By Ruby West, Professional cyclo-cross athlete & NextGen track athlete

It’s December 3, 2020 – I’ve just made it back from my ride to my home base in Oudenaarde, Belgium.

It’s three degrees and pouring rain, it hasn’t stopped raining in the past two days. I’ve just returned from what was supposed to be a three-hour ride, which turned to be four. The strong winds that often come with the rain weren’t taken into consideration when I planned an overly optimistic route and wreaked havoc on me for the last hour, which coincided perfectly with when I ran out of snacks.

I’m shaking.

I wash off my bike and stop at the door to strip off the three jackets I wore as an attempt to stay warm, that have now all been soaked through. With soaked socks, I crawl my way through the kitchen to make a recovery smoothie and eat half a loaf of baguette with Nutella in the process. I open my phone to 5 unread emails and an overwhelming amount of messages in a WhatsApp group chat about the schedule and testing plans for the upcoming weekend’s races. Dreading all the energy I know I’ll have to put into those plans later, I try not to let myself think about that essay that isn’t going to write itself either.

I drag myself upstairs to try to reheat. After waiting 15 minutes for my toes to thaw and let the hives I get from the extreme cold subside, I finally crawl into the shower completely exhausted.

Just another day in the glamorous life of being a professional athlete and student, living halfway across the world, alone, in the middle of a global pandemic. But what can I do, this is the opportunity I’ve been training for my entire life.

I have commitments to my team to stay in Europe and continue to race; and the commitment to myself to see the season through. This is what I signed up for – this is it.

Race after race of disappointing results, being so far away from home continues to get harder and harder. I’m an ocean away from the comforts of friends and family that I haven’t seen in months. It’s hard to be away when things are going well, but on top of that, a country-wide lockdown, and navigating the challenges of being the only North American rider on a new, European team – it’s all a lot easier said than done.

Throughout the season I laid in bed unable to sleep, thinking to myself “why am I here and doing this?” The only explanation I could tell myself is that this was the dream I’d been chasing since I started racing a bike nearly 10 years ago. “My younger self would be proud. Everyone at home is so proud.” It’s easy to tell yourself these things, it’s less easy to believe them and find comfort in them.

Despite the flood of emotions during these gloomy days, there are moments of sunshine, metaphorically and literally. There are 2 dogs around me, one I live with and one that belongs to my team manager. They act as a temporary relief from the stress and homesickness when they smile and roll over so I can pet their bellies.

There’s a local family that runs a rotisserie chicken stand I take my cruiser bike to and bakeries on every street corner. Some days it’s easier to find comforts in this foreign place; it’s the little things that may be insignificant to some, but that give me a sense of home, making all of this just a little easier.

As my trip goes along, I learn to find opportunities for good days. I spend more time slowing down to enjoy the small seemingly mundane tasks, like making coffee in the morning, or sipping a cup of tea in my pajamas while we watch the race replay. When comfort isn’t easy to find, you learn how to make it for yourself.

Even though some days feel the same, I know that I can make them lighter and worth everything I’m going through. It’s the constant reminder to myself that this is a dream so many others would love to have, and I’m lucky enough to wake up and strap my helmet on day after day.

I go for another day of training; I write that essay; I organize and show up for those COVID tests; I do the next race and the one after that and the one after that. Being here, I have to finish what I started and go through the motions, to put one foot in front of another. This may be a season like no other, being on a new team, in a different country, in a world where things can seem scary and uncertain, but I came here with goals to conquer and finish out a season in a sport I love and have been working my entire life for. I just keep chugging along.

It can’t always be rainbows and butterflies, and this year was far from it, but the perspective and lessons it provided will last a lifetime.

by Kris Westwood, High Performance Director at Cycling Canada

Two weeks ago we passed the one-year anniversary of COVID being declared a pandemic; last week marked a year since the world ground to a halt.

We were unaware about what was coming our way – when the pandemic hit, all we could do was sit tight, behave responsibly and follow public health guidelines. The global disruption has lasted a lot longer than we thought back then, but things are starting to head in the right direction.

Last year, thanks to a monumental effort from organizers and the UCI to develop and implement COVID-19 protocols, most of the major events on the European professional road calendar took place safely. A handful of mountain bike and cyclo-cross world cups went ahead, as well as world championships for both disciplines.

More recently, the most encouraging news is the pace of vaccinations is picking up as more vaccines are approved and supply becomes available. Health Canada’s vaccine rollout plan shows immunization of the general population starting as early as April – great news for our Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic teams.

Speaking of Tokyo, the likelihood the Games will take place as planned seems to be getting stronger. Over the weekend, Games organizers announced the latest measure to keep athletes safe: overseas spectators won’t be allowed. While disappointing for hundreds of thousands who planned to trave to Japan, it’s a reasonable compromise to reduce international travel.

Meanwhile, we continue to piece together our national team programs knowing that things remain very uncertain in the short term. So far, we’ve published draft selection documents for road development, Para-cycling and MTB selection policies – criteria for the postponed junior track worlds, road worlds, BMX, and the elite track program will follow shortly.

