News – Page 33 – Cycling Canada Cyclisme

CANADIAN TRACK SQUAD WRAP UP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RACING IN FRANCE

Roubaix, France (October 25, 2021) – Sixteen of Canada’s top track athletes wrapped up five days of racing at the 2021 UCI Track Cycling World Championships with standout performances, including a bronze medal in the women’s Sprint by Olympic champion Kelsey Mitchell. Overall, the team had six top-5 finishes, making this one of Canada’s most successful World Championships to date.

“From a general point of view, I think we had a great Worlds because we still have a very young team,” said Franck Durivaux, Cycling Canada’s Track Sprint Coach. “Athletes were able to get results that allowed them to do even more against the best in the world and we are going to continue to work with the development group in Milton to get them ready for the next Olympic Games campaign. That’ll be the next really important part looking towards the next season.”

Among the top results, Kelsey Mitchell placed third in the Sprint finals, beating her teammate Lauriane Genest who finished in 4th. Mitchell also placed 5th in the Keirin and 5th in the Team Sprint alongside Genest and Sarah Orban. The women’s Team Pursuit squad were coming off a gold medal win at the Cali Nations Cup and just missed the podium riding into fourth in the bronze medal final against powerhouse Great Britain. On top of this solid result, former Junior World Champion Maggie Coles-Lyster came in 4th in the women’s Scratch Race at her first Elite World Championships.

Full results from all five days of racing can be found here. Selected athletes are now gearing up for the UCI Track Champions League from November 6-December 11.

CANADIAN CYCLING HALL OF FAME TO INDUCT FIVE NEW MEMBERS

Ottawa, Ontario (October 25, 2021) – Five new members will be inducted into the Canadian Cycling Hall of Fame next weekend at the Chateau Bromont as part of Cycling Canada’s Annual Conference. Robbi Weldon, Pierre Gachon and Cindy Devine will be inducted as athletes, while Patrice Drouin and Chantal Lachance will be recognized for their tremendous achievements as builders.

The Canadian Cycling Hall of Fame was created in 2015 to recognize outstanding achievement and contribution to the sport of cycling by both athletes and builders. With this induction, the Hall of Fame will count twenty-seven members, including twenty-two athletes and five builders.

No stranger to high performance competition, Robbi Weldon is a dual Paralympian and Paralympic medallist, having competed in both para-Nordic skiing and para-cycling from 2010 to 2016. After discovering cycling in 2010, Weldon quickly started to make a name for herself in the sport, becoming a World Champion at both the 2010 and 2011 Para-cycling Road World Championships. Later that year, she swept all four cycling events at the 2011 Parapan American Games alongside her pilot Lyne Bessette and the duo went on to win gold at the London 2012 Paralympics.

Pierre Gachon (1909-2004) rose to prominence as the first Canadian to ever compete at the Tour de France in 1937 and remained the only Quebecer to do so until David Veilleux in 2013. Throughout the 30s, Gachon distinguished himself at Six Day races, and set new Canadian records by completing the road connecting several cities in record time.

The name Cindy Devine is well known within the mountain biking community and with good reason; Devine became the first female downhill World Champion in 1990 after also placing first at the unofficial Mountain Bike World Championships in 1989. She went on to podium four more times at the biggest international race on the calendar before retiring and dedicating her time to helping at the West Coast School of Mountain Biking and the Shimano Dirt series.

Patrice Drouin and Chantal Lachance are also very prominent within the mountain biking community, the two having been involved with the sport since its very beginning in the 80s. After consulting with the UCI to help create this new cycling discipline, Drouin partnered with his good friend Chantal Lachance to organize a Mountain World Cup in 1991. The duo founded GESTEV in 1992 and the rest is history, with their company organizing a World Cup or World Championships every year since then and putting Canada on the map as one of the world’s top destinations for the sport.

Tickets for the event are available at the cost of $150 and all proceeds will be donated to the HopOn program in Quebec.

