News – Page 34 – Cycling Canada Cyclisme

ALISON JACKSON’S BREAKTHROUGH SEASON CONTINUES AT 2021 UCI ROAD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Flanders, Belgium (September 25, 2021) – After competing at her first Olympic Games in Tokyo earlier this summer, winning her first World Tour race at the Simac Ladies Tour and earning both Canadian road titles, Alison’s Jackson breakthrough season continued on Saturday with a 6th place finish at the Road World Championships in Flanders, Belgium.

Jackson rode aggressively throughout the race, managing to stay at the front and to chase down every attack with the main pack. With only 13-kilometres to go, Jackson was part of a 20-rider group and it became clear the finish would come down to a sprint. Although she was too far back to fight for gold, she beat other strong opponents in the sprint, finishing with a solid 6th place, the best Canadian result of the week.

“At the start of the day, the girls [Karol-Ann Canuel and Leah Kirchmann] had a lot of confidence in me and how I’ve been riding so far this season and they wanted to commit to bringing me in the best possible way to the finish,” said Jackson. “With 5-kilometres to go in the top five, I really liked my chances for a sprint but had to play the game and it got a bit messy at the end but really happy with a top-10 finish.”

The Canadian squad also celebrated Karol-Ann Canuel’s final international race after an amazing career, which includes several team time trial and national titles. The Quebec native finished 31st, while her teammate Leah Kirchmann finished 64th.

“It’s my final race of my career and it’s nice to finish it off in Belgium,” said Canuel. “The weather and the crowd was good and it’s a fun course to do. I just wanted to do the best race and I’m happy with how I finished.”

Racing will wrap up tomorrow with the Elite men’s road race at 4:05am EDT on Flobikes.

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BOUCHARD AND JACKSON RIDE TO FIRST ELITE TITLES AT CANADIAN XCO CHAMPIONSHIPS

Baie-Saint-Paul, QC (September 24, 2021) – After a two-year hiatus, the 2021 Canadian Mountain Bike XCO Championships kicked off on Friday with the cross-country races for Cadet (Under-17), Junior (Under-19), Under-23 and Elite men and women. For the first time in several years, all eight titles were awarded to new champions in their respective categories.

Over 150 athletes competed on a tough and technical course, with riders completing between 2-5 laps. U17 and Junior riders rode on a relatively smooth course until heavy rain began to fall during the U23 and Elite women’s race, impacting the course and the race pace.

Jennifer Jackson (Norco Factory Team) and Laurie Arseneault (Canyon MTB Racing) positioned themselves at the front of the race from the onset and rode together until the second lap, where Jackson decided to attack. Over the next two laps, the cyclo-cross star managed to create a significant gap between herself and Arseneault, with the former U23 champion chasing her down in the fourth and final lap. Jackson eventually crossed the finish line first to take her first Elite title, followed by Arseneault and Sandra Walter (Liv Racing Collective). The U23 field finished shortly after, led by 2019 Junior champion Emilly Johnston, with Marianne Théberge (Team Pivot Cycles – OTE) finishing second and Sidney McGill (Pedalhead Race Room) in third.

“I let (Laurie) lead for a little section but I felt like I had a little bit of an edge, so I moved back in front and stayed on my pace pretty hard,” said Jackson. “I’ve just been thinking about this since I won the under-23 title my first season mountain biking. Racing at a national level is different and my motivation here is different; it means a lot more to me to race for the win here. I really hope that next year I can carry this with some momentum and confidence to the world cups.”

By the time the men’s race started, the skies had opened up and riders had to deal with muddy, slippery and wet conditions. Despite this, Léandre Bouchard (Team Pivot Cycles – OTE) was determined to win his first Elite title and attacked from the start, securing a place in the lead with teammate Marc-André Fortier. They took turns at the front, but Bouchard ultimately passed Fortier to claim the title with a comfortable lead. Tyler Orschel (Durham Shredders) came in third. Bouchard’s Team Pivot Cycles – OTE teammate Gunnar Holmgren also finished on the top step of the podium in the U23 category, followed by Victor Verreault (Vélo2Max) and Charles-Antoine St.Onge (Dalbix Siboire).

“I was chasing the Elite title for a while and the great thing was I was able to do it in front of my home crowd,” said an emotional Bouchard. “I’ve had a good season; I was the top Canadian at all the world cups except Leogang so I knew I was the favourite and I’m happy I delivered. My strategy was just to make it hard. Every opportunity you have to go at the front, you just have to take it to increase the pace, so I’m glad my plan worked out today.”

