News – Page 108 – Cycling Canada Cyclisme

DUCHESNE FIFTH IN STAGE 1 OF TOUR OF ALBERTA

(Ottawa, ON – September 1, 2016) Team Canada’s Antoine Duchesne of Chicoutimi, Quebec, finished fifth in the opening stage of the Tour of Alberta on Thursday, in Lethbridge. The Tour of Alberta is Canada’s top-ranked international professional stage race. Duchesne finished with the same time as race winner Colin Joyce of the USA, and was awarded the red jersey as the top Canadian rider in the race.

Duchesne was part of a 29-rider break that formed early in the 106.9-kilometre stage. The breakaway group also contained Canadian riders Alex Cataford and Nigel Ellsay of the Silber team, who finished ninth and 11th, respectively. The group went over two minutes clear of the main field, and then splintered in the final 35 kilometres, with 11 riders making the front group for the sprint finish in downtown Lethbridge.

“I was a little bit surprised that such a big break went away,” admitted Duchesne. “It wasn’t the plan for me to go in a break today, but I saw a lot of big riders were going there so I had to make a move. I felt quite good so I tried to save energy for the end of the race. With three laps to go, a good move went and I bridged across. For the sprint I was well positioned, but I didn’t have the legs for it, but for me fifth place in a sprint is alright. It was good to see that I had good legs, and I am looking forward to the rest of the week.”

Stage 2 will take riders from Kananaskis to Olds, a 182-km journey.

September 1, 2016/by Communications

CANADIAN DOWNHILLERS READY FOR 2016 UCI MTB DOWNHILL AND TRIALS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

(Ottawa, ON – September 1, 2016) Twelve athletes will represent Canada at the 2016 UCI MTB Downhill and Trials World Championships in Val di Sole, ITA, from Sept. 6 to 11.

Downhill athletes were selected using the criteria developed by the newly formed Downhill Working Group.

Among the Canadian contingent, Finnley lles of Team Specialized Gravity powered by SRAM is currently leading the UCI World Cup standings in junior men category.

Prior to racing the UCI World Championships, the Canadian selection will race the UCI World Cup Finals in Vallnord, Andorra, taking place September 3-4.

Racing in Vallnord and Val Di Sole will be broadcast live on www.redbull.tv.

Trials – Elite Men

Jeff Anderson (Spruce Grove, AB)
Felix Fortin Belanger (Rivière-du-Loup, QC)
Alberto Liao (Vancouver, BC)

Downhill – Junior Men

Henry Fitzgerald (West Vancouver, BC)
Finn Iles (Whistler, BC)
Magnus Manson (Sechelt, BC)
Adam Robbins (London, ON)

Downhill – Elite Women

Georgia Astle (Whistler, BC)
Miranda Miller (Garibaldi Highlands, BC)

Downhill – Elite Men

Kirk McDowall (Anmore, BC)
Max Scharf (Salmon Arm, BC)
Mark Wallace (Duncan, BC)

September 1, 2016/by Communications

HAMILTON ROAD FOUNDATION – ROSS CHAFE AWARD 2016

The Hamilton 2003 Road Cycling Foundation is pleased to announce the inaugural winners of the Ross Chafe Award. Ross Chafe was a long serving member of the Hamilton Road Foundation Board and instrumental in obtaining positive investment returns for the Foundation’s funds. It was his philosophy that the Foundation should utilize its resources to the full extent possible to support the developing riders. He died tragically in a cycling accident in 2015.

On the women’s side Ruby West (Dundas, ON) who was third in the Time Trial and seventh in the Road Race at the 2016 Canadian Junior Road Championships was selected for the award. She is coached by Kevin Simms at the Centurion Next Wave club. “I am honoured to be the first female recipient of this award. This means so much to me because it provides me with great encouragement and validation that I am on the right path with my cycling career. The award will go a long way towards travel expenses to international camps and races,” said Ruby.