MOLLY SIMPSON WINS FIRST BMX WORLD CUP MEDAL IN TURKEY

Sakarya, Turkey (October 23, 2021) – In her first year competing as an Elite athlete, Molly Simpson from Red Deer, Alberta, rode her way to a bronze medal at BMX World Cup # 5 in Sakarya, Turkey. This marked her first international race since the BMX World Championships in late August.

“It felt pretty good,” said Simpson. “It was my first World Cup final, and I hit it with a third position so I’m pretty stoked about it. I just took it one race at a time and just kept it smooth and it went well. It’s just so awesome. I think I’m going to have a piece of cake at home to celebrate once we’re back at the hotel.”

Her teammate and Junior World Championship medallist, Teigen Pascual, just missed out on the final as the two battled it out in the semi-final. Racing continues for Team Canada on October 24, 30 and 31. Full results can be found here.

OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALLIST KELSEY MITCHELL WINS FIRST CAREER WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MEDAL

Roubaix, France (October 23, 2021) – Kelsey Mitchell has clinched Canada’s first medal of the 2021 UCI Track World Cycling Championships in Roubaix, France in the women’s Sprint after facing teammate, Lauriane Genest in the bronze medal final.

After breezing through their respective qualifying heats, both Canadians advanced to the semi-final round, where Genest faced Lea Sophie Friedrich of Germany, while Mitchell rode against her teammate Emma Hinze. After two races, the Germans came out on top to qualify for the gold medal round, with Genest and Mitchell facing off in the bronze medal final. In the end, Olympic gold medallist Mitchell edged out Olympic Keirin bronze medallist Genest in two races to win her first World Championship medal.

“It was great to be back racing and exciting to have both Lauriane and myself in the finals,” said Mitchell. “It’s never ideal having to race against each other but she raced well and I was happy to walk away with the bronze. Next up is keirin, and I am excited to go out there and give it my all. Who knows what will happen.”

Despite the lack of competitions over the last two years, Canadian athletes have proved to be tough contenders throughout the week, with Maggie Coles-Lyster just missing the podium in the women’s Scratch race before helping the young women’s Team Pursuit squad place 4th. On the men’s side, Hugo Barrette finished 9th in the Keirin, his best-ever result at a World Championships.

Racing continues tomorrow with the men’s Omnium and men’s Sprint events. The event can be streamed live on FloBikes and live results are available here.

CYCLING CANADA WELCOMES NEW BOARD MEMBERS

Ottawa, ON (October 14, 2021) – Cycling Canada is pleased to announce the results of its 2021 Board of Directors Election from its Annual Meeting held via video conference on Tuesday, September 28, 2021. This year, Cycling Canada’s provincial and territorial member associations voted to elect four directors-at-large from a slate of 15 total nominees. Each of these directors will serve 2-year terms in the role of director-at-large.

Cycling Canada directors, elected September 28, 2021:

  1. Mark Gilligan (Toronto, ON)
  2. Pierre LaFlamme (Quebec City, QC)
  3. Peter Lawless (Victoria, BC)
  4. Kelly Murray (Fredericton, NB)

In a meeting of the Board of Directors subsequent to the Annual Meeting, the Board of Cycling Canada re-appointed Pierre LaFlamme as Chair of the Board for a term of one year and also appointed Curt Harnett (Toronto, ON) to the Board as an additional director-at-large, also for a term of one year.

Cycling Canada would like to extend a warm welcome to its new and returning directors as well as a sincere thank you to all of the candidates who put their names forward as nominees in the election. A very special thank you also goes to outgoing director Bill Kinash (Regina, SK) for his immense contributions and commitment to the organization over his time on the board, which included a term as President of Cycling Canada from 2002 to 2005 as well as a ten-year term as President of the Saskatchewan Cycling Association from 1992 to 2002.

