Doha, QATAR, Oct. 16, 2016 – The Road World Championships in Doha, Qatar, concluded on Sunday with the marquee Elite Men’s 257 kilometre road race. Ryan Roth of Guelph, Ontario, finished a stellar 15th, among the best professional riders in the world. Defending champion Peter Sagan of Slovakia successfully held onto his title in a sprint finish.

The Elite Men’s race took the riders north of Doha on a long loop into the desert before turning south to finish with seven circuits of the final 15 kilometre course on The Pearl island. Strong winds and temperatures in the high 30s Celsius made for a grueling race of nearly six hours.

Roth was a member of an early breakaway that went clear just four kilometres into the race. The group reached a maximum gap of nearly ten minutes, before being reeled in by a chase group shortly before The Pearl circuit. The Canadian time trial champion stayed with the leaders despite the high pace, and finished nine seconds behind the lead sprinters.

“My role for today was to try and get in the early breakaway,” explained Roth. “It’s a hard thing to do, but luckily the first move I covered was the break of the day. Once we got up the road, it was just about managing my effort as best as possible; keep the group rolling, stay hydrated and do everything necessary to survive a long day.”

“We didn’t have a lot of information, but we heard that there was a selection coming up fast, so we backed off and waited for them to catch us. Once we got to the circuit it was … just get to the next lap, and then the next one. For the finale, I actually wasn’t feeling too bad, so I just wanted to do the best result I could. A gap opened up just in front of me in the last kilometre, so I wasn’t able to be with the front guys sprinting, which was a bit disappointing.”

“I also have to say thanks to all the staff who worked so hard. Our prep camp in Israel played a huge part in the team being prepared for this kind of race, so I have to give a special thanks to [team supporter] Sylvan Adams who made it possible.”

Team manager Kevin Field said “I assigned break duty to Ryan because I trust 100% he can do it when asked. And it was a good chance for us to have a reliable guy up the road before the echelons started. For us, the race played out exactly like we expected, and it was super important having Ryan up there.”

Doha, QATAR, Oct. 14, 2016 – On Friday, Junior-aged riders competed in the road races for women and men at the Road World Championships in Doha, Qatar.  Maggie Coles-Lyster of Maple Ridge, BC, was the top Canadian for the day, finishing 14th in the Junior Women’s race.  Thierry Kirouac-Marcassa of Boucherville, Quebec, was 30th in the Men’s race.

The Junior Women’s 74.5 kilometre race came down to a sprint finish for 53 riders, with Elisa Balsamo of Italy winning the world title in a time of one hour, 53 minutes and four seconds.  All four Canadians entered finished with the same time.  In addition to Coles-Lyster, Devaney Collier (Edmonton, AB) was 24th, Erin Attwell (Victoria, BC) was 31st and Laurie Jussaume (Contrecoeur, QC) was 39th.

“It was a really fast course and really aggressive racing,” commented Coles-Lyster.  “I found it a really fun race.  Around each corner people were always pushing and bumping elbows … it was a really cool experience.”

“It was fast, but the course was really flat, so it was easy to go,” said Collier.  “The harder part was positioning; a lot of people wanted to be on the front so it was a tough place to get to.  We all did our best and I think we came away with fair results.”

“Having such a big field of Junior women was incredible to race with,” said Attwell.  “I haven’t had a ton of experience or exposure to such a big pack, so it was a little bit tricky.  The race got stretched out at points, especially on the first lap with three crashes – I got caught up in one of the them.  I learned a lot at this race.”

The Junior Men’s 135.3 kilometre race was one of attrition with Kirouac-Marcassa the only Canadian finisher.  Jakob Egholm of Denmark won the title, seven seconds in front of a chase group.  A break formed approximately 80 kilometres into the race containing 20 riders, which would prove to be the decisive move.  Kirouac-Marcassa did not make the move and finished with the main field, one minute and 45 seconds behind Egholm, sprinting for tenth in the field.  Nickolas Zukowsky (Dundas, ON) and Charles-Étienne Chrétien (Amos, QC) did not finish, while Matthew Staples (Oro-Medonte, ON) did not start due to illness.

“The biggest enemy was certainly the heat today;” said Kirouac-Marcassa, “needless to say, hydration was key. The high speed was another factor. At 45km/h over 135 km, the selection was possible even if the course was flat. All the corners and roundabouts caused so many crashes and gaps in the peloton. When I saw I had missed the break, I still wanted to give it a go in the bunch kick. I went from far (500m) to finish 30th. I’m satisfied with my day.”

Racing continues on Saturday with the Elite Women’s road race.

Doha, QATAR, Oct. 13, 2016 – After four days of time trial competition, the road races got underway on Thursday at the Road World Championships in Doha, Qatar, with the Under-23 Men’s 165.7 kilometre race. David Drouin of St-Prosper, Quebec, was the top Canadian rider, finishing in 42nd place, with the same time as race winner Kristoffer Halvorsen of Norway.

Drouin, attending his first world championships, said, “It was an all-out and very nervous race, complicated by the many roundabouts. We had two adversaries in the race: our opponents and the heat! I really enjoyed my experience here, even if the course did not really suit me. I want to thank Cycling Canada for the opportunity.”

A group of nine riders formed at the front of the race on the first of ten laps, but never gained more than three minutes on the field, which was led by the Norwegian team. The five Canadian riders stayed tucked into the peloton, with Under-23 national champion Ben Perry of St Catharines, Ontario, the protected rider for the expected sprint finish.

As the pace increased in the final laps to pull back the break, riders began to get dropped from the field. Perry was in good position until five kilometres to go, when a crash in front of him opened a gap to the front of the race, taking him out of contention. Perry eventually finished 59th, 11 seconds down on the lead group.

“There was a little tangle with five kilometres to go,” explained Perry, “but hey, stuff happens. I’m not stoked that it happened in my last Under-23 race, but now it’s time to relax for a while before I start preparing for next year.”

Sean MacKinnon (Hamilton, ON) finished 135th, seven minutes and 32 seconds down. Canada’s two other entrants – Nicolas Masbourian (Montreal, QC) and Alexander Cowan (Calgary, AB) did not finish.

Racing continues on Friday with the Junior Women and Junior Men road races.