Smaller Canadian team for final track World Cup

Track World Cup women’s and men’s omnium leaders Tara Whitten and Zach Bell are skipping the final round of the series in the United Kingdom this weekend in order to focus on the upcoming world championships.

As a result, Canada will field a team of just six riders at the Manchester velodrome.

World Cup rookie Allison Beveridge of Calgary and Remi Pelletier-Roy of Longueil, Que., will fill in for Whitten and Bell in the omnium events, with Pelletier-Roy also lining up in the men’s pursuit.

Monique Sullivan of Calgary will compete in the women’s sprint and Keirin.

There will also be a men’s team sprint squad, made up of Travis Smith (Calgary), Joseph Veloce (Fonthill, Ont.) and Scott Mulder (Vancouver).

This will be Mulder’s World Cup debut.

Smith will also ride the keirin and sprint, and Veloce will compete in the sprint.

Also skipping the competition to focus on the worlds is the women’s team pursuit entry of Stephanie Roorda and Laura Brown, who will focus on training with new national team pursuit coach Tanya Dubnicoff.

Competition in Manchester begins Friday. Click here for a complete schedule.

The world championships will be held from March 23 to 27 in Apeldoorn, Denmark.