News – Page 94 – Cycling Canada Cyclisme

BARISTA AND CYCLING CANADA ANNOUNCE NEW NATIONAL PARTNERSHIP

Montreal, June 22, 2017 – Cycling Canada is proud to announce that Barista will be coming on board as an official partner of the organization, benefiting the athletes, the support team, and the fans.

By becoming the official coffee supplier of Cycling Canada, Barista will provide coffee for athletes and the support team and will be attending various events throughout the year, such as the Global Relay Canadian Road Championships p/b Lexus which will be held in Ottawa this weekend.

Moreover, Barista will select two new Podium Ambassadors within the National Team who will each have their own espresso blend, with a portion of profits being redistributed to them. Barista will also provide social media workshops for athletes, specifically designed to help them develop their personal brand.

“Barista has always been involved in high level sport. Whether it be through athlete coffee blends, social media training or financial support, we help them achieve their goals. Everyone knows that coffee and cycling are inseparable!” said Alex Sereno, co-founder and coach of the Café Barista Triathlon Team.

“Cycling and coffee are a natural combination and we are excited to count on Barista’s support to provide excellent coffee at events and for our athletes. Barista has already supported Canadian athletes in the past and will now support cycling programs through their Cycling Canada coffee. Needless to say, we are very pleased to welcome another ‘first in class’ brand among our family of partners,” commented Matthew Jeffries, Director of Marketing at Cycling Canada.

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MONTAMBAULT & L’ESPERANCE TAKE WINS AT CANADA CUP XCO #5

HARDWOOD SKI & BIKE, June 21, 2017 – The fifth round of the Mountain Bike Canada Cup for Cross-country took place on Sunday at Hardwood Ski & Bike, north of Barrie, Ontario, and the site of the 2015 Pan Am Games XCO competition.  Once again, there were new faces on the top step of the Elite categories, with Andrew L’Esperance (Forward Racing-Norco) winning the men’s race and Cindy Montambault (Equipe du Quebec/Trek GPL) the women’s.

Montambault took the lead on the opening lap of the women’s four lap race and never looked back, winning by nearly one minute.  A chase group of three formed behind her containing Canada Cup series leader Soren Meeuwisse (Trek Canada), Round 4 winner Haley Smith (Norco Factory) and Anne-Julie Tremblay (Equipe du Quebec/Cyclone d’Alma).  Tremblay was dropped by Meeuwisse and Smith on the second lap, with Meeuwisse pulling clear for second on the final lap.  Meeuwisse padded her lead in the overall standings to 740 points and has now mathematically won the women’s title, since she is over 200 points ahead of second place Marine Lewis of Quebec (515 points) with one race remaining.  Smith and Montambault are tied for third with 495 points.

In the Elite Men’s five lap race it was a battle between Round 2 winner Evan Guthrie of B.C. and L’Esperance for the first three and a half laps before the Halifax rider made an attack that stuck.  Guthrie was also overtaken in the final two laps by Canadian champion Derek Zandstra (Cannondale-3Rox), who finished second for the second consecutive week in Canada Cup competition, 35 seconds back.  Quinton Disera (Norco Factory) continues to hold the overall lead in the series, despite finishing a distant 14th, with 670 points, however, Guthrie is only 20 points back, with Zandstra at 505.  This title will not be decided until the final round in Whistler, B.C., next weekend.

“I was very pleased to have a solid ride on the weekend as I am just finishing up a training block in preparation for the next World Cups,” said L’Esperance.  “Hardwood put together an awesome course and despite the rain it rode really well and it was a blast to race. Evan Guthrie and I rode well together until I made a decisive attack towards the end of Lap 4 that established a gap. The highlight of the weekend was seeing our young teammate for Forward Racing-Norco, Sean Fincham, get on his first Elite Canada Cup podium with a heavy ride for fifth.”

In the Junior Expert Men’s competition, Gunnar Holmgren (Centurion Next Wave) took his third victory of the season.  Holmgren and Tyler Clark (KMS Cycling) rode together for the first half of the race before Holmgren began to pull away in the last two laps, winning by 26 seconds.  Holmgren’s team mate, Brody Sanderson, finished third, and relinquished his Canada Cup leader’s jersey to Holmgren, who now has 345 points, 20 more than Sanderson, with Clark in third at 285.  This title will also be decided at the final round.

