On Wednesday, Canadian Cycling Magazine published news about an email that was sent to national team athletes from Cycling Canada, stating that it would not be sending a women’s team pursuit squad to the 2026 UCI track world championships.
“Given the outcome of the review and current budgetary constraints faced by Cycling Canada, it was established that a women’s team pursuit should not be sent to 2026 world championships. Resources will instead be directed toward individual events and team pursuit development initiatives within the women’s track endurance program,” said the email, obtained by Canadian Cycling Magazine. “As Cycling Canada focuses on team pursuit development, we will continue to pursue the qualification for the women’s omnium and madison at the 2028 L.A. Olympic Games. This will include support of athletes at the necessary events to qualify.”
A group of athletes then sent a letter to Cycling Canada, which was published in full on this website, and you can read here.
Since then, Cycling Canada has sent a response to the athletes and shared it with Canadian Cycling Magazine. As with the riders’ letter, the response is being published in full below. As this story continues to develop, more voices from across the cycling community will be sought for reaction and perspective on the news.
Cycling Canada’s response
Dear athletes,
We write regarding the concerns raised in your May 6, 2026 letter regarding Cycling Canada’s decision not to support a women’s team pursuit team at the 2026 UCI track cycling world championships.
First and foremost, this was not an easy decision for Cycling Canada to make, and it was not made lightly or without due consideration for the impacts it would have on the women’s team pursuit program in the short term.
However, after conducting an in-depth performance analysis and forecasting, Cycling Canada remains of the view that it was the right strategic decision for the long-term viability of the women’s team pursuit program and Cycling Canada’s performance objectives.
It is important to understand that, when it made the decision, Cycling Canada did not conduct a direct comparison between the men’s and women’s team pursuit programs in order to determine which program was outperforming the other. The future performance potential of each program was assessed at the same time, using the same analytical tools, but no direct comparison was made between the men’s and women’s programs to determine whether they would be pursued at the 2026 track worlds.
Cycling Canada’s assessment primarily focused on time gaps; gap to the podium and/or gap to the top 6. This assessment looked directly at the power profile of current individual athletes, as well as the collective team. Cycling Canada also used its podium pathway to evaluate each individual’s gap against the elite profile.
After conducting this assessment, Cycling Canada determined that, based on the current competitive level of the current women’s team pursuit team, while considering that some improvement was possible, it is unlikely that the team’s improvement will be sufficient to qualify for and be competitive at the 2028 Olympic Games.
While we understand that the women’s team pursuit has already earned a quota for the 2026 UCI track world championships, it is important to bear in mind that this quota was earned by attending the Pan American Championships and a World Cup – earning this quota was not based on results, nor is it indicative of the potential to qualify for the 2028 Olympic Games.
As you correctly point out, Canada does not have enough points to qualify an individual for the women’s omnium or madison. Contrary the pathway to earn a quota for the women’s team pursuit, qualifying for the bunch events depends on performance and finish placing, which is why Cycling Canada decided to prioritize more of the preparation camp to bunch training.
As indicated, Cycling Canada’s assessment was based on objective performance metrics, and sought to assess the gaps that need to be closed in order to be competitive for the 2028 Olympic Games. For this reason, considering Team Pursuit results from the past 18-months of UCI-sanctioned competitions alone does not adequately account for the competitiveness of the field at the 2028 Olympic Games.
Cycling Canada is fundamentally committed to equal treatment and opportunities for all participants.
However, sport organizations in Canada often have to make difficult decisions, which requires prioritizing funding allocation based on development versus performance objectives. It is well known that Cycling Canada’s reduced track endurance funding is based on current medal potential, which is why it was important to make a decision now to focus on the development of athletes towards the 2032 Olympic Games.
Cycling Canada understands the disappointment of those affected by this decision and we hope that the explanations above allow you to understand how and why the decision was made. We also acknowledge that communications regarding our performance objectives could have been more proactive, and we are committed to improving in this regard going forward.
We remain available to engage in further dialogue with you, and look forward to continuing to work together.
Yours in sport,
Mathieu Boucher
Chief Executive Officer, Cycling Canada