CHAMPIONS CROWNED AT 2024 CANADIAN MASTERS ROAD CYCLING CHAMPIONSHIPS 

Ottawa, ON (July 22, 2024) – The 2024 Canadian Road Cycling Championships concluded with the masters competition, held July 19-21 in Victoria, British Columbia.    

The competition began with the individual time trial on July 19. Mark Sherbonneau (Broad Street Breakaway) successfully defended the title for a second consecutive year in Masters B, while John Vanderveen (Riverway Dental Racing), Bruce Bird (Wheels of Bloor), Robert Anderson (Independent), Jennifer Ward (Victoria Wheelers p/b Novus), Debra Parker (Watt Riot Cycling), Heather Simonson (Tripleshot Cycling) and Barb Morris (Comox Valley Cycle Club) took top honours in categories A, C, D, E, F, G and H respectively.   

“Everything went well, I’m really happy,” said Bird, who adds to his title from the 2023 time trial and the 2023 Masters Gravel Championships. “I was lucky enough to go to Victoria for the very first time, so I’m happy. It was the weather that surprised me the most, I thought there would be more rain, but it was much easier to navigate the course with all that sunshine. It’s fantastic to be wearing the maple leaf again.” 

The following day, road racers battled a blazing sun on a course ranging from 60 to 100 kilometers, forcing several athletes to stop early.   

Participating in his very first Masters race, Lee Agur was able to shine in the Masters A. “I took advice from the veterans,” said Agur. “They kind of told me what to do and I listened to them. I attacked on the fifth lap, and we ended up with five riders. On the ninth lap, I went alone, because I didn’t want it to turn into a sprint.” 

Building on the momentum of their time trial victory, Ward (Masters E) and Morris (Masters H) regained possession of the unified jersey in the road race, while Nicolas Proulx (Les Rouleurs Polo Vélo) secured victory for the second year running.   

Nathalie Champagne (Agowatt), who won the time trial in 2023, took gold in the Masters G road race, while Scott Goguen (United Velo – Masters C), Garth Campbell (Broad Street Breakaway – Masters D) and Carolyn Russell (Independante – Masters F) added their names to the history books.   

The event concluded with an exciting criterium on Sunday, allowing Goguen, Champagne, Ward and Russell to add a unified jersey to their collection.  

Clayton Hiltz (Victoria Weelers p/b Novus), Jeffrey Werner (Red Kilo) and Horacio Chaves (Independent) raced to victory in the A, B and D masters.   

“Today went really well,” said Ward, a local rider. “I wasn’t sure how to feel since my legs were tired after Friday and Saturday’s races, but with the dynamic nature of the criterium and the fact that we’re downtown, I was lucky to have my cycling friends and family here to watch. Carolyn (Russell) and I were often up front, sharing pulls, giving each other a break and cheering each other on.”   

The complete list of results is available here. The next stop on the Canadian Championships calendar is the Canadian MTB Downhill Championships, to be held August 10-11 in Sun Peaks, British Columbia. The full calendar of national events is available on the Cycling Canada website.