The Junior Expert Women’s three lap race was led from start to finish by Leya Masson (Equipe du Quebec/CC Mont-Ste-Anne), who finished 57 seconds ahead of team mate Roxane Vermette, with Mireille Larose-Gingras (Equipe du Quebec/CVM Sigma Assurances) taking third.  Masson moves into the lead for the overall standings with her win at 345 points, followed by former leader Dana Gilligan (Progressive Sports/3Rox/Maverix) and Vermette, both at 275.

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THE GLOBAL RELAY CANADIAN ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS P/B LEXUS RETURN TO THE CAPITAL REGION

OTTAWA, June 20, 2017 – It is less than one week to the start of the Global Relay Canadian Road Championships p/b Lexus for Elite, Under-23 and Junior aged riders, to be held in the Capital Region on June 24-28.  The Road Championships are the most prestigious event on the domestic racing calendar, with the winners of each event awarded a maple leaf jersey to wear in competition around the world for the next year, identifying them as the Canadian champion.

“We are very excited to once again welcome the Global Relay Canadian Road Championships p/b Lexus back to the Capital Region in 2017,” said Josh Peacock, Competitions Coordinator at Cycling Canada.  “Organizers have been hard at work to build on the success of the 2016 event, and look forward to complementing the energy of Canada 150 celebrations throughout the region during event week. Each of the exciting venues will once again offer athletes unique challenges and showcase Canada’s top road cycling talent. Spectators and athletes alike should expect a week full of action packed racing in front of some of the region’s most iconic backdrops.”

The Championships will feature some of Canada’s top professional riders, who rarely have the opportunity to race on home soil.  Among the riders registered are Svein Tuft, a 2008 Olympian and former holder of the Pink Jersey of the Giro d’Italia, two-time Olympic bronze medalist Jasmin Duehring, 2012 Olympian and former national champion Joelle Numainville, 2016 Olympians and former national champions Leah Kirchmann and Karol-Ann Canuel, and defending time trial champion Ryan Roth.

The Championships begin on Saturday, June 24th, with the Road Race competition for Junior Men (120 kilometres) and Women (70 kilometres), and Elite and Under-23 Women (both 120 kilometres).  All races take place on a ten kilometre circuit at Tunney’s Pasture, along the Sir John A. MacDonald Parkway, with the Ottawa River as a backdrop.  On Sunday, the Elite and Under-23 Men will race 160 kilometres on the same circuit.

After a rest day on Monday, racing resumes with the Individual Time Trial competition on Tuesday, June 27th, for the same categories. The time trials all take place across the river from Ottawa at the Gatineau Park, with distances ranging from 16 kilometres to 36 kilometres.

The Championships conclude on Wednesday, June 28th, in Aylmer, Quebec, with the Criterium Championships taking place in the downtown area.  Races will last between 30 minutes and one hour, depending on the category.

Event organizer John Large says, “The Ottawa/Outaouais cycling commmunity is grateful to have had the push of Canada’s 150 Celebrations to bring the Canadian Championships to the region.  Our community spans both sides of the Ottawa River and we are proud to make use of the best of the region to showcase Canada’s top cyclists. The athletes will be challenged in all three events and the champions will have earned their titles.”

For more information on locations and times for the Global Relay Canadian Road Championships p/b Lexus, click here.

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CANADIANS WIN FOUR STAGES AT TOUR DE BEAUCE

SAINT-GEORGES, June 19, 2017 – After five days and six stages of racing, the 32nd edition of the Tour de Beauce concluded on Sunday in St-Georges, Quebec.  Canada’s longest running UCI sanctioned stage race saw Canadians win four stages and wear multiple leader jerseys during the 643 kilometres of racing.

Emile Jean of the Canadian team Silber Pro Cycling won the first stage and donned the Yellow Jersey of race leader.  A day later, Canada’s Matteo Dal-Cin, racing for Rally Cycling, won the Queen stage of the race, finishing alone at the top of Mont Megantic, while Nigel Ellsay of Silber took the lead in the Climber’s Jersey competition, which he would successfully defend for the rest of the race.  On Friday, the third day of racing, Silber was again successful, with Alec Cowan winning the individual time trial to take over the Yellow Jersey, plus the White (Points) and Red (Best Young Rider) jerseys.

