NEW ENERGY AND RESURGENCE FOR CANADIAN PARA-CYCLING
Years of development and recruitment is now bearing its fruits
(Lac Mégantic, QC – June 27, 2014) Para-cycling in Canada is benefiting from a new energy as witnessed this week at the 2014 Global Relay Canadian Road Cycling Championships in Lac Mégnatic, QC.
The para-cycling resurgence comes after years of recruitment, development and international success to find new talent across the country, thanks to the involvement of the provincial associations.
Alberta, among many other provinces, stepped up and brought a large group of riders to the 2014 edition of the Canadian Championships. Quebec, Ontario, New-Brunswick, Saskatchewan, and BC were also represented in these Championships.
The Fédération québécoise des sports cyclistes was the pioneer in para-cycling development, and Équipe du Québec continues to be strong contenders in most of the categories, thanks to the early passion and vision of Louis Barbeau, who occupied the role of President of the para-cycling commission at the Union cycliste internationale during the last four years.
Thanks to this growth in the development of para-cycling, new athletes have created a feeling and atmosphere of high performance, pushing the current elite riders to a new level. Notably, in the men’s C category, Michael Sametz of Calgary, AB took these Championships by storm, winning both titles in his first appearance in a Canadian Road Championships. In both races Sametz beat Jaye Milley, a World Championships and World Cup medallist.
This week, we saw the return of the prolific tandem formed of Robbi Weldon and Lyne Bessette taking both the time trial and the road race titles after being separated for almost two years. Sametz won both of his races, while Ashley Wilson raced in his second Canadian Championships, stepping on the podium in both races. Mathieu Daigle, in his first Canadian Road Championships with pilot Pierre-Olivier Boily, won the men’s tandem road race, thanks to an early solo breakaway.
Next step for the Canadian Para-Cycling road program will be the World Cup races in Segovia, Spain, and then the 2014 UCI Road World Championships in South Carolina.
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PODIUMS – ROAD RACES – GLOBAL RELAY CANADIAN ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS
PARA-CYCLING – MEN B
1. C. DAIGLE, Matthieu / BOILY, Pierre-Olivier (MB) Equipe du Québec 2:17:24
2. CARRIER, Alexandre / LAFLAMME, Aroussen (MB) Equipe du Québec +1:27
3. CHALIFOUR, Daniel / CLOUTIER, Alexandre (MB) Equipe du Québec +1:27
PARA-CYCLING – WOMEN B
1. WELDON, Robbie / BESSETTE, Lyne (WB) 2:14:42
2. RYAN, Shawna / LEMIEUX, Audrey WB +4:42
3. BOISVERT, Mélissa / GAGNON, Evelyne WB +9:02
PARA-CYCLING – T
1. CROTEAU, Marie-Eve (WT2) Equipe du Québec 1:05:56
2. WILSON, Ashley (MT2) Team Alberta +13:49
PARA-CYCLING MEN H3-4
1. LEDO, Mark (MH4) RealDeal/Gears 1:22:40
2. BEGGS, Mark (MH3) Equipe du Québec +3:25
3. MOREAU, Charles (MH3) Equipe du Québec +4:20
PARA-CYCLING WOMEN H1-4; MEN H1-2
1. LABBE, Robert (MH2) Equipe du Québec 1:23:40
2. ADAM, Myriam (WH3) Equipe du Québec +2:21
3. DOUVILLE, Kara (WH4) Synergy Racing +4:46
PARA-CYCLING WOMEN C1-5; MEN C1-3
1. SAMETZ, Michael (MC3) Team Alberta 1:45:51
2. WILSON, Ross (MC1) Team Alberta +0:30
3. MILLEY, Jaye (MC1) Team Alberta +1:02
PARA-CYCLING MEN C4-5
1. AVSAR, Atilla (MC5) Independent 2:29:09
ABOUT GLOBAL RELAY
Global Relay is the world leader in cloud-based messaging, archiving and search technology for the financial sector. Global Relay is headquartered in Gastown, with offices in New York, Chicago, London and Singapore. In 2012, Global Relay invested $1 million to bring back and operate the Gastown Grand Prix, Canada’s most prestigious criterium which attracts some of North America’s top cyclists and crowds of 30,000 to the streets of historic Gastown in Vancouver each July, as part of BC Superweek.
