Oakville cyclist to represent Canada at upcoming road world championships
Published September 13, 2022 at 11:55 am
Off a strong performance this summer in Italy, Oakville cyclist Michael Leonard is set to represent Canada Down Under.
The junior men’s cyclist is one of 20 athletes named by Cycling Canada to represent the country at the 2022 UCI road world championships in Wollongong, Australia on Sept 18-25.
The 18-year-old rising star is one of eight athletes who will race for Canada in the junior category, including Campbell Parish, Kiara Lylyk and Penelope Primeau who recently represented Canada at the junior world track Championships in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Canada will compete in the junior, under-23 and elite categories.
“We are very excited for this year’s Road World Championships in Wollongong, Australia as we are sending our largest team since 2019,” National Team Coach Nigel Ellsay said. “We are particularly excited to enter two u-23 women to contest the first ever rainbow jersey for their category, and to participate for our first time in the mixed team time trial.
“We believe that Canadian athletes will be arriving in Wollongong with strong chances for success.”
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Leonard, who recent reports say is on the cusp of signing a new deal to race with Ineos Grenadiers, is coming off a strong summer in the junior ranks with Team Franco Ballerini in Italy.
The local road racer collected a pair of one-day wins back in April, before racing to a first-place finish at the Gran Premio Bermac Gara in May.
He topped off his standout performance by winning the Trofeo Madonna del Cavatore in early August.
The competition starts on Sunday (Sept. 18) with the elite women’s and men’s time trials.
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