CYCLING CANADA ANNOUNCES TEAM HEADING TO THE 2013 BMX CYCLING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS | Cycling Canada Cyclisme

CYCLING CANADA ANNOUNCES TEAM HEADING TO THE 2013 BMX CYCLING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Four athletes to compete for Canada at upcoming BMX Cycling World Championships

(Ottawa, ON – July 10, 2013) Cycling Canada is proud to announce the cyclists selected to compete for Canada at the upcoming 2013 UCI BMX World Championships to be held in Auckland, New Zealand, from July 25 to 28, 2013.

The team is comprised of four athletes, who will compete in the Elite individual time trial and the supercross races.

For the Canadian BMX program, under the guidance of a new Head Coach, 2013 has been a year of development, with a new structure and coaching support being implemented into the program. A centralized group has been put together in the Vancouver area where many of the top athletes live and train together on a daily base.

“With the program firing on all cylinders, all athletes on the National team have made some major gains in their performance. James Brown (Airdrie, AB) and Amelia Walsh (Ayr, ON) have made some considerable gains in a short while and have proven in race results this year that they are solid contenders to qualify into the finales at this year’s World Championships,” said Ken Cools, Head Coach of the Canadian BMX Team.

“James has had a great year as he has bounced back from major injury in 2012, winning five pro races this year and is progressively getting faster and stronger with each event. Amelia has stepped up her game tremendously and has solidified her spot as the fastest female athlete in Canada, her skill level on the bike will give her an advantage over her competition on the tight technical track in Auckland.”

Olympian Tory Nyhaug (Coquitlam, BC) who qualified himself a spot by being in the Top-16 Elite men last year had a stellar start to the year finishing second at the World Cup event in Manchester England in April, and carried on his great form placing well at USABMX pro events in the USA which put him as the number 1 ranked male in the world for a time being.

Last month Nyhaug had a bit of a setback as he crashed and sustained injuries in Nashville, TN. Since, he has worked very hard to come back and be in good form for this event. With a strong showing Nyhaug can be a contender for the title which he has earned three times as an amateur.

The objectives of the team at the UCI World Championships will be to push for the top spot while gaining valuable experience that will help carry the athletes thru events that will take them to Rio in 2016.

The 2013 UCI BMX World Championships will be broadcasted on television in Canada on SportsnetOne and live on the UCI YouTube Channel http://www.youtube.com/ucichannel. Check your local listings for more information on the television broadcast.

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CANADIAN TEAM – 2013 UCI BMX WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS – Auckland, NZE

Women

Amelia WALSH (Ayr, ON]

Men

Tory NYHAUG [Coquitlam, BC]

James (Jimmy) BROWN [Airdrie, AB]

Hayden MECHIELSEN [Langley, BC]