On January 1st of this year, Pierre Lafontaine took on the role of CEO at Canada’s national cycling federation, Cycling Canada.  He inherits the position from Greg Mathieu, who retired following a term of almost eight years.  During Mathieu’s tenure, Canada’s high performance program experienced tremendous growth, particularly on the track, and now has a national training centre at the Milton velodrome, as well as a mountain bike centre in Victoria.  Canada won two medals at the 2016 Olympics and nine medals at the Paralympics.
Lafontaine comes to cycling from cross-country skiing and, before that, swimming.  “My original world was swimming. I started in a suburb of Montreal with the Pointe Claire Swim Club in the late ’70s, where I was a club coach while at university.  I was also quite involved with a disabilities program we had at the club, for kids with Down’s Syndrome and autistic learning disabilities.”

Lafontaine continued to move up through the coaching ranks, taking a position with the University of Calgary as the assistant coach for four years, where they became the number one club in Canada.  He worked with Olympic coaches and managed national team projects, before moving to Phoenix, Arizona, in 1988 to join the Phoenix Swim Club.

“By 2000 we had 12 kids on the Olympic team and eight medals at the Olympics [3 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze] and I was approached by the Australian Swimming Federation, to become the assistant coach at the Australian Institute of Sport [AIS].  In 2001 the head coach left and I was offered the job.”

Lafontaine stayed in Australia until 2005, when he was headhunted by Swimming Canada, becoming the national coach and CEO to begin rebuilding the program that had won no medals in 2004.  During his tenure there until 2013, Canada won one Olympic medal in 2008, three in 2012, plus another six in Rio last year.  At the three Paralympics, swimming took a staggering 47 medals.

“When I came in, in 2005, I basically redesigned the ten year plan.  But after the 2012 Games, I had been at it [swimming] for 40 years, and I felt that I needed to use my energy for something else.  I worked for a short time to help redevelop the University sports system [formerly Canadian Interuniversity Sport, now University Sport], which was a great experience, and not long after I was offered the position [of CEO] with Cross-country Skiing.”

However, Lafontaine found the logistics of being in Canmore, Alberta, for his job while his family was based in the Ottawa region was just too difficult, and was thrilled when presented with the opportunity to work with Cycling Canada.

“I feel cycling is an iconic sport in Canada, it’s a growing sport, it is a sport for all.  Plus it was based in Ottawa, so I thought that all these things meant the stars were aligning for me to come back to Ottawa.  I feel blessed to have the opportunity to help grow the sport in Canada.”

Lafontaine feels that, “I have two roles here; the first is to support national high performance programs and figure out what needs to be done to be among the best in the world.  The other role is to put more people on bikes, so that we become Cycling in Canada and not just Cycling Canada.”

“I think there are four sports in Canada that should be the base sports.  One is to be swimming … as a parent, if your kids know how to swim then there is a new world open to them.  I also think cycling opens a world; there’s a rite of passage when a dad or mom teaches a child to ride their bike. There is a whole world of independence when you can ride your bike to the pool, or the park, or your friend’s house; you become this independent person.  So, to me, in the summer you are looking at cycling and swimming, and in the winter you are looking at skating and skiing.”

“I am excited that I can help the national program.  My world has been high performance, but my social world is also about getting Canadians more active, and getting 35 million Canadians as proud as hell of the performance of our national team.  Yes, we are in the cycling business, but we are in the people business.  We are about building leaders, we are about building ambassadors for Canada.”

Lafontaine believes that besides high performance there is an important development role for Cycling Canada.  “How can we get more kids on bikes?  What can we do about bike safety?  There is an advocacy role; for bicycle trails and routes.  When I lived in Australia, my kids could ride their bikes 12 kilometres to their gym and they only had to cross two roads; there were tunnels underneath everything else.”

Lafontaine sees a key component of his role as helping create the structure to make “Canada one of the best cycling nations in the world.  Why can’t we be there?”

In terms of high performance, Lafontaine recognizes that track cycling accounts for 10 of 18 Olympic events, however, “if you look around the world, road cycling is front and center.  And not just the Tour de France and the [WorldTour] races in Quebec and Montreal; it’s the gran fondo tours and all the popular rides.  The road aspect of cycling is a brand that we need to find a way to support more.”
Lafontaine agrees that this is not something Cycling Canada can do alone.  “The sum of people, from the provincial bodies, to the cycling communities … part of our work is to bring people together, to find the Canadian answers.  I feel my role in the next four, to eight, to 12 years, is to build a structure so that we don’t win by luck; there is a system, from the local clubs to the provincial bodies to the all-star team.  I don’t have to reinvent the wheel. There are a lot of passionate people around the country in cycling.  I just have to slowly bring everybody back to a family.”

“We are looking now at our strategic plan going towards 2020, and I said to our staff that the 2024 athletes are already on bikes and the 2028 athletes are mostly on bikes, so we need to work on the plan for these athletes now.”

