Ottawa, ON (Sept. 7, 2023) – Cycling Canada has announced a team of seven riders for the 2023 Grands Prix Cyclistes de Québec et de Montréal (GPCQM) on Sept. 8 (Quebec City, QC) and Sept. 10 (Montreal, QC).

Pier-André Côté, Nicholas Rivard and Quentin Cowan will line up for the second year in a row after successful participation in the 2022 edition. Fresh off the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships, Côté and Benjamin Perry will look to better their performances. They will be joined by Quebec riders Matisse Julien, Felix Hamel and Robin Plamondon.

“We’re excited to again field a development team at the GPCQM, North America’s premier professional men’s road race,” said Nigel Ellsay, National Team Coach (Road Lead). “We have a diverse group of athletes. 19-year-old Felix, who last year raced with us at Junior Worlds, and his Ecoflo teammate, 20-year-old Matisse, will look to learn alongside veteran Ben and his Human Powered Health teammate, Pan American Champion Pier-André Coté. GPCQM is a unique opportunity for Canadian men to try new things, make mistakes and gamble at the highest level of the sport. As a coach, I’m really looking forward to seeing how they respond to this new challenge.”

Several Canadians will also be contesting GPCQM with their professional team: Guillaume Boivin, Derek Gee, Hugo Houle and Michael Woods will be attending with Israel Premier-Tech.

Woods will also take the opportunity to auction off his team kit worn during his Tour de France Stage 9 win in support of Cycling Canada’s HopOn program, helping more kids discover the joy of cycling.

Racing will start on Friday, Sept. 8 in Québec City and will continue Sunday, Sept. 10 in Montréal. For more details, click here.

Team Canada

Pier-André Côté – Lévis, QC
Quentin Cowan – Calgary, AB
Félix Hamel – Sainte-Julie, QC
Matisse Julien – Laval, QC
Benjamin Perry – St. Catharines, ON
Robin Plamondon – Montréal, QC
Nicholas Rivard – Bois-des-Fillions, QC

Ottawa, ON (June 27, 2023) – Canada’s brightest junior, elite and para talents converged in Edmonton, AB, from June 23-26 for their chance at one of 30 coveted titles at the 2023 Canadian Road Championships.

Individual Time Trials Set the Tone
Competition kicked off with the individual time trials on June 23, which saw a balance of returning and new Canadian Champions.

Maple leaf jerseys were awarded to eight para athletes, including Jessica Law in the women’s C1-5 category; Paralympian Michael Sametz (Team Alberta) in the men’s C1-5 category; Paralympian Shelley Gautier (Team Ontario) in the women’s T1-2 category; and Martin Duif in the women and men’s H1-2 category.

Lowell Taylor (Team Alberta), competing in the men’s B category, added another national title to his 2023 collection after winning the first-ever para Canadian Esports Champion title in February. Carla Shibley (Team Alberta) returned to take the crown in the women’s B category for a second year, and Équipe du Quebec’s Louis Albert Corriveau Jolin and Paralympian Charles Moreau improved on their second-place finishes from 2022 to win the Men T1-2 and Women & Men H3-5 categories, respectively.

Lowell Taylor and pilot Ed Veal top the Para Men B Time Trial podium.
All Photo Credits: Curtis Comeau

The Juniors saw 2023 Canadian Track Champion Nora Linton (AG Insurance-Soudal Quick-Step U19 Team) claim the women’s time trial title, while Matthew Ney (Red Truck Racing P/B Mosaic Homes) was first to stop the clock for the men. U23 men’s gold went to Michael Leonard (INEOS Grenadiers), while the women’s top spot went to Ngaire Barraclough for the second year running.

The Elite podium saw defending champions Paula Findlay and Derek Gee (Israel – Premier Tech), a month off of his impressive performance at the Giro d’Italia, successfully maintain their titles.

“This is really important to me, I put all my focus on this,” said Olympic triathlete Findlay of the win in front of her hometown crown. “Last year, I didn’t know what to expect and this year, I think I was a little more prepared with training for it specifically… I just race in triathlons so kind of learning still but it was really hard but also fun. I love this kind of racing where I can just go hard, cross the line and be done and not do a run so it was a good, hard day.”

Hometown Heroes Put on a Show in Road Races
The following day featured the Para and Junior road races. After conquering the time trials, Sametz (Men MC1-3), Duif (Men MH1-2), Gautier (Women WT1), Taylor (Men MB) and Shibley (Women WB) found themselves winning back-to-back titles in their respective road race categories. They were joined in the history books by Men MC4 Champion Piotr Czyzowicz (Équipe du Quebec), who reclaimed the title after his win in 2021, and Men MT1-2 Champion, Paralympian Nathan Clement.

Joey Desjardins, who won the men’s MH3-5 category, commented, “Winning the national title in the road race reinforces all the hard work I put in over the nine years since my first attendance at nationals. It’s a good feeling to trust in one’s ability and to take it home!”

Ethan Powell (Team Ontario) led the way for Junior men, building off of his winning experience at the 2023 Canadian Track Championships. Alexandra Volstad (Team Alberta), who also has Canadian Track Championships to her name from 2022, took home top honours for the women riding alongside teammates from her province: “The team was huge, they’re my best friends and I love racing with them locally so it feels pretty special to race with them at the national level.”

Alexandra Volstad wins the Junior women’s road race.

