Para cycling track riders gather in Milton this week ahead of 2020 Paralympic Games

MILTON, Ont. – The international field is rolling into Milton for the 2020 UCI Para Cycling Track World Championships this week in the last chance to earn qualifying points for the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo this summer.

The races run from Thursday to Sunday at the Mattamy National Cycling Centre. The competition has attracted 168 riders from 32 countries.

“It hasn’t really sunk in yet that it’s 2020, but I’m going into Canada treating it as my Tokyo,” said Louis Rolfe of Britain, one of the top rivals for Canada’s multiple Paralympic and world championship medallist Tristen Chernove in the C2 events.

‘’I’m putting everything I have into doing the best I can in Canada. If I do well here, then I’ve got a good chance of being selected for the Games which is obviously the big aim for the year. But I can’t think about Tokyo until I have done the job that I want to do in Canada.”

Chernove was Canada’s top medal producer at the 2019 track worlds in the Netherlands with a medal of each colour in the three track events: the scratch race, the individual pursuit and the kilo.

In all, the Canadian riders took home five medals a year ago. Keely Shaw of Midale, Sask. added a silver in the women’s C4 individual pursuit in her worlds debut and Ross Wilson of Edmonton was third in the C1 individual pursuit. 

Both Chernove and Wilson ended 2019 ranked second in the world track standings in their respective categories.

Chernove, Shaw and Wilson are joined on the 2020 team by veteran Marie-Claude Molnar of St-Hubert, Que., Lowell Taylor and his pilot Ed Veal and the newly classified 2016 Rio Olympian Kate O’Brien.

O’Brien won a team sprint gold medal at the Pan American Games in 2015. The former bobsledder turned track cyclist will race in the sprint events in the C4 category. She was seriously injured in a training crash in 2017.

The worlds are almost a do or die for Taylor and Veal. The tandem’s recent success provides hope that a spot for the Tokyo 2020 Games is possible. They won double silver at the Parapan Am Games last summer as well as the national title.

“This is the biggest race that I’ve ever done,” Taylor told CTV News Calgary. “It’s my first world championship, and this is the main event to get me selected for Tokyo. My best chance at the Tokyo Paralympics is in track.’’

Molnar has been satisfied with her progress over the last few months and is aiming for a berth on the podium in the C4 individual pursuit. She came fourth last year in that race.

‘’The pursuit is a strong event for me,’’ Molnar told the Le Courrier du Sud. ‘’My time is very fast and improves each year. I’m confident because at the last training camp I rode really well which gives me hope that a medal is possible.”

One of the biggest international stars in Milton will be Britain’s Jody Cundy, a 16-time world champion. He knows the importance of the Milton worlds.

“These world championships represent the last real opportunity to test yourself in a competitive environment before the Games,’’ he said. ‘’So it’s a crucial milestone as everyone’s preparations for Tokyo intensify.” 

Viewers will be able to follow the action via the free CBC Gem streaming service, cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices, and CPC Facebook page, as well as the Radio-Canada Sports app and radio-canada.ca/sports. The live streaming will cover all finals, and coverage begins on Thursday January 30 at 3 p.m. ET (12 p.m. PT). for the compete live stream schedule please visit Paralympic.ca/paralympic-super-series.