Pierre Lafontaine Returns Home Following One-Year Stint Leading Cross Country Canada
Distinguished sport leader named Cycling Canada’s new Chief Executive Officer/Secretary General

OTTAWA, ON — Pierre Lafontaine is returning to Ottawa full time, accepting the role as chief executive officer/secretary general for Cycling Canada, after splitting time over the last year between his hometown and Cross Country Ski de Fond Canada’s national office in Canmore, Alta., the two national sport bodies announced jointly on Friday.

During his stint as chief executive officer for the governing body of cross-country skiing in Canada, Lafontaine worked tirelessly to bring the community across the country together – from the provincial sport organizations, national training centres and coaches – under a shared 10-year vision designed to increase participation in the sport in all corners of the country, and ultimately, put more Canadian cross-country skiers on the Olympic and Paralympic podium.

“I really enjoyed working with the Nordic community across Canada and will miss the people. Cross-country skiing is one of the most iconic winter sports in this country. It is an extremely passionate community with an incredible group of athletes representing our country,” said Lafontaine.

“I am extremely grateful for Cross Country Ski de Fond Canada’s openness, and flexibility, to allow me to lead my team from afar, but I personally struggled with being away from both my family and the office in Canmore. I can’t thank the Board enough for their support of this decision – one that is best for me.”

Lafontaine, who will remain in his position with Cross Country Ski de Fond Canada until January, will assist the organization with implementing a transition plan that provides priority focus and support leading into the 2016-17 season.

“Family is at the heart of cross-country skiing in this country so, while we have a big hole to fill, we understand and respect Pierre’s difficult decision,” said Jamie Coatsworth, chair, Cross Country Ski de Fond Canada. “Pierre has done significant legwork getting all of our partners aligned under a shared vision, but we have loads of work remaining to get to where we want to be. We will begin an immediate search for a leader who can build on the framework Pierre has developed, and lead us into the next phase of our strategic growth plan.”

Lafontaine Succeeds Cycling Canada’s Retiring CEO, Greg Mathieu

From the lanes in the pool to making tracks on the Nordic ski trails, Lafontaine will now ride into Ottawa where he will succeed Greg Mathieu as Cycling Canada’s chief executive officer and secretary general in January.

Recognized as one of Canada’s most distinguished sport leaders, Lafontaine brings a wealth of international experience with him to the cycling community, having served as CEO and national coach of Swimming Natation Canada from 2005-13, followed by two years as CEO of Canadian Interuniversity Sport. A medal-winning performer, Lafontaine has achieved success working in all levels of the sport system across Canada, the United States and Australia – from national team athletes to youngsters getting introduced to the sport at the club level. Prior to taking the reigns of swimming in Canada, Lafontaine spent three years as head coach of the Australian Institute of Sport.

“Pierre is an energetic, passionate and experienced leader who is a known performer in the area of sport development,” said John Tolkamp, president, Cycling Canada, who added Lafontaine was hired following an extensive national search. “He will be counted on to lead our exceptional staff towards realizing the vision of being a leading cycling nation by 2020.”

Lafontaine is widely acclaimed as an innovative leader; not only in athlete and coach development, but also in building critical relationships with key stakeholders, including Own the Podium, Canadian Olympic Committee and Canadian Paralympic Committee, to develop world-leading high-performance programs. Under his guidance, Lafontaine has achieved podium results as a CEO and coach at major international events from the Olympics and Paralympics to World Championships, Pan Am, Parapan Am and Commonwealth Games.

“I am extremely pleased to have the opportunity to join Cycling Canada to continue doing what I love – working in Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic community,” said Lafontaine. “Whether it is cycling, cross-country skiing or swimming, my goals remain the same – provide the tools our athletes and coaches require to be world-leaders from the grassroots to elite levels, and to make the sport one of the premier activities in all corners of the country. There is a strong foundation in place at Cycling Canada, and my goal is to ensure cycling remains a powerhouse well into the future.”

About Cycling Canada
Cycling Canada is the governing body for competitive cycling in Canada. Founded in 1882, Cycling Canada aims to create and sustain an effective system that develops talented Canadian cyclists to achieve Olympic, Paralympic, and World Championship medal performances. With the vision of being a leading competitive cycling nation by 2020 celebrating enhanced international success, increased national participation and world class event hosting, Cycling Canada manages the High Performance team, hosts national and international events and administers programs to promote and grow cycling across the country. Cycling Canada programs are made possible through the support of its valued corporate partners – Global Relay, Lexus Canada, Mattamy Homes, Louis Garneau and Bear Mountain Resort – along with the Government of Canada, Own the Podium, the Canadian Olympic Committee and the Canadian Paralympic Committee.

About Cross Country Ski de Fond Canada
CCC is the governing body of cross-country skiing in Canada, which is the nation’s optimal winter sport and recreational activity with more than one million Canadians participating annually. Its 60,000 members include athletes, coaches, officials and skiers of all ages and abilities, including those on Canada’s National Ski Teams and Para-Nordic Ski Teams. With the support of its valued corporate partners – Haywood Securities Inc., AltaGas, and Mackenzie Investments – along with the Government of Canada, Canadian Olympic Committee, Canadian Paralympic Committee, Own the Podium and B2Ten, CCC develops Olympic, Paralympic and world champions. For more information on CCC, please visit us at www.cccski.com.