Jordann Jones (Jerseyville, ON) was the male winner of the award. He was the winner of the Time Trial and placed second in the Road Race at the 2016 Canadian Junior Road Championships. He rides for the Team NCCH p/b DEC Express club and is coached by Rick Lee. Jordann was thrilled to be the recipient of the men’s award; “I am honoured to have won the Ross Chafe Award. Ross competed on the Canadian National Men’s team at multiple Road World Championships, the Commonwealth Games and Pan Am Games. I hope I can do as well as he did. This award will go towards helping me achieve my goals in cycling and my post-secondary studies.”

The Chair of the Hamilton 2003 Road Cycling Foundation, Linda Jackson, had this to say about the inaugural awards; “We are thrilled to have two recipients of the calibre of Ruby and Jordann as our first two award winners. There were many strong applicants and these two stood out not only due to their cycling performances but as importantly, their academic achievements and focus. Providing this award to these worthy riders is a fitting memory to our dear friend Ross.”

August 30, 2016/by Communications

BMX CANADA CUP SERIES OVERALL CHAMPIONS CROWNED IN CALGARY

(Ottawa, ON – August 28, 2016) The 2016 edition of the BMX Canada Cup national series concluded with the seventh and final round in Calgary, Alberta. This is the fifth year of the Canada Cup for BMX, and took the riders to four different provinces, starting in British Columbia for Rounds 1 and 2, then moving to Quebec for the next two rounds, followed by Ontario for Rounds 5 and 6, before finishing in Calgary, one day after the Canadian Championships.

Riders counted their best five out of seven events to determine the final rankings. In the Elite Women, Daina Tuchscherer (Calgary BMX) took the title with three wins and two third places, for a total of 3420 points. New national champion Drew Michielsen (Abbottsford BMX) won the final round to finish second overall with 2060 points, followed by Olympic champion Mariana Pajon of Colombia, with 1400 points.

In the Elite Men, it was James Palmer (Yess BMX) as the overall series winner, with 3420 points, including three victories. Jared Ennis (Maple Ridge Cycle) finished second with 3260 points and Gaby Malenfant (BMX Drummond) was third, at 3150 points.

The Junior Men’s title went to national champion Alex Tougas with 2500 points, after sweeping the season with seven straight victories. Cayleigh van Staalduinen (Team Alberta) was the Junior Women’s champion with four victories. In the Junior Devo categories, Avriana Hebert (Team Alberta) was the women’s overall champion with five wins and Aidan Webber the Devo Men’s champion with six wins.

Full results can be found at: https://cyclingcanada.ca/bmx/canada-cup-series/

August 29, 2016/by Communications

NYHAUG & MECHIELSEN TAKE CANADIAN BMX TITLES

(Ottawa, ON – August 27, 2016) The 2016 BMX Canadian Championships concluded on Saturday in Calgary, Alberta, with national titles awarded in the Elite and Junior categories. Over 600 athletes competed, with the top riders in each category racing for the maple leaf jerseys.

The event held additional significance as a primary qualifier for the 2017 world championships, to be held in Rock Hill, South Carolina, USA.

Fresh from finishing fifth at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tory Nyhaug won the Elite Men’s national title. James Palmer took the silver medal and Gaby Malenfant finished third.

“The event was awesome and I loved the support from the local fans,” said Nyhaug. “I came into the weekend pretty tired, and it was hard emotionally to come back from the Olympics and get right back into it. But I’m happy I was able to come out with the win.”

“The sport is growing and it’s fantastic to see. Every year the race gets more difficult to win because everyone is going faster.”

Drew Mechielsen won the Elite Women’s title in the combined Elite/Junior Women’s final. Megane Belanger finished second to win the Junior title, followed by Emily MacPherson. Erin Kinnie was fourth in the final Main to take silver in the Elite category. Cayleigh van Staalduinen won bronze in Junior women and Cassidy Monaghan was third for Elite women. Daina Tuchscherer, one of the favourites for Elite Women, crashed in the final.

