Search is on for Humphries’ next brakeman

TORONTO One of the more intriguing battles on the Canadian women’s bobsled team revolves around who will serve as brakeman for reigning Olympic champion Kaillie Humphries.

The Calgary driver will have either Melissa Lotholz of Barrhead, Alta., or Toronto’s Cynthia Appiah on the brakes for the World Cup season. Lotholz and Appiah have posted virtually identical times in recent push testing.

“The battle is extremely tight, we’ll see how that plays out,” Humphries said.

Humphries won Olympic gold in 2010 and 2014 with Heather Moyse of Summerside, P.E.I. Moyse announced plans for a comeback with the goal of helping one of Canada’s young bobsledders achieve their Olympic dream.

The team hopes Moyse will be ready in time to get at least one race in before Christmas. Canada has a chance to qualify three sleds in women’s bobsled for the PyeongChang Olympics in February, and the pairings may remain uncertain until early in the new year.

“At the end of the day, it’s down to the coaching staff, it’s down to Bobsleigh Canada to choose the best people,” Humphries said. “I want to be racing with the best brakemen that Canada has to offer come January and I want to be able to prove my position. I want my brakeman to know that I’m the best pilot for her as well, so together we are the strongest team.

“That’s what it’s going to take to win Olympic gold.”

On Wednesday, Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton announced the 17-person World Cup bobsled team, the five-person NextGen bobsled team and the six-person World Cup skeleton team on the 100-day-out mark from PyeongChang.

Notable athletes on the men’s bobsled team include Calgary’s Lascelles Brown and Jesse Lumsden of Burlington, Ont.

The season-opening World Cup race begins Saturday at Lake Placid, N.Y.