Track star Sarah Van Dam (DNA Pro Cycling Team) finished first in the women’s U23; her counterpart on the men’s side was Philippe Jacob (Team Ecoflo Chronos).

Elite athletes had their shot at a national road race title on June 25. For the men, it was Nickolas Zukowsky (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) who emerged victorious, while Alison Jackson (EF Education – TIBCO – SVB), winner of Paris-Roubaix Femmes earlier this year, captured the maple leaf jersey for the women. She said, “We don’t have so many races in my home province and to have all my family here, it’s definitely a special feeling. I’m just really happy to get to represent Canada with this jersey all year. When you can put on a great show and a great bike race for your friends, family and fans, that’s what it’s all about.”

Final Push in the Criterium
Four days of hard racing for Juniors and Elites concluded on June 26 with the criterium. Linton asserted her dominance in the Junior women’s category, while the men’s title went to 2023 Canadian Esports Champion, Patrick Harris (Ignite Junior Cycling).

Elite athletes closed the event, with Holly Simonson (LA Sweat) and Alec Cowan (Legion of LA) taking home the final two gold medals in the women’s and men’s races, respectively. Both riders had made it onto the 2022 criterium podium, but 2023 saw them earn the top step for the first time.

Alec Cowan gives his all to take home the Elite men’s criterium title.

The full list of results can be found here. Next up on the Canadian Championships calendar is the Canadian Road Championships for Masters and the Canadian BMX Championships, which will both be held from June 29-July 2 in Quebec. The full calendar of national events can be found on the Cycling Canada website.

Ottawa, ON (Feb. 10, 2023) – The Fédération québécoise des sports cyclistes, Cycling Canada and the Grand Prix Cycliste Beauce corporation are proud to announce that the 2023 Canadian Masters Road Cycling Championships and the Quebec Elite Road Cycling Championships will be held from June 29 to July 2 in Saint-Georges-de-Beauce.

“Just a few weeks after the Appalachian Classic withdrew from hosting the Canadian Masters Road Championships, we coordinated our efforts to find a quick and efficient solution, without compromising the quality of this event,” commented Louis Barbeau, Executive Director of the FQSC, who was pleased with the agility of the players involved. “We called on the Tour de Beauce team because of their experience and expertise in organizing major road races, whether it be the Tour de Beauce, the Quebec Championships or the Canadian Championships. They responded to our request, as they have often done over the past 20 years.”

An exceptional dual status
Led by a team well experienced in organizing cycling events, the Grand Prix Cycliste de Beauce corporation had recently agreed to organize the 2023 Quebec Elite Road Cycling Championships, which includes the masters categories. In agreeing to organize the Canadian Road Championships for Masters, it was decided that the two events would be combined in 2023.

In concrete terms, this means that for the masters races, all Canadians will be eligible for the rankings, medals and jerseys for the Canadian Championships, while only Quebecers will be eligible for the Quebec Championships. Therefore, there will be two separate podiums in the masters categories. It should be noted that the Association des coureurs vétérans (maîtres) du Québec (ACVQ) has been consulted and has agreed to this solution.

In the case of junior and senior age categories, men and women, the Quebec Championships will be reserved exclusively for Quebecers.

“It is with great pleasure that our organization intends to take up this new challenge,” added Francis Rancourt, General Manager of the Corporation du Grand Prix Cycliste de Beauce. “We are fortunate to be able to count on a well-trained team, but also on the support of our many local partners, notably the Ville de Saint-Georges, who understand the importance of the benefits of such events for the region.”

Please note that the Canadian Masters Champions will automatically qualify for the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships.  All information regarding the 2023 Canadian Masters Road Cycling Championships, including the detailed schedule, will be available on Cycling Canada’s event page.

Wollongong, Australia (September 26, 2022) – It was a breakthrough performance for Simone Boilard who had the best finish by a Canadian during the 2022 UCI Road World Championships in Wollongong, Australia. The U23 rider was just shy of a podium finish to ride into fourth spot in her category, while finishing 22^nd overall with the Elite women after 164.2-kilometres of racing.

“It was a hard race,” said Boilard. “I wanted more; I would’ve loved a podium for U23 but I think I gave everything. The girls were amazing, we worked together really well. I’m proud of the ride; I’m proud of how we raced at the end. I was a little short for a better result, but I really did give everything I had, so I’m happy with the ride.”

Looking to better her stellar performance during the 2021 World Championships where she came in sixth in the women’s Road Race, Alison Jackson sought to move up the ranks in Australia, but would come in 18^th in the women’s Elite category. Jackson would then watch her Olympic teammate, Leah Kirchmann cross the line in the Canadian jersey one last time after announcing her retirement earlier in the season to finish 46^th in the event.

“I’m really happy with how the race went for the team today,” explains Kirchmann reflecting on her final race with Team Canada. “I think we came in with a great plan and think we really rode well together and supported each other well until the end. Overall, my goal was to enjoy my last race with the team here, and I definitely wanted to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy that there were so many people out there cheering us on. There was even a rainbow after the rain storm which felt appropriate to wrap up the Championships with a nice final race.”

Earlier in the week, athletes took on the Individual Time Trial where Canada saw four top-25 finishes of the 20-athlete contingent including Kirchmann, Derek Gee (Elite), Penelope Primeau (Junior) and Tristan Jussaume (U23).

After a full week of racing down under, athletes will now head back to their respective teams. Results from both the Individual Time Trial and Road Races can be found on the UCI website.