“I’m pretty happy, but it’s not exactly the way I wanted to win,” commented Mechielsen, referring to rival Daina Tuchscherer’s crash. “But other than that, I’m happy with how the day went, and of course I’m happy about the title. It’s my first Elite title and I’m really excited about that. It’s really awesome and it was a big goal of mine, so I’m very happy.”

In the Junior Men, Alex Tougas took the title, followed by Josh Samells and Ben Leslie.

“I’m really happy with how it went,” said Tougas. “I felt good coming into the race but there is always tough competition, so it was a good day overall. I just took it like any other race; the guys you are racing are fast and you never know what’s going to happen.”

August 27, 2016/by Communications

ANTOINE DUCHESNE LEADS TEAM CANADA AT TOUR OF ALBERTA

(Ottawa, ON – August 26, 2016) Cycling Canada is pleased to announce the roster of Team Canada for the Tour of Alberta presented by ATB Financial, which will take place September 1-5, 2016. The Tour of Alberta is Canada’s highest ranked international men’s stage race, attracting teams from the top level of the sport, and Cycling Canada is pleased to have the opportunity to showcase the national team at such a prestigious event.

Canada’s eight rider team is led by Antoine Duchesne of Chicoutimi, Quebec, fresh off the Olympic Games, where he represented Canada in the men’s road race. Duchesne is the only Canadian to race in the Tour de France in 2016, and races in Europe for the professional Direct Energie team.

“I’m really happy to race in my country and especially be out there with a young national team. I’ll try to teach the guys what I’ve learned in the last few years. Four years ago I was in Alberta with the national team and had a good result on the queen stage. It’s a great opportunity for these boys to show themselves,” said Antoine Duchesne.

Three other members of Garneau-Quebecor will also participate in the project; reaffirming Cycling Canada’s commitment to support domestic team development. Garneau-Quebecor will provide Simon Pierre Gauthier of Broisbriand, Quebec, and Marc-Antoine Soucy of Amos, Quebec, and Alexis Cartier of Ste-Adèle, QC for the Tour of Alberta. Gauthier is a late addition to the team after a training injury to Guillaume Boivin required him to pull out.

The team will be completed by four members of Team RaceClean, the Under-23 development squad from the Canadian Track Endurance Program. Alex Cowan (Calgary, Alberta), William Elliot (Barrie, Ontario), Adam Jamieson (Barrie, Ontario) and Edward Walsh (Halifax, Nova Scotia) are members of the Team RaceClean squad that has spent much of the season racing in Europe.

“It is great that we’ve been able to put a team in the Tour of Alberta again this year,” said Jacques Landry, High Performance Director at Cycling Canada. “Since this race has been added to the UCI calendar we’ve recognized that the Tour of Alberta has had some very positive effects on our riders. The level of competition is such that they can be very competitive on home soil whilst racing with the best teams in the world. The end result is that we continue to increase our riders’ exposure to top level competition, which will eventually lead to more of our Canadian riders on top level North American and European teams.”

TEAM CANADA AT THE TOUR OF ALBERTA

Alexis CARTIER (Saint-Adèle, QC/Garneau-Quebecor Pro Cycling Team)
Alexander COWAN (Calgary, AB/Team RaceClean)
Antoine DUCHESNE (Chicoutimi, QC/Direct Energie)
William ELLIOT (Barrie, ON/Team RaceClean)
Simon Pierre GAUTHIER (Boisbriand, QC/Garneau-Quebecor Pro Cycling Team)
Adam JAMIESON (Barrie, ON/Team RaceClean)
Marc-Antoine SOUCY (Amos, QC/Garneau-Quebecor Pro Cycling Team)
Edward WALSH (Halifax, NS/Team RaceClean)

Team Director – Kevin Field

August 26, 2016/by Communications

CANADA CUP DOWNHILL SERIES CONCLUDES IN WHISTLER

(Ottawa, ON – August 25, 2016) Canada’s national domestic mountain bike series, the Canada Cup, concluded on August 19-20 in Whistler, BC. Both the Cross-country (XCO) and Downhill (DHI) series had their final rounds in Whistler, during the Crankworx Festival.

