Backlash continues following Cycling Canada’s controversial decision to cancel the women’s team pursuit program.
Becka Borody, from Kitchener, Ont., resigned from Cycling Canada’s board of directors on Friday.
Borody was elected to the board in October to a one-year term.
In a statement to Canadian Cycling Magazine, she confirmed that she had stepped down.
“I resigned from the Board of CC recently. There were a lot of ongoing reasons, but the way in which the communication, and then lack of transparency around recent decisions made it clear that my values no longer aligned with leadership of the board and the organization.”
Team pursuit riders appeal decision
Her decision follows news that five women’s team pursuit riders are appealing Cycling Canada’s decision to pause the program and not send a squad to the 2026 world championships in Shanghai, China. Skyler Goudswaard, Fiona Majendie, Jenna Nestman, Lily Plante and Justine Thomas have filed an appeal with the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada after widespread backlash followed the announcement.
They are represented by Amanda Fowler and Dr. Emir Crowne.
“As reflected in public reporting, the athletes received no meaningful notice before an entire program was cut. This eliminated a critical Olympic pathway,” Fowler and Dr. Crowne said in a statement.
What’s next?
In a conversation with Canadian Cycling Magazine, former Cycling Canada employee and longtime member of the cycling community Kevin Field pointed to what he sees as a bigger problem.
“I don’t actually think the central issue is women’s team pursuit specifically. I think it’s whether the system is coherent,” Field said. “Do people understand how decisions are made? Do they believe the standards are applied consistently? Do athletes feel supported when things go wrong? Right now, it feels like there’s a gap between performance language and lived understanding. And that gap appears to create mistrust.”
As far as the appeal, Cycling Canada’s CEO, Mathieu Boucher told the CBC, “At this stage we are not aware of any formal appeal being filed. However, we will respect the appeal process if and when that occurs.”