MAGGIE COLES-LYSTER WINS SECOND NATIONAL ROAD TITLE IN THE CRITERIUM
Edmonton, AB (June 28, 2022) – After four intense days of racing, the Canadian Road Championships came to an end on Monday with the Criterium races for Junior and Elite athletes. With all 2019 defending champions absent or having moved on to new age groups, all four titles were up for grabs in the fast-paced urban race.
The women’s one-hour race was aggressive from the start, with Road Champion Maggie Coles-Lyster (DNA Pro Cycling), Road silver medallist Alison Jackson (Liv Racing Xstra), U23 Time Trial Champion Ngaire Barraclough (The Cyclery Racing) and Time Trial silver medallist Marie-Soleil Blais (Team Farto-BTC) all breaking away from the main pack. They were joined by Olympian Ariane Bonhomme (The Cyclery Racing) midway through the race before eventually being caught by the peloton. As they turned the last corner, Coles-Lyster started to sprint and was once again unbeatable, taking home her second maple leaf jersey of the weekend, while Jackson was second and Holly Simonson (Red Truck Racing p/b Mosaic Homes) was third.
“I was pretty confident but there were strong teams with a bunch of riders so you just never know,” said Coles-Lyster. “Especially after yesterday, I’m very confident in my sprint and I knew that if I was first around that last corner, I would win. I just made that my focus during the whole race; making the right moves, staying at the front, just being smart, being first through that last corner and it worked out well for me. This one is really special because of how many criteriums my team does so I can now wear the maple leaf down in the US as we race all around.”
The Elite men were on course immediately after and set a high pace throughout the race, with certain riders catching speeds of up to 50km/hour. Several athletes attempted to break away, including Criterium expert Alec Cowan (L39ion of Los Angeles), former Road Champion Matteo Dal-Cin (Toronto Hustle) and U23 Champion Carson Miles (Premier Tech U23 Cycling Project). Despite these attacks, the race came down to a sprint, with track cyclist and Olympian Michael Foley (Toronto Hustle) taking the win ahead of Cowan and Sam Morris (Above + Beyond Cancer p/b Bike World).
“This is my second victory on the road after the Preston Street Criterium a few weekends ago,” said Foley. “Our team’s strategy was just to race aggressive and I think we did that. For me, I just wanted to stay near the front because I know crits are a lot easier near the front even if you have a bit of wind. It might actually have been the easiest place to be, you can roll through the corners without braking. I’m excited because I never got to wear the actual national champions jersey and I’m looking forward to doing more criteriums.”
The Junior women’s race saw Ava Holmgren (Team Ontario) break away from the main pack and lead the race for the entire 30 minutes of racing before being eventually caught with three laps to go. Mara Roldan (TaG Cycling Race Team) sprinted to first place, followed by national track medallist Alexandra Volstad (Team Alberta) in second and Canadian Time Trial Champion Pénélope Primeau (Équipe du Québec) in third. The Junior men’s race was led mostly by riders from the Quebec team who attempted several breaks but to no avail. In the final turn, Saskatchewan’s Fergus English (SPS Athlete Development) led out the sprint to claim gold ahead of Jérôme Gauthier (Équipe du Québec) and teammate Luva Veeman (SPS Athlete Development).
The Canadian Road Championships now head to Victoriaville, Quebec, from July 1-4 for the Masters competitions as part of the Vélo.Victo.Fest. Athletes across 4 male and female categories will be vying for Canadian titles in the Time Trial, Road Race and Criterium. Full results from the weekend can be found here.
Results
Junior Women: 1- Mara Roldan 2- Alexandra Volstad 3- Pénélope Primeau
Junior Men: 1- Fergus English 2- Jérôme Gauthier 3- Luca Veeman
Elite Women: 1- Maggie Coles-Lyster 2- Alison Jackson 3- Holly Simonson
Elite Men: 1- Michael Foley 2- Alexander Cowan 3- Sam Morris