Riders accumulated points from all four rounds of the DHI series to determine the champions of the season-long series. In the Women’s series, it was a pair of Junior-aged riders who took the top two spots, with Skye Follas of Fergus, Ontario, winning the title with 375 points. Stephanie Denroche (Norco/C4/RaceFace) of Whistler, BC, finished second, ten points back. Georgia Astle of Whistler, BC, was third overall, with 330 points. Australian national champion and World Cup star Tracey Hannah (Polygon UR) won the final round, followed by former world champion Manon Carpenter (Madison Saracen) of Great Britain in second.

In the Men’s series, Hugo Langevin (Cycles Performance) of Bromont, Quebec, took the overall title with 477 points, followed by Sidney Slotegraaf (Transition/Dunbar/OneUp/9.8 Components) of Squamish, BC, with 453 points. Junior-aged Adam Robbins (ESC North America/POC) was third overall, with 378 points. The final round was swept by Australian pros on site for Crankworx, led by Troy Brosnan (Specialized), with Jack Moir (Intense Factory Racing/SRAM) second and Mick Hannah (Polygon UR) third.

August 25, 2016/by Communications

SMITH & L’ESPERANCE TAKE CANADA CUP XCO TITLES

(Ottawa, ON – August 25, 2016) Canada’s national domestic mountain bike series, the Canada Cup, concluded on August 19-20 in Whistler, BC. Both the Cross-country (XCO) and Downhill series had their final rounds in Whistler, during the Crankworx Festival.

In the XCO series, riders were scored on their results in the six races. Haley Smith (Norco Factory Team) of Uxbridge, Ontario, won the final round in Elite Women and jumped from fourth to first to win the overall title. Cindy Montambault (Equipe du Quebec) of Val-David, Quebec, was sixth in Whistler and finished second overall, tied with Smith at 690 points. Emily Batty (Trek Factory Team) of Brooklin, Ontario, was in Rio finishing fourth at the Olympics, but still took third overall after two wins and a second place result.

“My season has been a bit up and down,” said Smith, “but in the last few weeks I’ve found my stride again. I was a bit tired coming into Whistler because of the HC we did last weekend in Windham, NY, but it was a fun course that really suited my style. The descent helped me forget about the fatigue!”

“I started the race hot, leading the start loop before Sandra [Walter (Liv Giant)] passed on a feature and put about 20 seconds into me. I rode hard to make up time and overtook the lead on the second lap – which I held until the end. With roughly 220m of climbing per lap and 30-degree weather, it was a grueling race – but that was to my advantage. I was really happy to cross the line with my first Canada Cup win of the 2016 season”

“Winning the overall title while at Crankworx with the entire Norco Bicycles family was really special. This is my first overall title, and a lot of it is owed to the support Norco gives us and the environment we have created as a team. It’s not often that a single team has so much success on the circuit – with five individual Canada Cup wins and both Elite overall titles, we have really shown that Norco is a force to be reckoned with.”

In the Elite Men, the Norco Factory Team swept the top four spots in the overall standings. American pro Stephen Ettinger (Cascade Sport) won the final round, followed by Geoff Kabush (Scott 3Rox) of Courtney, BC, and Andrew L’Esperance (Norco Factory team) of Halifax, NS. L’Esperance took the overall title with 865 points, tied with team mate Evan McNeely of Kingston, Ontario. Evan Guthrie of Peachland, BC, was third overall, with 790 points.

The Junior category results were calculated on the best four results out of six events. In the Junior Men, Quinton Disera (Team Ontario/Angry Johnny’s p/b Norco & Garneau) of Barrie, Ontario, had a perfect 400 points with four wins. Emily Handford (Rocky Mountain Factory Team) of West Vancouver, BC, was the Junior Women’s champion, also with four wins.