In other results, 2019 U17 champion Owen Clark (Homestead Racing) won the Junior men’s race with a significant gap, while Ophélie Grandmont (CC Mont-Sainte-Anne) won the women’s title. In the U17 category, Ian Ackert (Team Ontario) & Marin Lowe (Cycling BC) were the top finishers.

The event also highlighted four-time Olympian Catharine Pendrel, who will be retiring at the end of the season. Pendrel is one of Canada’s most decorated mountain bikers of all time, having won an Olympic bronze medal, two world titles and three world cup overall titles over the course of her career.

Tomorrow, athletes will compete for the first-ever Short Track Canadian titles in the Elite men’s and women’s categories starting at 2:15pm EST. Full results and schedules can be found here.

Results

U17 Women: 1- Marin Lowe 2- Ava Holmgren 3- Isabella Holmgren
U17 Men: 1- Ian Ackert 2- Cam McCallum 3- Jacob Roy
Junior Women: 1- Ophélie Grandmont 2- Marie-Fay St.Onge 3- Ella Myers
Junior Men: 1- Owen Clark 2- Lief Rodgers 3- Zorak Paille
U23 Women: 1- Emilly Johnston 2- Marianne Théberge 3- Sidney McGill
U23 Men: 1- Gunnar Holmgren 2- Victor Verreault 3- Charles-Antoine St.Onge
Elite Women: 1- Jennifer Jackson 2- Laurie Arsenault 3- Sandra Walter
Elite Men: 1- Léandre Bouchard 2- Marc-André Fortier 3- Tyler Orschel

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COACHING INTO UNICORN STATUS

By Brendon Cameron, Two-time Olympian and Cycling Canada Head Track Coach

With the dust settling post-Olympic Games, I’m wrapping up my time with Cycling Canada as Head Coach of the Track Program. As a coach and Olympian, being at the Tokyo Olympic Games was very special. I have had the opportunity to work with a great coaching team over the past three years that helped create some amazing results across the board, from naming the largest track squad in Canadian history, to seeing Lauriane Genest win cycling’s first medal in the women’s Keirin, to witnessing Kelsey Mitchell not only win Canada’s 24th medal, but become an Olympic Champion on the final night of the Games.

As I reflect on the past three years, I realize that I not only grew into the role of Head Coach, but as a coach as well. Like any coach, we all start somewhere, whether it’s at the club level, or creating your very own training program. Some people even become coaches accidentally by being asked to help cover some training sessions or provide guidance for some local kids. Whichever way you arrived here, you all bring to the table a totally different set of skills, qualifications, and experience. Each coach will have different strengths, whether it be communication, specific sport knowledge, a motivator who has a high level of understanding; whereas other coaches may be rock stars in physiology and data and can create the ultimate online training program which captures all your metrics on a daily basis.

I don’t think there’s many (if any) coach that possesses all of these qualities—that is unicorn status. However, I think it’s important for every coach to understand what their strengths are, and where their coaching gaps are to ultimately improve as a coach and keep developing over time. No one has ever reached legendary status and no longer needs to keep learning; this is especially important for the athlete that are in your care. Across a group of athletes, there will be a wide range of personalities, learners, athletes that won’t need much instruction, while others may have 16 questions before each interval session. Much like a teacher in a classroom with their students, coaches need to be able to connect and communicate as best they can to link to this wide range of people. Above all, the question becomes, how do you manage the athlete that needs attention in your weak area?

One easy way for you to receive this feedback is to ask your athletes how they’ve found your coaching over the season, and in which areas you could improve. There’s a fair bit of humility involved, as you may think you’re meant to hold the key to all knowledge, and this may show a weakness or a gap that you didn’t want the athletes to ever see. At the same time, it also shows that you have a desire to get better, which in turn has benefits for everyone.

Another way is self-realisation. Personally, I had an inkling of what my gaps were, but it was never really addressed, or I tried to hide them and just kept focusing on my strengths. I never worked or improved on those weaknesses until I signed up for a coaching course that had workshops every 2-3 months over a year. Within this group, we had nine coaches from a wide array of sports including sailing, athletics, cricket, dance, soccer, etc. It wasn’t until we were well into the year that we started to share our experiences, issues, philosophies, and learnings and we became more exposed to a wider form of coaching.

