Bridge the Gap expands to include 200 young cyclists

The program that helps young athletes to progress within cycling by providing access to coaching, advice and equipment has expanded to include approximately 200 young cyclist. The Ottawa Bicycle Club, the Kallisto-FCV powered by Toyo Tires club in London, Ont., and the UKon Echelon Bike Club in Whitehorse were added to the Global Relay Youth Club Seeding Program. The goal of the program is to have 1,000 Canadian youth cyclists from 9 to 17 years old actively engaged and licensed in cycling by 2020.

“Our goal is to get kids on bikes, make cycling fun and inspire kids to be great,” said BTG managing director Andrew Pinfold. “That will help create a sustainable wave of young riders moving up through the competitive cycling ranks and help us find our future champions younger, more consistently and more reliably.”

In 2015, BTG began it’s Youth Club Seeding Program with the Victoria-based Tripleshot Cycling Club. The club was able to develop some of Canada’s best under-17 riders and see a 30 per cent growth in young riders entering their ranks.

Tripleshot head coach Lister Farrar said, “The BTG grant helped us secure a committed second coach, so we could have at least two and often three ability groups at each ride, so younger and older riders could ride in groups that suited them best.” He added, “That translated into growth in new riders because we can accommodate them better and into higher performance for our best riders because they are more closely matched with their training partners in pace, goals and experience.”

Global Relay Bridge the Gap also provides funding for the B.C. Youth Superweek Race Series and the Gastown Grand Prix, supports 24 riders through its elite rider program, sponsors Cycling Canada and the Canadian national championship races and teams.

Global Relay CEO Warren Roy said, “Our vision is to seed and support the growth of 16 to 20 youth-focused cycling clubs in the most relevant demographic cycling regions across Canada. At the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro this year, we’ll see Canadian athletes realizing their dreams of representing their country at the highest level. We’re proud to play an important role in helping Canadian cyclists achieve their dreams and reach that level through Bridge the Gap and our support for youth cycling.”