On the final day of competition, Canada’s Rob Britton (Rally Cycling) took a very impressive solo breakaway win, while Jordan Cheyne (Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis) kept Canada on the overall podium by finishing third, behind overall winner Andzs Flaksis (Holowesko-Citadel) of Latvia.  Canada had two other Canadians in the top-10 – Jack Burke (Aevolo) in fourth and national champion Bruno Langois (Garneau Quebecor) in eighth.  Burke also finished second overall in the Under-23 competition.

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RIDERS FROM ACROSS CANADA CONTEST MASTERS ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Vancouver, June 14, 2017 – Close to 400 riders competed at the 2017 Global Relay Canadian Masters Road Championships p/b Lexus in Vancouver, ranging in age from 30 to 74 years.  Championship titles were awarded for women and men in Time Trial, Criterium and Road Races across multiple age categories.

The Championships opened on Friday with the time trial events, with riders from British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec winning titles.  Conditions were perfect, with a sunny and warm evening, and a stunning mountain backdrop as the athletes raced along Spanish Banks and English Bay.

Dalton Fayad (Fresh Air Experience/Concept) of British Columbia took the Men’s Master B title. “The course was tough with a climb right before the turnaround.  I knew there would be a lot of competition with most of the top time trial riders here.  I just muscled through it and went hard up the climb; I didn’t know how it would turn out but just left it all out there.  That’s all you can do.”

Jennifer Bell (Thunder Bay Cycling Club) of Ontario, in the Master E Women’s category, commented “It was absolutely amazing and the worst thing … in a good way.  I tried not to go out too hard, but the second time around was definitely painful.”

On Saturday, the Criteriums were held, with B.C. and Alberta riders dominating – B.C. taking four titles and Alberta two.  Andrew Davidson (The Lead Out Project) of Alberta won the Master A Men’s race in a solo breakaway.  “It’s the first time I’ve done that [gone on a break].  I didn’t have any team mates and some of these guys did, so I wanted to get up the road early.  No one else came across so I just kept chugging away.  I overdid it in one corner and went down, but got back up and saw that the group wasn’t going that hard so I attacked again.”

The road races were held on Sunday, with riders from Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and British Columbia all winning national titles.  Ian Scott (Wheels of Bloor) of Ontario won the Master C Men’s 104 kilometer race, just one second ahead of a 12 rider chase group.  “Honestly, I felt terrible all race!  It was a race of attrition.  The climb wasn’t steep but doing it ten times; it was just a question of surviving it and playing to my best hand, which was the sprint.”

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ARGON 18 SIGNS MULTI-YEAR PARTNERSHIP WITH CYCLING CANADA

Montreal, June 14, 2017 – Canadian high-end bike manufacturer Argon 18 announced today a multi-year partnership with Cycling Canada. Argon 18 becomes the Official Bike Supplier to Cycling Canada, supplying bikes to Canada’s National Team track, road and para-cycling programs through the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. In addition to the National Team programs the bike company will also supply frames to Team Race Clean, Cycling Canada’s NextGen road and track endurance program.

“Argon 18 is a worldwide company, and our roots remain Canadian. It is a natural collaboration to join forces with Cycling Canada, to build the best bikes for the track team, the best road bikes for the road team, and encourage the next generation of cyclists to grow into the sport,” said Gervais Rioux, founder and president of Argon 18 Bikes. “We are proud to support our nation’s top athletes with the best products on the market and help those athletes reach their goals of podiums in Tokyo 2020.”

Pierre Lafontaine, CEO of Cycling Canada, shared the federation’s excitement regarding the partnership with the Canadian-based bike company. “We are very pleased to be able to partner with Argon 18. ‘Made in Canada’ is central to our identity and working with Argon 18 proves that our program and our athletes can be among the best in the world with homemade, home-dreamed and home-supported world class bikes,” Lafontaine said.