The real win for me in attending these courses was finding the motivation, inspiration and the “why” of how I was coaching. The experience truly helped me get out of a rut and address those weaknesses I had as a coach, while working on my strengths and being vulnerable in acknowledging the areas that I could improve. The realization here was that there is a wider scope to learning as a coach and always an opportunity to perform.

With that said, I encourage signing up to any coaching webinars, coaching courses or weekend workshops (non-cycling specific) and to network with leaders in other sectors. Allocate time to reading articles to help build your own coaching philosophy and connect with another coach to share ideas, problems that need to be solved and any resources that may help both parties.

In celebration of National Coaches Week, the Coaching Association of Canada is offering coaches across Canada the opportunity to diversify their coaching knowledge with free or discounted NCCP education. To learn more, log into the Locker to access specific eLearning modules from September 18-26, 2021.

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GOLDSTONE WINS JUNIOR OVERALL WORLD CUP TITLE AFTER FANTASTIC FIRST SEASON

Snowshoe, USA (September 20, 2021) — Jackson Goldstone (Miranda Factory Team) capped off an incredible first downhill season on Saturday, winning the Junior overall World Cup title a few weeks after becoming World Champion. Goldstone’s season includes three first place finishes and three second place finishes, putting him well ahead of his other opponents with 300 points.

“I’m super stoked with my season so far,” said Goldstone. “It’s been pretty dreamy that I was able to take the overall World Cup title on top of the World Championship title. I’m so happy to be on the podium and finish the season on a high.”

On Wednesday, Canadian athletes competed in the first of two DH World Cups in Snowshoe, USA, with Canadian champion Finn Iles (Specialized Gravity) claiming his first podium of the season in fourth place, followed by Mark Wallace (Canyon Collective) in fifth. This was the first time in Canadian history that two Elite men stood on a World Cup podium at the same time.

“It was a big week in Snowshoe, six days on such a physical track was tough but it was a great way to end the season,” said Wallace. “The highlight of my week and season was standing on the podium with Finn [Iles] after race one. It’s something we have talked about for years but knew would be tough to accomplish so it was really cool to make that happen!”

On the cross-country side, Norco Factory Team’s Carter Woods came into the last race of the season ranked number one U23 in the world after winning two races earlier this season. He eventually finished 14th and caps off his season ranked 4th, Canada’s top XCO result of 2021. The Snowshoe World Cup also marked Catharine Pendrel’s (Clif Pro Team) final world cup competition after an illustrious career which includes an Olympic bronze medal, two world titles and three World Cup overall wins.

Canadian cross-country athletes now head to Baie-Saint-Paul for the Canadian XCO Championships from September 24-26.

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CANADA’S TOP MOUNTAIN BIKE ATHLETES HEAD TO BAIE-SAINT-PAUL FOR THE CANADIAN XCO CHAMPIONSHIPS

Ottawa, ON (September 20, 2021) – Following the conclusion of the international mountain bike season in Snowshoe, USA, last weekend, the nation’s top athletes are heading to Baie- Saint-Paul from September 24-26 for the Canadian XCO Championships.

The cross-country championships for Cadet (Under-17), Junior (Under-19), Under-23 and Elite men and women will take place on Friday, September 24, while all Masters categories will compete for the maple leaf jersey on Sunday, September 26. On Saturday, the first-ever Short Track (XCC) Canadian titles will be awarded in the Elite men’s and women’s categories. The event schedule also includes two Quebec Cups, with the XCT races taking place on Saturday and the XCO races on Sunday.

“We are thrilled to return to Baie-Saint-Paul for the 2021 Canadian XCO Championships,” said Cycling Canada’s Events & Officials Manager, Jolène Dupuis. “Baie-Saint-Paul is no stranger to hosting the highest level of Canadian mountain bike racing, having played host to both Canada Cups and Canadian Championships in years past. The addition of Elite men’s and women’s Short Track Canadian champion titles is an exciting new development in the event program which speaks to the evolution of the sport in Canada both from an athlete and an event organization standpoint.”

Defending champion and Tokyo 2020 Olympian Peter Disera will be on site and looking to secure a fourth consecutive Elite title. He will face tough competitors in Rio Olympian Léandre Bouchard, Andrew L’Esperance, 2019 U23 Canadian champion Quinton Disera and U23 world cup medallist Carter Woods.

