (Maple Ridge, B.C.)
Michael Foley (Milton, Ont.)
Mathias Guillemette (Trois-Rivieres, Que.)
Carson Mattern (Ancaster, Ont.)
Sarah Van Dam (Victoria)

Track (Sprint):

Lauriane Genest (Levis, Que.)
James Hedgcock (Ancaster, Ont.)
Kelsey Mitchell (Sherwood Park, Alta.)
Sarah Orban (Calgary)
Tyler Rorke (Baden, Ont.)
Nick Wammes (Bothwell, Ont.)

Canada’s final Olympic quotas confirmed, selection of mountain bike, track, and BMX athletes hinged on performances at UCI World Cups and championships from 2023-2024. Road cyclists were chosen based on their global performances and adaptability to the Olympic course.

Isabella Holmgren, 19, is the youngest cyclist on the Paris 2024 Canadian Olympic Team. She’s a two-time world junior champion in mountain bike and cyclocross, and this year, she’s already earned two UCI U23 World Cup gold medals in mountain biking. Joining her is her brother Gunnar Holmgren, who secured his spot for Paris 2024 with an eighth-place finish at the UCI Elite World Cup in May, where he became Team Canada’s first gold medallist at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games.

Podcast: How one sensational weekend changed the Olympic hopes of two Holmgren siblings

“I’m very proud to soon become an Olympian, and being selected alongside my sister makes it even more special,” Holmgren said. “I’m building to my peak form over the next six weeks and I’m excited to get out there and honor the maple leaf.”

Michael Woods, 37, is getting ready for his third Olympics at Paris 2024. He earned a historic bronze at the 2018 UCI World Championships and secured Canada’s second-best Olympic result in the road race at Tokyo 2020. Woods also won his first Tour de France stage in 2023. Joining him is former track cyclist Derek Gee, noted for his breakaways and recent stage win at le Critérium du Dauphiné. Gee’s performances at the 2023 Giro d’Italia earned him the combativity award, and he contributed to Canada’s fifth-place finish in Tokyo’s men’s team pursuit.

“I’m unbelievably excited to represent Canada for my second Olympic Games in Paris this summer,” Gee said. “Tokyo 2020 was an experience of a lifetime and was a real privilege to race with the maple leaf on my back on the world’s biggest stage. Having spent some time in France already this year and seeing the build up, I can’t wait to experience the atmosphere in Paris this summer. I think it’s truly going to be unparalleled, especially at the cycling events.”

Alison Jackson, known for her 2023 Paris-Roubaix victory, returns for her second Olympics after Tokyo 2020. She won a stage of the 2024 Vuelta España Femenina. Joining her is Olivia Baril, making her Olympic debut, a silver medallist in both the road race and time trial at the 2023 Canadian championships and podium finisher in a 2024 Vuelta España Femenina stage. Baril recently took the 2024 Canadian road championship title on Sunday.

One notable exception to the Games was triathlete Paula Findlay. There were only two road spots available for women in Paris, with one of those doing the time trial. Findlay has won the Canadian national time trial championships for the past three years, but has limited road racing experience.

Although another triathlete Taylor Knibb,  won the USA national time trial championship in May guaranteed her a spot on the American Olympic team, that won’t be the case for Findlay

“Every country obviously has their own criteria, and I think Taylor Knibb is a medal hopeful for the TT for the USA,” Findlay said to Triathlon Magazine. “I don’t think I’m quite at that level, but the criteria for Canada was they’re going to focus a little more on the road team. It was loosely in the back of my mind to give it a go, but I would have had to really commit to racing on the road.”

The Olympics begin July 26, right after the Tour de France concludes.