Milton World Cup attracts over 300 athletes from 40 countries
Powerhouse nations such as New Zealand, Great Britain, Australia and Germany bring strong squads to go up against Canada's top track stars
Qualifications for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics is underway and that means that cycling federations of the world have drafted their paths to the Izu Velodrome. The path for Canadians hoping to compete at the upcoming summer Olympics along with many of the other strongest cycling nations runs through Milton in 2018. The UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Milton at the Mattamy National Cycling Center has attracted over 300 athletes from 40 nations.
The World Cup runs from Oct. 26 to 28 and over 50 per cent more international athletes will be competing compared to the inaugural Milton World Cup last year. About 320 athletes are expected to compete.
“It’s pretty exciting for us to be the host of a track World Cup for the second time in Milton. With more than 320 athletes from 40 nations, it will be one of the most competitive world cups on the calendar,” said Mathieu Boucher, head of development and operations at Cycling Canada. “We are looking forward to seeing how our athletes perform against the best in the world.”
Racing gets underway tomorrow with the qualification rounds for the women’s and men’s team pursuits. Friday, athletes will compete in six medal events including the team pursuit, the team sprint and the scartch race. On Saturday, there will be four medal events including the sprint, madison, and the men’s omnium and Keirin. Sunday, the competition concludes with the Madison, sprint, and women’s omnium and Keirin.
Last year, Canada finished the Milton World Cup with four medals including a gold in the women’s team pursuit, silver in the men’s team pursuit, silver for Allison Beveridge in the omnium and silver for Jasmin Duehring in the points race.
Canada has a competitive team for the Milton World Cup lining-up. There will be 13 athletes racing for Team Canada and an additional nine riders racing under the Medal 2 the Medal banner. New Zealand, Great Britain, Australia and Germany are the competitions most powerful squads that are sure to challenge for some big results in what promises to be an exciting weekend of competition.