The women’s title will be up for grabs and should be a tough battle between current champion Emily Batty, former world champion and Olympic bronze medallist Catharine Pendrel, Tokyo 2020 Olympian Haley Smith and cyclo-cross star Jenn Jackson, among other strong contenders. The upgraded course will pose an added challenge to athletes, who will be tackling additional climbs and new technical sections.

Please note that due to Quebec’s rules around the vaccine passport, all participants will be required to show proof of vaccination on site. More information can be found here.

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4-TIME OLYMPIAN GEORGIA SIMMERLING ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT

Ottawa, ON (September 14, 2021) – 4-time Olympian Georgia Simmerling has announced that she will be retiring from professional sport in order to focus on exciting new projects as she relocates to Europe with fiancé and PSG goalkeeper Stephanie Labbé. Simmerling made history in 2016 by becoming Canada’s first athlete to compete in three different sports at three different Olympic Games.

The BC native started her illustrious career by competing in alpine skiing at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics before switching over to ski cross in 2011. One year later, she earned her first of 13 World Cup podiums, only a few months after breaking three vertebrae in her neck and back. She competed at her first ski cross world championships in 2013, qualifying for the Sochi Games in 2014 where she made the 1/8 finals.

In 2015, after several years plagued with injuries, Simmerling decided to shift her focus to summer sports and to give track cycling a try. She quickly rose through the ranks and started competing internationally with the women’s Team Pursuit squad in 2016, winning silver at her first world championships. Later that year, she competed at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and clinched her first Olympic medal, claiming bronze in the Team Pursuit.

Immediately after Rio, she resumed her ski cross career and had her best season ever, collecting multiple world cups finishes and securing her place on the PyeongChang Olympic team. However, she crashed heavily a few weeks before the Games and was left with two broken legs and a long road to recovery. Never one to give up, she returned to her bicycle after announcing her retirement from ski cross in 2018 and won silver in the Team Pursuit at her first international competition since Rio. She went on to compete at Tokyo 2020, finishing fourth and breaking the Canadian record by several seconds.

“I am thrilled to end my career on such a strong note,” said Simmerling. “I personally left the Tokyo Games feeling very satisfied with how I rode and had absolutely no regrets. I felt ready to close this chapter of my life and move on to new adventures; I am thrilled to announce my retirement from sport and share what I have been working on. All I can say for now is it’s time to invest in women’s sports, and I’m looking forward to being part of the change.”

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19 ATHLETES TO REPRESENT CANADA AT ROAD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN BELGIUM

Ottawa, ON (September 13, 2021) – A strong and experienced team of nineteen riders will represent Canada at the 2021 UCI Road Cycling World Championships in Flanders, Belgium, from September 19-26, in the road race and time trial events across the Junior, U23 and Elite categories.

Canada qualified to enter six riders in the Elite men’s road race. The team will be led by Olympians and WorldTour professionals Hugo Houle, Antoine Duchesne, and Guillaume Boivin, who was crowned Canadian road champion on Saturday. They will be joined by development riders Ben Perry, Nickolas Zukowsky and Pier-André Côté. Houle, who became Canadian ITT champion on Friday, will be competing in the time trial alongside Zukowsky. Michael Woods and James Piccoli both declined their selection to the road race, while Rob Britton declined selection to the time trial.

On the women’s side, Canada qualified three spots and the team will be made up of the same athletes who represented Canada at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games: Karol-Ann Canuel, Leah Kirchmann and Alison Jackson. The two former team time trial world champions will be competing in both the time trial and road race, while Simac Ladies Tour stage winner and two-time 2021 Canadian champion Jackson will be joining them for the road race.

Due to the lack of points-scoring opportunities during the pandemic, Canada only qualified one starter in the U23 men’s road race. Raphael Parisella will apply the experience he gained during the Tour de l’Avenir in the road race and will also compete in the time trial alongside Francis Juneau.

Both the men’s and women’s Junior squads will be heading into the event in peak form after training in Europe and competing at several high-profile international races over the last month. The men’s field will see incredible depth, with junior world points race champion Dylan Bibic, Michael Leonard, Matisse Julien, and Quentin Cowan all having achieved podium results in European road races this season. We can also expect aggressive riding from the women’s team of Nicole Bradbury, Lilly Ujfalusi, Dylan Baker and Isla Walker, with the four athletes leaving a strong impression in their pre-Worlds races in Spain and The Netherlands.

