Bessette joins Board of Directors at Cycling Canada - Women's News Shorts

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Bessette joins Board of Directors at Cycling Canada 

Cycling Canada has appointed Lyne Bessette to the Board of Directors as a Director-At-Large. Bessette will take the place of Peter Lawless, who was re-elected in September of 2015 but had to subsequently resign due to his position on the Board of another sport organization, according to a press release from Cycling Canada.

"I'm pleased to be part of the Board of Directors of Cycling Canada. My experiences and knowledge gained during my time racing will hopefully be valuable to those competing now and in the future. I also realize that the most successful and valuable athletes are the ones who are true community members. Being the fastest or best isn't the only thing that matters," Bessette said.

Bessette is one of Canada's most decorated cyclists. She retired from professional road racing in 2006 but continued to make a name for herself in the cyclo-cross from 2006 until 2008. She also competed as pilot for para-cyclist Robbie Weldon, and together they won gold medals at the 2010 UCI World Para-cycling Championships and 2012 Summer Paralympics Women's road race B.

A new documentary was released last fall about Bessette's career, which highlighted her outstanding accomplishments in cycling and her strong advocacy of clean sports.

Bessette will serve on the Board of Directors at Cycling Canada for the remainder of the term, which ends September 2017. "In Lyne we have added a person who understands the system, is an outspoken advocate for clean sport and a well-respected organizer of participation events in Québec. She is a valuable addition to the Board of Cycling Canada," said Cycling Canada President John Tolkamp.

Edmondson and D'hoore switch focus to the velodrome for UCI Track World Championships

Wiggle High5 sprinters Annette Edmondson and Jolien D'hoore will turn their attention to the UCI Track World Championships held from March 2-6 in London's Lea Valley VeloPark.

Edmondson will race for the Australian national team and compete to defend her world titles in the team pursuit and omnium events.

"All's been going well in training in the lead up to these World Championships," said Edmondson, who has recovered after being involved in a collision with a car while out training in Australia last month. "The car crash definitely put a spanner in the works, but luckily I'm all okay. I'm definitely looking forward to defending a couple of titles, I'm going to give it my best shot. Everything's been positive, so we're going in with confidence."

Her road teammate D'hoore will race for Belgium on the track and told Cyclingnews that she aims to medal in the scratch race and omnium events. She has raced the World Cup series this winter and is looking to solidify her spot for the Olympic Games in Rio.

"I think my form is pretty good," D'hoore said. "I've been doing a lot of track sessions the last few weeks, and also gym sessions - which I didn't do before - so I see the progress compared to last year, so that's good.

"The World Championships are the first step towards the Olympics. Of course it's important, because it's the World Championships, but the main focus this year is the Olympics."

Moolman-Pasio and Small to lead Cervelo Bigla at Strade Bianche

Cervelo Bigla Pro Cycling announced the six-rider roster for the Women's WorldTour kick-off Strade Bianche held on March 5. Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio and Carmen Small will lead the team in hopes of a podium performance.

Moolman-Pasio was fourth in the first edition of the race last year and told Cyclingnews in January that she hopes to stand on the podium this year. It will be her first European race of the season. Her teammates Small raced at the Omloop Het Nieuwsbald on Saturday where she placed ninth and Lotta Lepisto finished third at the Omloop van het Hageland on Sunday, showing strong early-season form.

"It's really hard," Small said of Strade Bianche. "It's not as easy as it looks on paper. It's always nice to see a course before you race it and this is one of the hardest courses. It's up there with any of the old World Cup courses. There will be a selection at a certain point and from 60km on, there is no rest. You're going up and down. In three of the sections it's 13% for 400 metres, it's really hard."

Cervelo Bigla Pro Cycling for Strade Bianche: Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, Carmen Small, Clara Koppenburg, Gabrielle Pilote Fortin, Joëlle Numainville and Lotta Lepistö.

Rally Cycling scores an invite to Tour of California Women's Race

Rally Cycling weren't sure if they would get into the Tour of California Women's Race this year, so they were pleasantly surprised to receive an invitation to compete at the four-day event held March 19-22.

The Tour of California Women's Race is one of two Women's WorldTour events held in the US, alongside Philly Cycling Classic in June. Race organisers were obliged to invite the top 15 teams on the UCI world ranking and then could invite UCI women's teams for the remaining spots available. Rally Cycling is 25th on that list.

Five of the top 15 women's teams in the world declined to compete at the Tour of California and that opened up more doors for the lower ranked women's UCI teams to compete.

"We will have a great mixture of seasoned veterans and exceptional young talent to take on the challenges of the 2016 Tour of California," said Rally Cycling Director Zach Bell in a team press release. "We are looking to have a strong showing in the team time trial and give our young riders a chance to measure themselves at the highest level."