Olympic champion Kelsey Mitchell is among a star-studded Canadian cycling team set to participate at Birmingham 2022 ©Getty Images

Tokyo 2020 Olympic sprint champion Kelsey Mitchell and Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Michael Foley are among the 18-member cycling squad set to represent Canada at Birmingham 2022.

Along with Mitchell, Olympic keirin bronze medallist Lauriane Genest and Sarah Orban among women and Tokyo Olympian Nick Wammes, Ryan Dodyk and Tyler Rorke among men make up the sprint team.

"Our team showcases both the progress our athletes have made on the world stage and the passing of the torch to a new generation of Canadian cyclists," said Cycling Canada’s high performance director Kris Westwood.

"Four years ago, at the Gold Coast Games, Lauriane Genest was a surprise newcomer who finished fourth in the sprint tournament; Kelsey Mitchell wasn’t even part of our team.

"Now they are both Olympic medallists and riders to watch.

"At the same time, we have a wave of young athletes stepping up in track endurance and road and it’s going to be exciting to see how they do."

Joining Foley for the endurance events are Derek Gee, Mathias Guillemette and Riley Pickrell among men.

Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Michael Foley, right, will be hoping to better his performance from four years ago ©Getty Images
Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Michael Foley, right, will be hoping to better his performance from four years ago ©Getty Images

The women’s endurance team consists of Ariane Bonhomme, 2019 Pan American Games medallist Maggie Coles-Lyster, 2022 under-23-time trial national champion Ngaire Barraclough, and Devaney Collier.

Olympians Alison Jackson and Leah Kirchmann are expected to mount a strong challenge in the road competitions.  

Under-23 and elite road champion Simone Boilard, Canadian road champion Pier-André Côté, and Giro d’Italia Giovani medallist Riley Pickrell complete the line-up.

With 15 cycling gold medals up for grabs, Canada has selected a strong team for the Commonwealth Games in the English city.

Scott Stevenson, executive director of Team Canada, is confident of Canadian athletes doing well despite the logistical challenges with multiple venues for cycling events.

"With the benefit of some late quota additions from Birmingham 2022, we will be strongly represented on both the track and in the Birmingham Road events. We anticipate numerous medals from this group," Stevenson said.

Track are set to be held at the Lee Valley VeloPark in East London while the road competitions will take place in Warwick and Wolverhampton.

The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games are scheduled to take place from July 28 to August 8.