Canada qualifies only 1 BMX rider for Rio Games
B.C.'s Tory Nyhaug likely to get the spot
Canada has qualified to send one BMX rider to the upcoming Rio Olympic Games with the men's cycling team.
The Union Cycliste Internationale announced team quotas in the discipline Monday and Cycling Canada Cyclisme, the sport's governing body in Canada, will be allowed to nominate one rider to the men's Olympic team. Canada did not qualify to send any women in BMX.
"We are pleased to have confirmed a men's BMX quota spot for the Rio Olympic Games," said Jacques Landry, Cycling Canada's high performance director. "While this quota spot is certainly an accomplishment, the lack of having qualified other spots in BMX indicates that we have a lot of work to do moving forward."
Cycling Canada won't announce the official Olympic team until June 29 but it's likely Tory Nyhaug of New Westminster, B.C., will be named.
The 24-year-old Nyhaug is the only Tier 1 athlete in the BMX discipline on the national cycling team and has been the team's dominant rider in recent years. Nyhaug represented Canada in the event at the 2012 Olympics. More recently he won a silver medal at the 2014 world championships and a gold medal at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto.
Australia, the United States and the Netherlands will send the largest BMX squads to the Games, each being awarded three men's and two women's spots.