Full standings: https://cyclingcanada.ca/mountain-bike/canada-cup-series/

August 25, 2016/by Communications

OLYMPIAN TORY NYHAUG IN CALGARY AS CITY HOSTS 2016 CANADIAN BMX CHAMPIONSHIPS

(Calgary, AB – August 24, 2016) Canada’s top BMX riders, including two-time Olympian and 12-time Canadian Champion Tory Nyhaug, are set to compete for the coveted Canadian titles this weekend at the 2016 Canadian BMX Championships in Calgary, Alberta.

The Calgary BMX track has been revamped since hosting the 2015 Canada Cup BMX Finals last year, setting the table for a great weekend of competition.

The Time Trial will kick start things on Friday night, followed on Saturday by the BMX motos for all categories. On Sunday, riders will compete in the 2016 Canada Cup BMX Finals, where the series Champion will be crowned.

Josh Peacock, Competition Coordinator at Cycling Canada, is excited about the event: “We are extremely pleased with how the event is shaping up. We are expecting a large participation from BMXers coming from all over Canada. We saw a glimpse of the excitement and popularity of BMX in Western Canada and Alberta last year with the 2015 Canada Cup BMX Finals, and this year should be even better.”

The event holds significant importance for the BMX community as it represents a selection criterion for anyone who want to compete at the 2017 UCI BMX World Championships in Rockhill, South Carolina. The Top 8 of each challenge class automatically qualifies for the selection pool.

All race information can be found in the Technical Guide, found here.

The event will be televised live across Alberta and the Interior BC on ShawTV, as well as web streamed for all BMX fans to catch the action.

August 24, 2016/by Communications

BOUCHARD 27TH IN MEN’S MOUNTAIN BIKE AT RIO

(Rio, BRA – August 21, 2016) Léandre Bouchard was the top Canadian in the Olympic mountain bike race for men on Sunday, finishing 27th. Raphaël Gagné, Canada’s second rider, finished 40th. Bouchard finished the 34.5-kilometre race in a time of one hour, 42 minutes and 43 seconds. He was nine minutes and 15 seconds behind gold medalist Nino Schurter of Switzerland. Defending Olympic champion Jaroslav Kulhavy of the Czech Republic took the silver medal and Carlos Coloma Nicolas of Spain won bronze.

Heavy rain overnight made the course muddy and slippery. Both Bouchard and Gagné had good starts, exiting the start loop for the first of seven laps positioned in the mid-20s. Gagné struggled with the slippery conditions and dropped back, while Bouchard maintained his positioning until the second lap, when a rider stopped abruptly in front of him in the feed zone, causing the Canadian to crash. He dropped to the mid-30s, but gradually moved up in the final two laps from 32nd to his final finish of 27th.

“A rider stopped in front of me very quickly,” explained Bouchard, “and I had too much speed to brake or go around him, so I had a crash. But I tried to keep thinking positive and keep riding. It was more slippery after the rain than I expected, but it was the same for everyone. I’m satisfied with this result.”

“I am happy just to be here at the Olympics, it’s really amazing, everything is so big and it was like magic. After our team mates Catharine [Pendrel, bronze in women’s mountain bike] and Emily [Batty, fourth] did so well it helped my preparation. It was inspiring to see them, and I know that at my age I can still progress. This was a good experience for future Olympics.”

“It was definitely a hard race and I am disappointed with my result,” admitted Gagné. “My goal was top-20, so I’m disappointed. I was too far back for the first technical climb and got caught in traffic. Then I had problems getting into a good rhythm. It was pretty slippery and I maybe didn’t have the best tire on the back, but it was the same for everyone around me; everyone was off their bike to run up the climb. I have no regrets, I prepared as best as I could, and July and August was really good training. I just didn’t have it today.”

Canada concludes the Rio Games with two bronze medals in cycling, the best result since 2004.

August 21, 2016/by Communications