ALBERTA & QUEBEC ON THE TOP STEP OF THE PODIUM AT THE 2022 CANADIAN ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Edmonton, AB (June 25, 2022) – Saturday saw ten national Road Race titles awarded across Para-cycling and Junior categories at the 2022 Canadian Road Championships in Edmonton, Alberta. Athletes from the host province continued to impress, winning a total of three titles, while Team Quebec finished on the top step of the podium twice.
The day started with the para-cycling races, where eight titles were up for grabs in the T, H, C and B categories across distances ranging from 28.8 to 72 kilometers. The tandem duo of Carla Shibley and Meghan Brown (Team Alberta), Alexandre Hayward (Team New Brunswick) and Kara Douville (Team Alberta) all managed to hold on to their 2021 titles, with Shibley, Brown and Hayward also winning their second gold medals of the week. In the highly competitive men’s H3 category, Joey Desjardins (Team Ontario) was able to distance himself from his Paralympic colleagues Charles Moreau (Équipe du Québec) and Alex Hyndman to take home his first maple leaf jersey.
“I’ve been chasing the national title for a long time so I’m happy to go home with it today,” said a visibly excited Desjardins. “It was fun pacing myself throughout the laps, seeing where I was with the other guys [Moreau and Hyndman] and trying to keep a distance on them. You know it’s always going to be an intense race with those two so we just see who can make the others suffer the most the day of and come out with the win.”
The Junior women’s race followed immediately after and included several accomplished riders with multiple Canadian titles already under their belts. Despite the course including various hilly sections, the peloton remained together for much of the race, with only a handful of riders being dropped throughout the five laps. The competition came to a head in the final 500 meters following the last climb, where Team Alberta’s Anabelle Thomas took the lead to claim gold in a sprint finish, followed by six-time national track champion Kiara Lylyk (Team Ontario) and Time Trial silver medallist Éloïse Camiré (Équipe du Québec).
“I always wanted to try for the sprint since I love sprinting, so I was just watching for breakaways throughout the race and trying to stay with the front group,” said Thomas. “I tried to stay on the outside on the final hill and then continue to the sprint and hopefully carry the gap. It’s great with my family, coaches and teammates all here to cheer me on and it was a really great experience.”
The day concluded with the Junior men’s 116.8-kilometer race, where 55 riders where vying for a spot on the podium. Time Trial bronze medallist Félix Hamel (Équipe du Québec) and multiple track medallist Gavin Hadfield (Toronto Hustle) broke off from the main pack halfway through the race, increasing their lead with every lap. Junior World Champion Carson Mattern tried to bridge the gap with three laps to go, but the lead was already too substantial for the Team Ontario rider. Hamel attacked with one lap to go to take home his first national title, followed by Hadfield 50 seconds back, and Mattern almost three minutes behind.
Tomorrow, U23 and Elite athletes will take on the 14.4km loop in Edmonton’s River Valley area, with the women tackling 116.8km, while the men will complete 11 laps for a total distance of 160.6 kilometers. Full results and schedules can be found here.
Results
T1-2 Men & Women: 1- Nathan Clement 2- Louis-Albert Corriveau Jolin 3- Marie-Ève Croteau
C1-3 Women : 1- Mel Pemble
H1-5 Women & Men H1-2: 1- Kara Douville 2- Katty Abran
H3-5 Men: 1- Joey Desjardins 2- Charles Moreau 3- Alex Hyndman
C4-5 Women: 1- Keely Shaw 2- Marie-Claude Molnar
C1-5 Men: 1- Alexandre Hayward 2- Piotr Czyzowicz 3- Lachlan Hotchkiss
Tandem Women: 1- Carla Shibley & Meghan Brown
Tandem Men: 1- Daniel Chalifour & Jean-Michel Lachance 2- Lowell Taylor & Ed Veal 3- Benoit Lalumière Cloutier & Maximilien Moreau
Junior Women: 1- Anabelle Thomas 2- Kiara Lylyk 3- Éloïse Camiré
Junior Men – 1- Félix Hamel 2- Gavin Hadfield 3- Carson Mattern
