November 10, 2006 (Ottawa, ON) - More than 150 riders have already confirmed their presence at the 2006 Cyclocross National Championships in Nanaimo, BC, this weekend. The event is part of the qualification process for the athletes who wish to represent Canada at the UCI Cyclocross World Championships in Hooglede-Gits in Belgium, January 27-28.

Elite Women
On the women's field, Lyne Bessette (QC, Cyclocrossworld.com) will be there to defend her crown. She is ranked 14th on the latest UCI rankings and she is the Cyclocross National Championships' great favorite. Competition should come from local favorite Wendy Simms (C.-B., Kona) and Tara Ross (ON, Cheerwine).

All of them raced last weekend in the US Grand Prix in Boulder, CO, where Bessette finished 2nd, while Simms and Ross finished 5th and 10th respectively.

Elite Men
On the men's field, 2005 winner Peter Wedge, from New-Brunswick, will not take the start and will therefore leave the first stage of the podium to new faces. The competition should be fierce between Greg Reain (Ont, Stevens Racing), 2005 runner-up and winner of the UCI Aurora Cross last weekend, and Geoff Kabush (BC, Maxxis), 2004 champion and current mountain bike cross-country champion.

Current Canadian leader on the cyclocross UCI rankings Mathieu Toulouse (QC, Maxxis) will certainly be in the battle as well. National rankings leader Andrew Pinfold (BC, Symmetrics) is a good bet too. He finished third at the criterium National Championship in Québec City last summer.

A long shot could be Andreas Hestler (BC, Rocky-Mountain Business Objects), who is just back from a three-day grueling mountain bike stage race in Costa-Rica and should be in good shape for this season-ending competition.

The action will start at 8:30 Saturday morning with amateur races. The women elite race is set for 2:00 pm, while the men's elite race will start at 3:00 pm. Eight national champion titles will be up for grab over the day. Be there!

Full results will be available at www.canadian-cycling.com.

Contacts:

Florence Bourg
Communications Manager - Directrice des communications
Canadian Cycling Association - Association cycliste canadienne
2197 Riverside Drive, suite/bureau 203
Ottawa, ON, K1H 7X3
Tel: +1-418-824-9207
Cell: +1-418-558-4559
florence.bourg@canadian-cycling.com

Event organizer
Normon Thibault
normont@islandnet.com
http://www.island-multi-sports.com/CX_BC_CUP/index.htm

Onsite CCA contact
Luc Arsenault, technical delegate
Luc@AtlanticCyclingCentre.com