“Our development athletes have really shown that they are fierce competitors who can apply what they learn at each new race,” said Cycling Canada’s Elite Road Manager, Shawn Clarke. “The growth we’ve seen in the past few weeks is impressive and we can expect to see an exciting race from them at Worlds.”

The world championships begin on Sunday, September 19 with the Elite men’s time trial, and conclude on Sunday, September 26th, with the Elite men’s road race.

Team Canada [TT – Time Trial, RR – Road Race]

Elite Men
Guillaume Boivin – Montreal, QC [RR]
Pier-André Côté – Levis, QC [RR]
Antoine Duchesne – Saguenay, QC [RR]
Hugo Houle – Sainte-Perpétue, QC [TT, RR]
Ben Perry – St.Catharines, ON [RR]
Nickolas Zukowsky – Ste-Lucie-des-Laurentides, QC [TT, RR]

Elite Women
Karol-Ann Canuel – Gatineau, QC [TT, RR]
Alison Jackson – Vermilion, AB [RR]
Leah Kirchmann – Winnipeg, MB [TT, RR]

Under-23 Men
Francis Juneau – La Prairie, QC [TT]
Raphael Parisella – Boucherville, QC [TT, RR]

Junior Women
Dylan Baker – London, ON [RR]
Nicole Bradbury – Hamilton, ON [TT, RR]
Lilly Ujfalusi – New Westminster, BC [TT, RR]
Isla Walker – Victoria, BC [RR]

Junior Men
Dylan Bibic – Mississauga, ON [TT, RR]
Quentin Cowan – Calgary, AB [RR]
Michael Leonard – Oakville, ON [TT, RR]
Julien Matisse – Laval, QC [RR]

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JACKSON EARNS SECOND MAPLE LEAF JERSEY AT CANADIAN ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Saint-Georges, QC (September 12, 2021) – The Canadian Road Championships concluded on Sunday after three days of racing with the road events for para-cycling, Junior men and Elite women’s categories. Alison Jackson (Liv Racing) repeated as the Elite women’s champion after winning the time trial on Friday, confirming she is one of Canada’s top road athletes and a force to be reckoned with on the world stage.

The Elite women faced the same hilly course as the men yesterday, with the added difficulty of harsh winds which took its toll on the riders. The 114.6-kilometer race started off strong, with 14 athletes breaking away from the main pack in the first 10 kilometers. The pack thinned out as the race progressed and eventually only Jackson and two-time Pan American cyclo-cross champion Maghalie Rochette (Specialized Racing) were left to battle it out at the front. Jackson attacked with 35 kilometers to go to take the win in front of Rochette and Sara Poidevin (Rally Cycling). The main field finished seven minutes later, Ruby West sprinting to take the win in the U23 category, followed by Laury Milette (Macogep Tornatech Girondins de Bordeaux) and Florence Normand (Macogep Tornatech Girondins de Bordeaux).

“My experience racing in Europe and the Belgium classics, I really knew how to race in the wind and that really played to my advantage,” said Jackson. “I took to the front pretty early on to help make it more of a selection and I picked my moment and went all in all the way to the end. I think I was more nervous this weekend than I’ve been for any other race so I’m really happy to come out with the double win.”

The 54 Junior riders completed the same distance as the women and faced similar conditions, with strong crosswinds affecting the race pace. Canadian time trial champion Léonard Peloquin (Équipe du Québec) attacked at the 45-kilometer mark and rode solo for over 20 kilometers before being joined by teammate Jérôme Gauthier and Clovis Roy (ZVP Opto-Réseau). Peloquin eventually dropped both riders and managed to create a solid gap with the main peloton in the last 30 kilometers, finishing 1:30 ahead of Charles Duquette (Équipe du Québec) and Luke Hubner (Cycling BC).

“It was really hard,” said Gauthier. “I had a teammate in the breakaway very early on in the race so I bridged the gap to help him; he didn’t have the legs to go with me so I just went as hard as I could. Our strategy was to control the race, stay in the front and win at the end and that’s what we did.”

