A Maple Ridge cyclist will be heading to France to compete for Team Canada in the Tissot UCI Track Cycling World Championships.
Maggie Coles-Lyster is one of 16 athletes on the track squad heading to the roubaix – a combination of veterans and development athletes, with the majority of riders competing at their first Elite World Championships.
Coles-Lyster will be competing on the women’s endurance team. The endurance team is made up of the 2019 Pan Am Games silver medalists that also includes athletes Erin Attwell, Ngaire Barraclough, Devaney Collier and Sarah Van Dam.
Coles-Lyster has earned several podiums on the road this season. Canadian Cycling Magazine reported in June that the local cyclist podiumed four times in five races over two weekends at the: Arlington, Virginia Armed Forces Association Cycling Classic and the Tulsa Tough – both events in early June.
Attwell, Barraclough and Van Dam are coming off a gold medal win at the Cali Nations Cup
All athletes will be competing in the Team Pursuit, with some riders also competing in the Omnium, Scratch Race, Elimination Race and Points Race.
The men’s endurance team will be lead by Olympians Derek Gee and Michael Foley with development athletes Mathias Guillemette, Jackson Kinniburgh and Ethan Ogrodniczuk completing the Team Pursuit squad. One rider will also be selected to compete in the Omnium.
Other athletes will be competing on both the men’s and women’s sprint teams. For the women, the sprint team will be lead by Olympic Sprint gold medallist, Kelsey Mitchell, and Keirin bronze medallist, Lauriane Genest, who will both be competing in the Keirin, Sprint and Team Sprint events. Their Team Sprint teammate will be announced on October 13th.
READ MORE: Coles-Lyster hits podium during Superweek
RELATED: Cyclist Maggie Coles-Lyster alleges sexual assault while training with Belgian team
On the men’s side, Olympians, Hugo Barrette and Nick Wammes, will once again be joining forces with, Ryan Dodyk, to take on the Team Sprint after the trio won gold at their first international competition together. Barrette will also be tackling the Keirin, while Wammes will compete in the Sprint.
“It’s so amazing to be able to bring two Olympic medallists to Track Worlds,” said Cycling Canada’s high performance director, Kris Westwood.
“Kelsey and Lauriane will walk into the roubaix velodrome as riders to watch, which brings all sorts of new challenges, but I’m confident they are up for it. On the endurance side, the squad represents a generational shift for our teams. They have big shoes to fill, and I’m excited to see what they can achieve as we work towards the Paris Olympic Games in just three years’ time.”
The Tissot UCI Track Cycling World Championships take place on October 20-24 and will be livestreamed on FloBikes.
Have a story tip? Email: editor@mapleridgenews.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.