Saint-Georges, QC (June 21, 2019) – Defending champion James Piccoli of Team Canada won the 169 kilometre second stage of the Tour de Beauce on Thursday in impressive style, riding the rest of the field off his wheel on the final five kilometre climb to the top of Mont Megantic. His win moves Piccoli into second overall, 33 seconds behind fellow Canadian Nickolas Zukowsky (Floyd’s Pro Cycling).

Canada put five riders in the top ten on the stage, with Adam Roberge (Team Canada) finishing fifth, Zukowsky sixth, first year Under-23 rider Ben Katerberg (Team BC) seventh and Pier-Andre Cote (Rally UHC) in ninth. On the General Classification, Canadians are first (Zukowsky), second (Piccoli), eighth (Roberge), ninth (Katerberg) and tenth (Cote).

“That was the plan coming into the race today,” said Piccoli, referring to his attack of the climb. “The guys did all they could to keep it together at the foot of the climb, because we knew that was my best chance of winning the stage and taking some time on GC. It was really aggressive all day, but the boys did an unbelievable job of rolling it back together so it was really nice to be able to do it for them.”

Saint-Georges, QC (June 20, 2019) – The biggest event on the domestic road calendar is returning to Beauce from June 28 – July 1 for the 2019 Canadian Road Championships for Elite, U23, Junior and Para athletes after a 4 year absence. Every year, the Road Championships attract Canada’s most prominent athletes who travel from all over the country to attempt to win the coveted maple leaf jersey.

“We are very excited to welcome the Canadian Road Championships back in Beauce and are expecting yet another strong field of riders to participate,” said Jolene Dupuis, Events and Officials Coordinator at Cycling Canada. “We have a great level of confidence with the organizer, who will be putting on the Tour de Beauce the week before the Championships. We are looking forward to some great racing throughout the Championships and hope to see some strong performances to bring in the Canada Day long weekend!”

The Championships will begin on Friday, June 28 with the Individual Time Trial for all categories, which will be held on the outskirts of Saint-Prosper, over distances ranging from 11 to 34 kilometres. Among the riders to watch will be Para world champion Mike Sametz (men’s C3), Elite women’s Team Time Trial world champions Karol-Ann Canuel and Leah Kirchmann and twelve-time national champion Svein Tuft.

Saturday and Sunday will see the Road Race titles awarded, beginning with the Para athletes (30.5 – 73.6 km) on Saturday morning, followed by the Junior men (108.5 km) and the U23 and Elite women (108.5 km) in the afternoon. The Para athletes will complete a 6.1 kilometre circuit in the city of Saint-Georges, while all the other riders will head out to Saint-Odilon and complete a number of loops before heading back to the finish line. On Sunday, the Junior women (78.1 km) will kick off the races, followed by the U23 and Elite men, who will complete a distance of 186.2 kilometres.

The women’s field contains tremendous depth, with professional riders entered including Leah Kirchmann (Team Sunweb), Karol-Ann Canuel (Boels Dolman), Marie-Soleil Blais (Astana), Alison Jackson (Tibco-SVB), as well as several powerhouses from Rally UHC Cycling, including Sara Bergen, Allison Beveridge, Sara Poidevin and current national champion Katherine Maine. The Cyclery will also be sending a solid team, including former champion Annie Foreman-Mackey and Ariane Bonhomme.

The men’s race should be a battle between Floyd’s Pro Cycling and Rally UHC Cycling, who will both be sending full teams. Israel Cycling Academy’s Ben Perry and Alex Cataford will also take the start.

The Championships will conclude on Monday with the Criterium, a fast-paced spectator favourite, taking place on a 1.3 kilometre circuit through the streets of St-Georges. Junior and Elite (including Under-23) women and men will race for between 30 and 60 minutes, with the finish usually coming down to a high speed mass sprint for the line.

Online registration will close on Friday, June 21, 2019, at 11:59pm (Eastern Time). More information regarding the event can be found here.

Chicoutimi, QC (June 16, 2019) – Canadian riders swept the podium on Saturday, in Stage 3 of the Grand Prix Cycliste de Saguenay, with Pier-Andre Cote of Team Canada taking his second straight victory. Evan Burtnik (X-Speed United) finished second and Emile Jean (Floyd’s Pro Cycling) took third. Canadian rider Nickolas Zukowsky (Floyd’s Pro Cycling) continues to lead the overall standings by 11 seconds after finishing fourth, with Adam Roberge (Team Canada) holding onto third in the general classification. Zukowsky also holds the Green (Points) and White (Best Young Rider) jerseys.

