CANADA TOTALS 19 MEDALS AT 2023 UCI CYCLING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Ottawa, ON (Aug. 14, 2023) – The Canadian National Cycling Team concluded 11 days of fierce competition at the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow, GBR, held from Aug. 3-13.
With more than 130 athletes selected to compete across a dozen disciples, the maple leaf had a strong presence with 19 medals won during cycling’s first-ever championship mega-event.
“This was one of Canada’s strongest World Championships on many different levels,” said Dan Proulx, Cycling Canada Head Coach. “It was our first time competing in the new ‘super worlds’ format and I think it was successful. We had so many medal performances as well as three World Championship titles. We also had so many personal best performances. I’m really optimistic about where we’re headed as a National Team. We’re pleased with what we’ve done here and looking forward to raising our game for the Olympics and Paralympics next summer.”
Three Canadians emerged from the week’s competition with new rainbow jerseys: Mel Pemble held on to the Women C3 Omnium Championship for a second year running; Paralympian Nathan Clement nabbed his first-ever World Champion title in the Men T1 Individual Time Trial; and Isabella Holmgren earned her second title of the year as Women Junior Cross-country Olympic (XCO) Champion.
The para-cycling contingent contributed heavily to Canada’s medal tally, showing exciting promise for the upcoming Santiago 2023 Parapan American Games. The combined efforts of Pemble, Clement and experienced Paralympians Shelley Gautier, Kate O’Brien, Michael Sametz and Keely Shaw resulted in 11 medals across both para-cycling road and track.
The country’s growing talent in mountain bike was on display with Juniors Ian Ackert (XCO), Bodhi Kuhn (downhill) and Marin Lowe (XCO) all earning new hardware. Canada was also represented on the podium in the Gran Fondo by Esta Bovill, Michelle Gagnon and Pascal Herve, as well as in track with Dylan Bibic in the Men Elite Elimination Race.
Canadians also showed incredible ability and fortitude outside of the medal placings. After suffering a mechanical failure at the start line, Carter Woods fought his way through a competitive Men U23 XCO field of more than 85 entries for a remarkable 11th-place finish. Track athletes earned valuable points towards qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, particularly the Men Team Pursuit squad of Bibic, Michael Foley, Derek Gee, Mathias Guillemette and Carson Mattern, whose sixth-place finish helped solidify Canada’s current top-eight ranking.
Highlight reports from each day can be found at www.cyclingcanada.ca/news. Full results from the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships can be found here and detailed information about the event can be found here.