While we remain steadfast that we will see the Maple Leaf at more competitions and events this year, we also recognize the importance of planning for every situation when it comes to travel. Our travel protocols and guidelines document outlines the five most common situations that are likely to occur during the 2021 season; and how we will take all of the precautionary steps to make sure our athletes, staff and community are safe.

Uncertainty about international events and travel restrictions continue to be the main challenges for our staff, who have gone through countless redrafts of our national team programs. In the last few weeks the UCI announced that the Newport Track Nations Cup and the Bassano del Grappa and Baie-Comeau rounds of the Para-cycling road world cup have been cancelled or postponed. We’ve also heard unofficially that the opening weekend of the BMX World Cup in Stuttgart will be cancelled. We’re keeping an anxious eye on the calendar as we await the fate of other events.

Despite this uncertain climate, our coaches and staff have done an amazing job in helping our athletes focus on their performance goals. Many years from now, 2020 will be just another entry in the history of sports. In the meantime, we are the unwitting actors as that history is written; all we can do is stay safe, knowing that we will get through this together and be stronger as a result.

By Laura Brown, 2016 Olympic medalist & Assistant NextGen Track Coach

It was a mother’s intuition that pushed Laura Brown to cycle. Little did she know that the days practicing at the Calgary velodrome would result in Brown becoming a Rio 2016 Olympic medalist and a NextGen coach.

Picking up cycling at 14 years old, Brown’s mother signed her up for the “Fast and the Curious” program at the Glenmore Velodrome to get kids to try out cycling. But, it wasn’t love at first ride.

“I was really terrible at it,” explains Brown. “It was just a bunch of boys and I really didn’t like it at first. But my mom, bless her heart, just made me go. And then I fell in love with it, and that was over 20 years ago.”

After a successful career, including several world cup and world championships medals, Brown crossed the finish line for the last time in 2018. Just a year after her retirement, she began coaching full time. The transition came with its difficulties – struggling with imposter syndrome despite her expertise and obvious knowledge of the sport. “I was fully backed and supported by Cycling Canada, yet I felt like I didn’t really know my place,” Brown explains.

Brown, who previously was a gymnast, realized how male dominated cycling was when she started. She says she witnessed and experienced gender discrimination as both an athlete and a coach. Initially coming from a sport like gymnastics — which is predominately female — and being surrounded by Olympic legends like Cindy Klassen and Catriona Le May Doan growing up, she says the switch to cycling and the lack of women within it was unfamiliar and uncomfortable.

“When I was a rider, [coaching] was an intimidating profession. From the outside looking in, it didn’t appear that women had a place trackside,” Brown says. “You can’t be what you can’t see.”

Recounting her first World Cup in 2019 in Minsk as the lead coach, Brown noticed the stark lack of women at the manager’s meeting.

“It was a room of 50 men and me. I had questions because there’s a lot of information, and it was my first one, but I didn’t ask them,” says Brown. “I was like, ‘I don’t feel like I belong here’ I felt like I was going to be judged.”

She explains that the meeting wasn’t the only instance where she felt intimidated. Both her and NexGen Lead Coach, Jenny Trew, received odd glances and comments belittling their abilities as coaches, in a profession and sport dominated by men.

“Jenny and I were in Switzerland, and people were commenting things like, ‘This isn’t a job for women,’ or ‘Where is the head coach?’ because they assume they’re male. And I know we are competent coaches.”

After a few years in the role, Brown is recognizing that being a coach doesn’t change her extensive background, knowledge and qualifications.

“[I am] trying not to see myself as a ‘female coach’ but rather a good coach and owning that space. I feel I have a unique history and can offer a different point of view and approach.”

As Brown navigates through this new world, she also wants to serve as a role model and source of inspiration for younger cyclists, just like what she ha growing up. According to a Canadian Women in Sport study, one in three girls drop out of sport by the time they’re 16 years old.

Brown has witnessed this statistic first-hand and wants to help change that by supporting and encouraging young girls and women.

“I couldn’t imagine a life without sport, and I know some people don’t have the opportunity to do sports, or they drop out prematurely and it breaks my heart, because it’s changed my life. As an athlete and now as a coach, it’s what I do, and I love riding my bike.

Even as a coach, the appreciation for the sport hasn’t changed, as she creates new goals for herself and witnesses her athletes’ accomplishments. Her fondest memory to date was coaching at the Track World Cup in Milton and seeing her athletes perform on the world stage.

“Coaching that bronze medal ride last January in Milton was so special. That team was a NextGen team and went so fast on home soil. I got to compete at the Pan Am Games in Toronto, and to race for a medal on your home track is so rare. So, to see those young men get to experience that; and being a part of it from the other side as a coach was extraordinary. I know the way they felt when they crossed that line and saw they had won a medal.”

With more memories and goals to be conquered, Brown hopes the sport will see more diversity and equality, knowing women need more opportunities as athletes and professionals, not only in cycling but in sports across the board. “[We need to] have more women in senior management positions; have more women on the board of sports clubs and organizations.”

She hopes that more women move into the cycling space and that we can get to a place where nobody questions why they are in the room. “Being a woman in coaching is hard because there’s not a lot of us. So, hopefully people like Jenny and myself can inspire other female athletes and coaches.”

Special contribution in celebration of International Women’s Day.