AYLMER, June 29, 2017 – The 2017 Global Relay Canadian Road Championships p/b Lexus for Elite, Under-23 and Junior aged riders concluded on Wednesday in Aylmer, Quebec, with the crowd-pleasing Criterium Challenge.  The short course, fast paced criterium races are not an internationally recognized championship, however, are very popular in North America and special jerseys are awarded to recognize the winners.

Shortly before the start of the women’s 60 minute race, torrential rain swept through the region.  Luckily, it backed off and the sun came out just before the women began to race.  The women’s race started cautiously due to the wet roads, however, as the roads dried the pace picked up and crowds began to build.  Despite multiple efforts, no riders were able to break clear of the field and it came down to sprint on the uphill finish, with Rio Olympian Leah Kirchmann (Team Sunweb) outkicking Steph Roorda (Sho Air Twenty20) and Joelle Numainville (Cylance).

“The weather’s been crazy this week and it was raining so hard!” said Kirchmann.  “We were on the start line and luckily it finally started to let up.  The first few laps we were testing out the corners and seeing how slippery it was, but as it dried up the race got more aggressive.  Being without team mates did mean I had to cover a number of breaks but it seemed that everyone wanted it to come down to a sprint.  The sprint started pretty early and it was a total drag race to the line.  It was great to finish the Championships with a win.”

By the time the men’s 60 minute race began the roads were mostly dry and the attacks commenced from the gun.  The Silber Pro Cycling team aggressively covered every breakaway effort, allowing nothing to get more than a 15 or 20 second gap.  The pace shredded the field, with riders coming off in bunches, and there were only 28 finishers out of 85 starters.  As the race entered the final few laps Silber moved to the front with seven riders, setting up Pier-Andre Cote for the finish.  At the line, Cote was just able to hold off Pierrick Naud (Rally Cycling) and Felix Cote-Bouvette (Garneau Québecor) to give Silber the title.

“It was the perfect night for us,” said Cote, “the team rode very well, it was perfect.  We took control of the race at the end and I was where I wanted to be in the last corner and went for the sprint, and it was done.  You could be really patient with this sprint.  I was fifth with 100 metres to go.  Other riders had to go pretty early because we were at the front and they were fading at 50 metres to go and I just went by them.”

In the Junior races, both defending champions won, with Maggie Coles-Lyster (TaG Cycling) winning the women’s title and Kurt Penno (Trek Red Truck Racing) the men’s.

“What an epic Championship!” said Mathieu Boucher, Performance Development Director at Cycling Canada.  “Riders, volunteers and commissaires had to deal with extreme weather throughout the championships but everyone executed to deliver a memorable event with amazing performances from our athletes.  There is no doubt we are moving in the right direction and that we will see more and more Canadians on international podiums. Congratulations to all the new Canadian Champions!”

OTTAWA, June 26, 2017 – The road race portion of the Global Relay Canadian Road Championships p/b Lexus in Ottawa concluded on Sunday with the Elite and Under-23 men’s road race.  Ottawa native Matteo Dal-Cin (Rally Cycling) made up for last year’s crash in the final corner by taking the title after a day of torrential rain.

The road races were held on a ten kilometre circuit west of the city center, along the Ottawa River.  The 160 kilometre race began in sunny conditions, but roughly 65 kilometres into the race heavy rain swept in from the west.  Racing continued for another lap before officials neutralized the competition due to nearby lightning, with riders taking shelter in tents and team vehicles at the start line.

After approximately 20 minutes, the worst of the storm had passed and the race was restarted, with the roads drying out and the sky turning sunny and hot.  However, black clouds were again rolling in from the west, and with about 40 kilometres to go even heavier rain returned, only slackening off for the finish.

Attacks earlier in the race had not worked, but the rain led to even more aggressive racing.  A small group opened a gap with three laps to go, but WorldTour pro Svein Tuft (Orica-Scott) went to the front of the rapidly disintegrating peloton to pull it back.  Dal-Cin attacked with Under-23 rider Marc-Antoine Soucy (Garneau Quebecor) as the race went under 20 kilometres to go, and this move stuck, opening up 30 seconds as they started the final lap.  It was shrinking through the lap, but there was no organization in the chase, in the teeming rain.

Dal-Cin, who had crashed going into the final corner while in the lead last year, took the last turn more cautiously this time, but was able to pass Soucy in the final 100 metres to win the title.  Soucy took the Under-23 title with his second place.

“It was a crazy day out there,” agreed Dal-Cin, “from sun to rain, to sun and then back to rain.  But I don’t really care at this point, I’m just over the moon.  To be honest, I don’t even know how it happened [the winning break].  We just ended up out there with a lap and a half to go, and we just rolled really well together and duked it out in the sprint.  I definitely didn’t hot rod the corner this year!  I waited until we were free and clear of it before I started my sprint.  It’s pretty amazing; there are just so many friends and family here.”

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.

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.”

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.”