Three Canadian riders to compete in the women’s road cycling events at Rio 2016
Two athletes will compete in for the individual time trial on August 10, with one rider racing in the August 7 women's road race
The clock is ticking ever closer to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio di Janeiro, Brazil, kicking off on Aug. 6. This summer’s Games, of course, will feature cycling events drawing some of the world’s most powerful elite riders in a number of disciplines, including road, track, mountain biking and BMX.
On June 2, after the UCI unveiled the final nation quotas for the women’s road competitions, Cycling Canada announced that Canadian riders have three spots in the women’s road events: two for the individual time trial and three for the road race.
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“We are pleased to have our three female road quota spots confirmed for the Rio Games,” said Jacques Landry, Cycling Canada’s high-performance director. “Some of our top riders have been picking up some very important UCI points over the past two years in order to secure Canada with the three spots.”
Those well-earned spots put Canadian athletes alongside some distinguished global competition.
In the road race, happening on Aug. 7 in Fort Copacabana, Canada is in the second tier of countries—a category consisting of five nations in all—who have earned three spots on the start list. The United States, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany and Australia received the maximum four spots. The field will have 67 riders, encompassing 38 nations. The Aug. 10 time trial in Pontal-Barra, meanwhile, sees Canada in the top tier, having received the maximum of two spots. Among a total of 25 spots for that event’s competition, Canada’s representation will roll out against nations such as Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Australia and the United States.
Now, Landry said, the task shifts to deciding just who those Canadian riders will be. “Now that the quota spots have been confirmed,” Landry explained, “our job will be to work with our committees to nominate to the Canadian Olympic Committee the riders that we believe, based on evidence, can reach our performance objectives.”
Those selections will be announced on June 29 at the 2016 Global Relay Canadian road championships.
