Canada’s Ryder Hesjedal signs autographs. Photo: Ryan Remiorz / The Canadian Press
Canada will go to the UCI Road World championships starting this weekend without 2012 Giro d’Italia winner Ryder Hesjedal.
Svein Tuft will ride the time trial, while Christian Meier and Francois Parisien will take part in the road race.
Tuft, who rides for Orica-GreenEdge, won silver in the world championship time trial in 2008. Meier, who is also with Orica-GreenEdge, was third overall in the Tour de Beauce this year.
Parisien, 31, is in his first year at the WorldTour level with Argos -Shimano and won stage five at Volta a Catalunya earlier this season.
The nation had qualified for three spots in the road race, but Hesjedal decided not to participate, “and it was deemed that there were no other athletes available who would be competitive in this event.”
Hesjedal had already stated prior to Sunday’s Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, where he would finish in third place, that he would end his season after the Canadian WorldTour races.
When asked about his decision to forgo Worlds after his result in Montreal, Hesjedal simply said that he was tired. – Cyclingnews
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