Continuing their ongoing terms on the Cycling Canada Board of Directors are Mark Collins (Georgetown, ON), Louizandre Dauphin (Markham, ON) and Shauna Finlay (Edmonton, AB).

The role of Cycling Canada’s Board of Directors is to provide overall strategic direction, leadership and stability for the organization. The Board establishes the overall mission and purpose for the organization and it is responsible for a number of key governance-related activities including approving the appointment of (and providing direction to) the CEO and senior management team, the development and adoption of organizational policies, financial oversight and approval of the annual budget.

16 CANADIAN ATHLETES HEAD TO ROUBAIX FOR TRACK CYCLING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Milton, ON (October 7, 2021) – After kicking off the track cycling season last month at the Nations Cup in Cali, Colombia, the Canadian track squad is heading to Roubaix, France for the Tissot UCI Track Cycling World Championships on October 20-24. The 16-person team will be made up of a combination of veterans and development athletes, with the majority of riders competing at their first Elite World Championships.

Leading the sprint team will be Olympic Sprint gold medallist, Kelsey Mitchell, and Keirin bronze medallist, Lauriane Genest, who will both be competing in the Keirin, Sprint and Team Sprint events. Their Team Sprint teammate will be announced on October 13th. On the men’s side, Olympians, Hugo Barrette and Nick Wammes, will once again be joining forces with, Ryan Dodyk, to take on the Team Sprint after the trio won gold at their first international competition together. Barrette will also be tackling the Keirin, while Wammes will compete in the Sprint.

“It’s so amazing to be able to bring two Olympic medallists to Track Worlds,” said Cycling Canada’s High Performance Director, Kris Westwood. “Kelsey and Lauriane will walk into the Roubaix velodrome as riders to watch, which brings all sorts of new challenges, but I’m confident they are up for it. On the endurance side, the squad represents a generational shift for our teams. They have big shoes to fill, and I’m excited to see what they can achieve as we work towards the Paris Olympic Games in just three years’ time.”

The women’s endurance squad will be comprised of 2019 Pan Am Games silver medallists, Erin Attwell and Maggie Coles-Lyster, as well as Ngaire Barraclough, Devaney Collier and Sarah Van Dam. Attwell, Barraclough and Van Dam are coming off a gold medal win at the Cali Nations Cup, while Coles-Lyster has earned several podiums on the road this season. All athletes will be competing in the Team Pursuit, with some riders also competing in the Omnium, Scratch Race, Elimination Race and Points Race.

Olympians, Derek Gee and Michael Foley, will be leading the men’s endurance team, with development athletes Mathias Guillemette, Jackson Kinniburgh and Ethan Ogrodniczuk completing the Team Pursuit squad. One rider will also be selected to compete in the Omnium.

The event will be livestreamed on FloBikes and full results will be available here throughout the five days of competition.

Team Canada

Women’s Sprint
Kelsey Mitchell – Sherwood Park, AB [Team Sprint, Keirin, Sprint]
Lauriane Genest – Lévis, QC [Team Sprint, Keirin, Sprint]
Sarah Orban – [Team Sprint, Sprint]

Men’s Sprint
Hugo Barrette – Iles-de-la-Madeleine, QC [Team Sprint, Keirin]
Ryan Dodyk – Edmonton, AB [Team Sprint]
Nick Wammes – Bothwell, ON [Team Sprint, Sprint]

Women’s Endurance
Erin Attwell – Victoria, BC [Team Pursuit]
Ngaire Barraclough – Edmonton, AB [Team Pursuit]
Maggie Coles-Lyster – Maple Ridge, BC [Team Pursuit]
Devaney Collier – Edmonton, AB [Team Pursuit]
Sarah Van Dam – Victoria, BC [Team Pursuit]

Men’s Endurance
Michael Foley – Milton, ON [Team Pursuit]
Derek Gee – Ottawa, ON [Team Pursuit]
Mathias Guillemette – Trois-Rivières, QC [Team Pursuit]
Jackson Kinniburgh – Calgary, AB [Team Pursuit]
Ethan Ogrodniczuk – Vancouver, BC [Team Pursuit]

CYCLING CANADA UNVEILS 2022 NATIONAL CALENDAR

Ottawa, ON (September 28, 2021) – Cycling Canada is pleased to announce an extensive 2022 national calendar, adding some exciting new events to an already substantial list of national and international races in Canada.