Through this partnership, Argon 18 joins Cycling Canada’s Podium 2020 committee, whose focus is on the development of proprietary, world-class products and technologies for Canadian cycling programs.  Argon 18 will work to develop specific elements for the bikes for the Tokyo Games. The collaboration between Cycling Canada and technology-driven Argon 18 will drive additional innovations for the athletes and their bikes in the years ahead.

“Not only is this a fantastic opportunity and partnership for both Cycling Canada and Argon, it is a first for us. Our goal is to place our best athletes on the fastest equipment in Tokyo in 2020. Our partnership with Argon will facilitate that goal through a collaborative effort, developing and engineering a bike that will complement the complete ‘aero package’ we are working towards. I am confident that we will see a beautiful, slick Argon bike delivering us to the podium in 2020,” said Craig Griffin, Head Coach for Cycling Canada’s Women’s Track Endurance program.

“We are so pleased to have partnered with Argon 18 for this Olympic and Paralympic cycle. There are added benefits to this partnership for Cycling Canada; on the one hand Argon 18 is a Canadian company that is manufacturing some of the top performing bikes in the world, which means that we will benefit from their existing products that are backed by flawless engineering. On the other hand, being a Canadian company wanting to get more Canadians on the podium, Argon is definitely at the forefront of building a partnership with Cycling Canada to create products to suit our high performance needs,” said Jacques Landry, Chief Technical Officer and Head Coach for Cycling Canada.

“Over time, numerous Canadian riders have ridden on Argon 18 bikes. For me personally, it’s a return to the team I spent 10 years of my professional career racing with,” Rioux added. “Today I come full circle back to Cycling Canada with the same pride I had when I was riding, now as the bike manufacturer.”

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NEW CANADA CUP SERIES LEADERS AFTER HORSESHOE

HORSESHOE VALLEY, June 13, 2017 – After a two week hiatus, the XCO Mountain Bike Canada Cup resumed on Sunday for Round 4 at Horseshoe Valley, north of Barrie, Ontario.  The Norco Factory Team were the big winners of the day, taking both the Elite Women’s and Men’s victories.  The men’s and women’s leader’s jerseys changed hands in both the Junior and Elite categories.  Hot and humid conditions took their toll on the riders, with a number of riders abandoning.

Haley Smith (Norco Factory Team), back from competing on the European World Cup circuit, dominated the Elite Women’s race, riding away from the rest of the field on the first lap to win by 44 seconds over Cindy Montambault (Equipe du Quebec/Trek GPL).  Soren Meeuwisse (Trek Canada) took third and was also the top Under-23 rider.  Meeuwisse takes the lead in the standings with 565 points, followed by former leader Jayne Rossworn of British Columbia at 425 points (absent at Horseshoe) and Marine Lewis of Quebec at 415.

The Elite Men’s race saw five riders go to the front on the opening lap, but that was whittled down to two by the halfway mark – two time defending champion Peter Disera (Norco Factory Team) and national champion Derek Zandstra (Cannondale-3Rox).  The two rode together until the final half lap when Disera attacked, opening a few seconds lead which he held to the finish line.  Andrew L’Esperance (Forward Racing-Norco) and Quinton Disera (Norco Factory Team) sprinted for third, with L’Esperance beating Quinton Disera by a tire width.  Quinton Disera moves into the leader’s jersey with 590 points, followed by Round 2 winner Evan Guthrie (Independant) – who was absent from Horseshoe – at 495 points.  Alexandre Vialle (Toyota St-Eustache) is third with 416 points.

The Junior Expert Men’s race saw a sweep of the podium by Ontario team Centurion Next Wave, led by Gunnar Holmgren.  Holmgren was joined on the podium by team mates Brody Sanderson and Tyler Clark.  Sanderson moves into the overall series lead with 283 points, followed by Holmgren at 245.  Former leader Holden Jones (Cycling BC) drops to third with 230 points after skipping Horseshoe.

In the Junior Expert Women’s race, the Quebec-based Mont-Sainte-Anne squad took the top two spots, led by Roxane Vermette.  Vermette took the lead after the first lap and pulled away to win by over two and a half minutes on team mate Leya Masson, with Ruby West (Rise Racing) taking third.  Dana Gilligan (Team Ontario/Maverix) moves into the Series lead with 260 points, followed by former leader Sidney McGill (Focus CX Canada) at 255.  McGill was absent from Horseshoe.  Masson moves up to third with 245 points.