“Our men’s track endurance riders were really super today with good team work,” said Kevin Field, Directeur Sportif for Team Canada.  “Zukowsky is riding really solid and taking a lot of time bonuses, so we are seeing some strong overall Under-23 rider performances at this tour.”

“Today was another stellar day for Cycling Canada with another victory,” said Cote. “The goal was to protect Adam’s GC position, since there wasn’t a lot to gain today, and we know that tomorrow might be a savage day. I managed to grab a few seconds on the stage and we were able to finish it off thanks to [teammate] Derek Gee, who was in the breakaway and forced Floyd’s to chase.”

Ottawa, ON (June 12, 2019) – Cycling Canada has announced the teams that will race in Canadian colours over the next two weeks at the internationally sanctioned men’s stage races Grand Prix Cycliste de Saguenay (June 13-16) and Tour de Beauce (June 19-23). These UCI 2.2 level events are the only men’s internationally sanctioned stage races in Canada, and offer the opportunity to collect valuable ranking points for Canada.

For both events, Team Canada will include a core roster of Derek Gee, Adam Jamieson and Adam Roberge. In Saguenay, they will be joined by Chris Ernst, Jay Lamoureux and Pier-Andre Cote. Jack Burke was also named to the team but had to withdraw due to injury. In Beauce, Gee, Jamieson and Roberge will be joined by defending champion James Piccoli, as well as Michael Foley, Charles-Etienne Chretien and Laurent Gervais.

“We have three goals for these projects,” said Kevin Field, Directeur Sportif for the projects. “First, build fitness for our men’s endurance squad during the Olympic campaign build. Second, provide Worlds qualification opportunities for key road U23 men who are not racing at these events with their trade teams. And, finally, support James in an effort to repeat Team Canada’s 2018 success at Beauce.”

Matt Jeffries, Cycling Canada’s Executive Director, added, “Cycling Canada’s ability to field teams at races like Saguenay and Beauce has been made possible in the past few seasons by increased collaboration with the FQSC [Fédération québecoise des sports cyclistes].  We’re grateful for this active support and it is reflective of the direction the organization is moving toward.”

“During the Tour de Beauce, Kevin [Field] will also be delivering practical instruction to developing coaches from Team BC. This is an extension of instructional work recently delivered at two advancement camps in Penticton (BC) and Milton (ON). Additional initiatives to work more closely with the provinces are currently being developed.”

Team Canada Roster (* Under-23)

Grand Prix Cycliste de Saguenay
Pier-Andre Cote * – St-Henri-de-Lévis, QC
Chris Ernst * – Kitchener, ON
Derek Gee * – Ottawa, ON
Adam Jamieson – Barrie, ON
Jay Lamoureux – Victoria, BC
Adam Roberge * – Montreal, QC
Jack Burke – Squamish, BC [Injured]

Tour de Beauce
Charles-Etienne Chretien * – Amos, QC
Michael Foley * – Milton, ON
Derek Gee * – Ottawa, ON
Laurent Gervais * – Montreal, QC
Adam Jamieson – Barrie, ON
James Piccoli – Montreal, QC
Adam Roberge * – Montreal, QC

Ottawa, ON (June 4, 2019) – European-based professional Leah Kirchmann will lead the team of six riders that will wear Team Canada colours at the internationally sanctioned Grand Prix Cycliste de Gatineau on June 6-7. The GPC Gatineau is the only UCI-sanctioned women’s competition in Canada, consisting of a road race and a time trial.

Former world champion Kirchmann, who has already appeared on the podium this season in Belgium and won the Gatineau road race in 2017, will be joined by 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Georgia Simmerling, as well as Marie-Soleil Blais, Maggie Coles-Lyster, Holly Simonson and Magdeleine Vallieres-Mill. Karol-Ann Canuel and Simone Boilard were initially selected, but had to decline due to injuries.

“I’ve led teams at Gatineau four times since 2014 for a total of six podiums, including winning the road race twice,” said Team Director Kevin Field. “I think we have a strong team and a great chance to do well as Team Canada.”

Team Canada

Leah Kirchmann – Winnipeg, MB
Marie-Soleil Blais – Montreal, QC
Magdeleine Vallieres-Mill – Sherbrooke, QC
Georgia Simmerling – Vancouver, BC
Maggie Coles-Lyster – Maple Ridge, BC
Holly Simonson – Victoria, BC