“Following an enthusiastic return to competition in 2021, we are very eager to see our organizers back for more as we announce a complete calendar of national and international events for 2022,” said Cycling Canada’s Events & Officials Manager, Jolène Dupuis. “Through the ongoing support of our provincial partners and dedicated event organizers, we are seeing bigger and better offerings in all disciplines that will give our athletes every opportunity to shine on Canadian soil.”

The 2022 season will officially kick off on the track with the U17 & Junior Canadian Championships in Milton, ON on April 8-10. Dates for Eastern and Western Track Challenge events will be confirmed following the October 1st National Calendar bidding deadline.

After a two-season hiatus, the Crossroads Festival in Mont-Tremblant, QC will mark the first event of the Canada Cup mountain bike calendar on May 27-29 in both the DH and XC disciplines. The XC series will then continue with stops in Quebec, Alberta, and Nova Scotia before the final event taking place in Dieppe, NB. With the popularity of the cross-country Short Track discipline on the rise, athletes can expect to see more XCC racing on the 2022 calendar, with UCI Short Track stops added to 3 Canada Cup events, in addition to the Canadian Championships. All Junior events within the XC series will be sanctioned at a minimum level of UCI C2 including four stops on the UCI Junior Series. Following the Crossroads Festival, the DH Canada Cup series will make its way to Silverstar Mountain Resort to resume the season before heading to Fernie and Panorama for back to back races in the interior. The fan-favourite XCO & DH World Cup in Mont-Sainte-Anne, QC has found its place back on the UCI calendar on August 5-7, while the Crankworx Festival is also planning to return in 2022 as the exciting finale to Cycling Canada’s national DH calendar.

Both Canadian Mountain Bike Championships for XCO and DH will be organized on the weekend of July 23-24. Hardwood Ski & Bike in Oro Station, ON will host the XCO event while DH returns to Kicking Horse Mountain Resort after a successful inaugural 2021 Championship. The previously postponed Canada Summer Games are confirmed for 2022 in Ontario’s Niagara Region and will highlight Canada’s top developing talent in the mountain bike discipline on the week of August 8th, directly followed by road cycling in the final week of the Games.

Elite road racing will be back on June 2nd with the UCI women’s Chrono Féminin de la Gatineau, followed by the Tour de Gatineau on June 3rd. Up next will be the Elite men’s events at the Tour de Beauce on June 15-19 before the domestic road calendar heads West. The national road calendar’s first western stop will be in Edmonton, AB, for what promises to be an exciting edition of the Canadian Elite/Junior/Para Road Championships on June 21-26, followed by BC Superweek looking to make its return in July. The UCI Gran Fondo World Series qualifying event, Classique des Appalaches, held in conjunction with the Canadian Masters Road Championships in Victoriaville, QC, will be held June 30-July 2 after an outstanding debut on the national calendar in 2021. Another exciting staple marking its return for the 2022 season is the Tour de l’Abitibi on July 12-17. The road season will then cap off with the highest level of racing with UCI WorldTour stops in Quebec City and Montreal on September 9 and 11 for the Grand Prix Cyclistes de Québec et de Montréal.

The BMX Canada Cup series will welcome a few exciting new stops in 2022, starting with Vaudreuil-Solanges, QC on July 9-10, followed by Drummondville, QC, on July 16-17. On August 6-7, the series will stop in Saskatchewan for the first time at the Diamond BMX track in Warman, before heading to Okotoks, AB on August 20-21. The BMX season concludes with the Canadian BMX Championships & Canada Cup finale at Calgary BMX on August 27-28.