In the para-cycling categories, Marie-Claude Molnar, Louis-Albert Corriveau Jolin & the duo of Lowell Taylor & Ed Veal repeated as Canadian champions after finishing first in the time trial races on Friday. The event also saw new athletes on the podium, including newcomers Alexandre Hayward and Thuy Do, who were competing at their first Nationals.

“Today was a battle of wills going up and down a hill repeat,” said Taylor. “Team Quebec had three tandems chasing us down but every time they attacked, we shut it down. We knew we had the legs and I’m so proud to race alongside Ed Veal. I came into the sport older, a little bit later and I’ve been aiming to get to the top of the podium at Nationals. It feels so amazing to come home with the jerseys, the medals and the maple syrup.”

Full results for all competitions can be found here. The Canadian championship series now head to Baie-Saint-Paul for the Canadian Mountain Bike XCO Championships from September 24-26.

Results
C4-5 Women: 1- Marie-Claude Molnar
C1-5 Men: 1- Alexandre Hayward 2- Lachlan Hotchkiss
T1-2 Men & Women: 1- Louis-Albert Corriveau-Jolin 2- Thuy Do
H1-5 Women & H1-2 Men: 1- Kara Douville 2- Matthew Kinnie
H3-5 Men: 1- Mark Ledo 2- Charles Moreau 3- Joey Desjardins
Tandem Women: 1-Carla Shibley & Meghan Leminski
Tandem Men: 1- Lowell Taylor & Ed Veal 2- Daniel Chalifour & Jean-Michel Lachance 3- Mathieu Croteau-Daigle & Michel Jean
Junior Men: 1- Jérôme Gauthier 2- Charles Duquette 3- Luke Hubner
U23 Women: 1- Ruby West 2- Laury Milette 3- Florence Normand
Elite Women: 1- Alison Jackson 2- Maghalie Rochette 3- Sara Poidevin

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GUILLAUME BOIVIN’S SPECTACULAR SEASON CONTINUES AT THE CANADIAN ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Saint-Georges, QC (September 11, 2021) – After awarding Canadian time trial titles on Friday, the 2021 Canadian Road Championships relocated to Saint-Georges on Saturday for the Junior women’s and Elite men’s road races. Guillaume Boivin (Israel Start-Up Nation), who competed at his first Tour de France and first Olympic Games earlier this summer, won his third national title and second Elite title after previously winning in 2015.

Athletes faced a tough course that took them from Saint-Georges to a 28-kilometer circuit, where they completed five laps before heading back to Saint-Georges. Despite the sunny weather, the race was windy and the course rough and hilly, with over two-thirds of the field dropping out of the race.

Boivin was part of an early breakaway that included Olympians Antoine Duchesne (Groupama-FDJ), Hugo Houle (Astana-Premier Tech) and Derek Gee (Xspeed United Continental), among other strong riders. With 50 kilometers to go, Boivin made the decisive move and attacked, completing the 198.9-kilometer race with a solo finish, over two minutes in front of second place finisher Antoine Duchesne. Track cyclist Derek Gee finished third and claimed his second bronze medal of the weekend.

“It wasn’t an easy day out there at all, it was full gas from start to finish and everybody was on their knees,” said Boivin. “I paced myself and I knew if the guys were going to come back they were going to have to work for it and I just kept the pressure on until the finish. For me this is just the continuation of an amazing season with the Classics, the Tour and the Olympics and now, national champion and I will appreciate the races coming up with this jersey.”

Ottawa’s Carson Miles (Tag Cycling Race Team) was the top U23 rider of the day, finishing alongside Canadian ITT champion Hugo Houle. His teammate Thomas Schellenberg, who worked with him throughout the race, finished second, followed by Eric Inkster (Gsc Blagnac Velo Sport 31).

In the Junior women’s race, 14 of the 25 riders managed to breakaway in the first 30 kilometers, which eventually narrowed down to 10 riders when a few athletes crashed at the 50-kilometer mark. Despite getting caught in the crash, Canadian ITT champion, Jazmine Lavergne, managed to catch up with the lead group and held on until the very end. The 86.7km race ended with a sprint finish in the final 300 meters, with Elissa Proulx (Équipe du Québec) taking the win, followed by Mathilde Huot (Espoir Laval Planète Courrier) and Jazmine Laverge (Équipe du Québec).

“I just returned from racing in Europe so that was good training for Nationals,” said Proulx. “There were a lot of hills, but I was happy I was able to get to the front of the pack. My plan was to stay at the front of the race the whole time and I managed to do that so I’m super proud of my race.”

