Canadians ready for World Road Cycling Championships

The Canadian Road Cycling team has arrived in Melbourne, Australia, to compete in the 2010 UCI Road World Championships from Wednesday to Sunday. The team has been preparing in Australia for nearly a week – taking part in training races, course familiarization, public events and team building exercises to optimize their race results. The five-day event starts Wednesday with the women’s time trial and men’s under-23 time trial.

Canadian cyclists have high hopes for strong results at the World Championships. Svein Tuft of Langley, BC will be looking to match or improve on his silver medal at the Time Trial in 2008. Tara Whitten, of Edmonton and Anne Samplonius, of Montreal, are looking for strong times on the women’s side. Whitten is a double World Champion in track cycling and finished eighth at the 2009 Road Championships in the time trial. Samplonius has also shown excellent form recently, winning a prestigious time trial in France.

In the road race, Joëlle Numainville, of Montréal, will be Canada’s top contender for a medal. Numainville will be supported by a strong women’s team. Dominique Rollin, of Boucherville, Quebec, Tuft and Christian Meier of Sussex, NB will all be strong competitors to watch in the men’s road race.

The road race course will be challenging with a possible sprint finish. The 15.8 km course features short and challenging climbs. Canadian coach Denise Kelly said “only a rider at the top of their game will have a chance of winning. No one will be able to hide on the course.”

The women will complete eight laps for a total distance of 127.2 km, while the men will cover 262.7 km, including a stretch of the freeway bridging Melbourne to Geelong. With flatter sections and a fast downhill section on the course leading to a temporary bridge, the key will be how the riders position themselves before the short power climbs to stay near the front of the peloton.

The time trial course will use large sections of the road circuit. “The transitions in the terrain are numerous and gear selection is crucial to maintaining a fluid rhythm,” said Kelly of the course.

 SCHEDULE – 2010 ROAD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Sept 29: Women’s Time Trial, Men’s U23 Time Trial
Sept 30: Men’s Time Trial
Oct 1: Men’s U23 Road Race
Oct 2: Women’s Road Race
Oct 3: Men’s Road Race

CANADIAN CYCLING TEAM (WOMEN)
CANUEL, Karol-Ann (Amos, QC) – Road Race
NUMAINVILLE, Joëlle (Montréal, QC) – Road Race
RAMSDEN, Denise (Yellowknife, NT) – Road Race
SAMPLONIUS, Anne (Montréal, QC) – Road Race, Time Trial
WHITTEN, Tara (Edmonton, AB) – Road Race, Time Trial
WILLOCK, Erinne (Vancouver, BC) – Road Race 

CANADIAN CYCLING TEAM (MEN)
MEIER, Christian (Sussex, NB) – Road Race
ROLLIN, Dominique (Boucherville, QC) – Road Race
TUFT, Svein (Langley, BC) – Road Race, Time Trial
BOILY, David (Québec, QC) (U23) – Road Race, Time Trial
BOIVIN, Guillaume (Longueuil, QC) (U23) – Road Race
HOULE, Hugo (Sainte-Perpétue, QC) (U23) – Road Race, Time Trial
PAPILLON, Arnaud (Longueuil, QC) (U23) – Road Race 

CANADIAN TEAM STAFF
Team Manager: Matthew Knight
Head Coach: Vincent Jourdain
Women’s coach: Denise Kelly
Mechanics: Dave Drumm, Sean Kelly
Soigneurs: Michel L’Hoest, Kelly Linaker