The para-cycling calendar will once again kick off in Montreal, QC on April 30 to May 1 for the Challenge Gary Longhi as part of the Défi Sportif AlterGo Paralympic Festival. The road season will continue with the Canadian Championships in Edmonton, AB on June 21-26 before some thrilling international racing on Canadian soil. The 2022 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships will take place on August 10-14 in Baie-Comeau, QC after successfully delivering World Cups in both 2018 and 2019. The para-cycling national calendar will conclude with the Canadian Track Championships at the Mattamy National Cycling Centre in Milton, ON, joining the Elite and Masters athletes on September 1-3.

Noticeably vacant from the current calendar are the remaining events in the cyclo-cross and track disciplines. Cycling Canada is currently working with organizers in both disciplines towards an event application deadline of October 1st. Following review of all relevant applications, Cycling Canada will publish a release with complete event details in late 2021. The 2022 Canadian Championships for Mountain Bike Marathon, Enduro, and BMX Freestyle disciplines currently remain open for bid. For details on bidding process and competition requirements, contact Jolène Dupuis. The full events calendar will be available on the Cycling Canada website in November.

“We would like to take this opportunity to extend a very special thank you to all of our devoted organizers and host communities across the country who endlessly support the sport of cycling,” said Dupuis. “The return of events this year has shown how resilient and passionate our nation is, and we look forward to great racing and development through our domestic racing calendar in 2022.”

WALTER & DISERA BECOME CANADA’S FIRST XCC CHAMPIONS

Baie-Saint-Paul, QC (September 25, 2021) – After awarding eight cross-country titles on Friday, the 2021 Canadian Mountain Bike XCO Championships continued on Saturday with the Short Track (XCC) event being presented for the first time. A large crowd gathered at the Baie-Saint-Paul campgrounds to watch the Elite women and men complete several loops of the 1-kilometer course for a total of 20 minutes.

The women’s race was full gas from the start and numerous contenders sat at the front during various parts of the race, including Tokyo 2020 Olympian Haley Smith, XCO champion Jennifer Jackson and former U23 champion Laurie Arsenault. Sandra Walter (Liv Racing Collective) stayed with the main pack throughout the race and decided to attack with 300 meters to go, keeping that momentum until the finish line to take her second Elite title and become Canada’s first Short Track champion. Jocelyn Stel (Cyclepath Oakville Race Team) was right behind her in second, followed by Haley Smith (Norco Factory Team) in third.

“I’m really excited and to be honest, a bit surprised,” said Walter. “I usually tend to do better on courses that have a good climb in them and most of the course was flat with a lot of technical corners, so it was very tactical. I really focused on staying near the front but not at the front, I stayed out of the wind as much as I could and saved energy and just waited until the end to make my move. I can’t wait to represent the maple leaf at the short tracks next year.”

35 athletes took the start for the men’s race, which was mainly controlled by riders from Norco Factory Team and Team Pivot Cycles – OTE. The race was extremely fast and tactical, with a group of about 15 riders remaining at the front for the entire twenty minutes. 2019 U23 XCO champion Quinton Disera (Norco Factory Team) attacked on the final climb and sprinted to first place, with Marc-André Fortier (Team Pivot Cycles – OTE) and Tyler Orschel (Norco Shredders) stepping on the podium for the second time this weekend.

“Short track is one of those races that can go any way,” said Disera. “On the last lap, it kind of sat up for a quick second and I thought this is the time to go. I’m pretty confident in my sprint so once it got flat, I just really laid it out there. I’m super stoked to be the first Canadian Short Track champion.”

The championships conclude tomorrow with the cross-country races for Masters men and women starting at 1:00pm EST. Full results and event details can be found here.

Results
Elite Women: 1- Sandra Walter 2- Jocelyn Stel 3- Haley Smith
Elite Men: 1- Quinton Disera 2- Marc-André Fortier 3- Tyler Orschel

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.

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