Tomorrow, the Canadian Road Championships conclude with the para-cycling races at 8:00am, followed by the Junior men at 11:15am and the Elite women at 2:45pm. Full results and schedules can be found here.

Results
Junior Women: 1- Elissa Proulx 2- Mathilde Huot 3- Jazmine Lavergne
U23 Men: 1- Carson Miles 2- Thomas Schellenberg 3- Eric Inkster
Elite Men: 1- Guillaume Boivin 2- Antoine Duchesne 3- Derek Gee

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OLYMPIANS HOULE & JACKSON WIN TIME TRIAL NATIONAL TITLES

Saint-Georges, QC (September 10, 2021) – The 2021 Canadian Road Championships kicked off on Friday with the time trial races for Para, Junior, U23 & Elite categories, where athletes completed distances ranging from 16 to 34 kilometers. With only a handful of the 2019 Canadian champions competing for the maple leaf jersey, multiple titles were up for grabs and only four athletes managed to hold on to their national titles.

The out-and-back course located in Saint-Prosper, on the outskirts of Saint-Georges, offered multiple climbs and was challenging to even the most experienced riders. Astana-Premier Tech’s Hugo Houle completed the 34km course with a time of 41:48.247, 1:39.463 ahead of his closest opponent Alec Cowan (L39Ion Of Los Angeles). Track cyclist Derek Gee (Xspeed United Continental) completed the podium.

“I was 100% on target today. My plan was to come out strong to give myself some wiggle room after the turnaround,” said Houle. “I could see that there was no significant gap with the riders in front of me, so I knew I was doing good time. I really pushed the limit to get the win and didn’t leave anything on the road. It’s always fun to have the [maple leaf] jersey with our professional teams and I especially wanted to win the jersey for my brother.”

Houle’s Olympic teammate Alison Jackson (Liv Racing) also took the win on the women’s side, completing the 28-kilometer course with a time of 39:58.436, more than 43 seconds in front of 2019 bronze medallist Marie-Soleil Blais. Gillian Ellsay (Instafund Racing), who finished third in 2019 as a U23, won the bronze medal.

“I had a very specific plan on pacing and went out a little strong, but I just felt really good,” said Jackson. “I just had a lot of confidence right to the turnaround and back so I was hopeful that it could produce a win. Being able to focus on the time trial will mean good things for the next Olympic cycle and it’ll be really cool to be able to wear the maple leaf jersey in the next year.”

Riders from Quebec swept the podium in the U23 and Junior categories, with siblings Tristan and Laurie Jussaume winning both U23 titles, while Leonard Peloquin and Jazmine Lavergne finished first in the Junior races. The para-cycling competitions saw titles awarded in five different categories, four of which were won by 2019 Canadian champions Marie-Claude Molnar, Charles Moreau, Louis-Albert Corriveau Jolin and Lowell Taylor.

Tomorrow, Canada’s Junior women will tackle the road race at 8:30am EST, followed by the Elite men at 12:00pm EST. Full results and schedules can be found here.

Results

T1-2 Women & Men: 1- Louis-Albert Corriveau Jolin 2- Michael Shetler 3- Thuy Do
H1-5 Women & Men: 1- Charles Moreau 2- Joey Desjardins 3- Matthew Kinnie
C1-5 Women & C1-3 Men: 1- Marie-Claude Molnar, 2- Catharine Konopelky 3- Adam Purdy
Tandem: 1- Lowell Taylor & Ed Veal 2- Carla Shibley & Meghan Lemisky 3- Benoit Lalumière Cloutier & Maximilien Moreau
C4-5 Men: 1- Piotr Czyzowicz 2- Lachlan Hotchkiss
Junior Women: 1- Jazmine Lavergne 2- Pénélope Primeau 3- Mairen Lawson
Junior Men: 1- Leonard Peloquin 2- Campbell Parish 3- Gavin Hadfield
U23 Women: 1- Laurie Jussaume 2- Ruby West 3- Dana Gilligan
U23 Men: 1- Tristan Jussaume 2- Ethan Sittlington 3- Carson Miles
Elite Women: 1- Alison Jackson 2- Marie-Soleil Blais 3- Gillian Ellsay
Elite Men: 1- Hugo Houle 2- Alec Cowan 3- Derek Gee

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