The Canada Cup continues next weekend with Round 5 at Hardwood Ski & Bike.

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BOIVIN FINISHES SECOND OVERALL AT GP SAGUENAY

SAGUENAY, June 12, 2017 – The internationally sanctioned stage race Grand Prix Cycliste de Saguenay concluded on Sunday with a stage win by Canadian rider Marc-Antoine Soucy (Garneau Quebecor) and second place overall for Team Canada’s Guillaume Boivin, four seconds behind winner Steve Fisher (Canyon Bicycles) of the United States.  Less than half of the original field finished the race.

The 149.8 kilometre stage near Chicoutimi saw an initial break of ten riders go clear.  None were a threat to the overall standings, so the team of race leader Fisher did not chase them down.  The break was eventually whittled down to five, including Soucy and fellow Canadians James Piccoli (Team Canada) and Derrick St John (Ride with Rendall), with Soucy winning the final sprint for the stage win.

In addition to the overall victory, Fisher regained the Points Jersey from Boivin on the final stage, with a total of 42 points to Boivin’s 41.  Team Canada’s Piccoli finished second in the Mountains competition to Jure Rupnik (H&R Block), and Team Canada was second overall to Canyon in the Team classification.

Team Canada manager Kevin Field summarized the four days of racing, saying “It was awesome to see so many young Canadians doing well this week. A Under-23 rider won the stage today. It was great.”

For the national team, he said “From a Team Canada perspective we’re taking away some positives as well as disappointment for sure. It’s tough to be so close and not get it. Canyon was very strong, they managed the race really well. Congratulations to them.”

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BOIVIN MOVES INTO POINTS JERSEY AT SAGUENAY

SAGUENAY, June 11, 2017 – Canadian riders continue to finish on the podium at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Saguenay, with Marc-Antoine Nadon (H&R Block) taking second in Stage 3 on Saturday at the Criterium stage held in Chicoutimi.  Team Canada’s Guillaume Boivin continues to chip away at the overall lead of American Steve Fisher (Canyon Bicycles) and is now only two seconds back with one stage remaining.  Boivin also moved into the lead in the Points competition.

Ten riders opened a small 11 second gap on the field, however, none were a threat to the overall standings.  American Chad Beyer gave Canyon another win, outkicking Nadon, with Gage Hect (Aevelo) taking third.  Five Canadians finished in the top-10 on the stage.

“Getting that first time bonus was awesome,” said Kevin Field, Team Manager.  “Canyon rode very, very well. They are good at this kind of racing and had the numbers.  We made some small mistakes out there … not getting on top of that breakaway sooner.  However, whether we won stage and took Jersey or are in the position we are in now; it practically makes no difference to tomorrow.  We are going to do everything we need to win.”

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BOIVIN MOVES TO WITHIN 3 SECONDS OF LEAD AT SAGUENAY

SAGUENAY, June 10, 2017 – Team Canada’s Guillaume Boivin made his second podium appearance in two days on Friday, in stage 2 of the internationally sanctioned stage race Grand Prix Cycliste de Saguenay.  Boivin finished third on the 171 kilometre stage in a sprint finish.

Canadian professional squad Silber Pro Cycling finished 1-2 on the stage, with Emile Jean taking the win ahead of Stephen Bassett.  Boivin also moved to within three seconds of the overall race lead, after time bonuses were factored in.

“On the last lap there was a split of eight guys,” explained Boivin.  “I was really driving that group; it was a gamble but we had to take it. I was a bit flat in the sprint as a result.”

Team Canada manager Kevin Field commented, “”It’s great to see all the Canadian teams active here. Congrats to Silber. Great rebound race for them. They lost a lot of guys in the crash on the last lap, but fortunately, everyone should be ok. For us, it was another great day. The team was awesome – James [Piccoli], Leandre [Bouchard] and Ben [Perry] all did the job for Guillaume today. We’re in a good spot with two stages to go! Fingers crossed … there is a lot of racing still to go.”

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