Who will be Canadas third man in the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games road race?
On July 5 Cycling Canada will announce who will be named to Canadas Tokyo Olympic Games squad in the mountain bike and BMX disciplines, and will also let the world know who is going to be the third member of the mens road race trio, Michael Woods and Hugo Houle having been selected last year before the COVID-19 postponement. Besides current form, part of Cycling Canadas criteria is a demonstrated ability to support a leader in WorldTour competition in a major 1-day Classic or World Championship more than 225 km and with more than 3,800 metres of climbing. The mens road race will be 234 km with a total elevation of 4865 metres. Woods Israel Start-up Nation teammates Guillaume Boivin and Alex Cataford were part of the Canadian World Championships contingent last year in Imola, Italy where Woods placed 12th. It was Boivins fifth elite Worlds appearance. Boivin supported Woods in this springs Ardennes Classics and is currently top Canadian at the Tour de France, his Grande Boucle debut. Beyond Imola, Catafords Worlds experiences have been in the under-23 category. Duchesne, prominent at the front of the Giro dItalia peloton when his Groupama-FDJ teammate Atilla Valter was in pink, not only was in Rio with Woods and Houle in 2016, but he was also on Team Canada at the World Championships from 2015-2019. After undergoing surgery for endofibrosis of left legs iliac artery in 2019, he contracted mononucleosis last season, which kept him from racing the Tour de France. But hes healthy, in form and has had the most race days of all the candidates at 41. An interesting possibility is another Israel Start-up Nation rider, James Piccoli, based mostly on his climbing ability and 2021 results: runner-up in the UCI 2.1-rated Tour du Rwanda and eighth in the 2.Pro-rated Ruta del Sol. After Woods, Piccoli has the most UCI points in 2021, with 173. If we look outside the WorldTour, we find that Rally Cyclings Rob Britton supported Woods for Rustys 2018 bronze Worlds medal in Austria. This would put him in better stead than Astana-Premier Techs Ben Perry. Perry has had the fewest race days of all the candidates and hasnt raced since withdrawing from the Critrium du Dauphin with illness on May 31. The smart moneys on Duchesne or Boivin, and I think its going to be Tony the Tiger for Tokyo.