Ottawa, ON (September 12, 2022) – 20 Junior, U23 and Elite athletes are headed down under for the 2022 UCI Road World Championships in Wollongong, Australia on September 18-25.

Canada is fielding a strong Women’s squad including U23 athletes Simone Boilard and Magdeleine Vallières-Mill, as well as Olivia Baril, Alison Jackson, and Leah Kirchmann. For Kirchmann, this will be an opportunity to wear the Canadian jersey one last time at the World Championships, after she announced her retirement last month. Kirchmann and Jackson will represent Canada in the Individual Time trial.

“I’m really looking forward to racing at the World Championships in Australia this year with a solid Canadian team,” said Kirchmann. “My goal is to target a strong personal performance in the Time Trial and want to ride to help achieve the best possible result for Canada in the road race. I think we have a lot of strong cards to play, and a good mix of experienced, and up and coming talented riders to compete against the best in the world. Since it will be my last worlds, I want to also fully appreciate the time I get to spend with the team, and will be sure to soak up the atmosphere of racing such a significant event in a beautiful location.

Canada will be represented in the men’s race by Canadian National Champion Pier-André Côté, along with Nickolas Zukowsky, Derek Gee and Matteo Dal-Cin. Gee and Dal-Cin will also suit up for the Time Trial.

“We are very excited for this year’s Road World Championships in Wollongong, Australia as we are sending our largest team since 2019,” said National Team Coach Nigel Ellsay. “We are particularly excited to enter two U23 women to contest the first ever rainbow jersey for their category, and to participate for our first time in the mixed team time trial. We believe that Canadian athletes will be arriving in Wollongong with strong chances for success”

Cycling Canada has ramped up programming for Junior and U23 athletes over the past year, and with a continuing focus on youth development will be sending a large contingent of riders in these categories to race in Australia. Carson Miles, Tristan Jussaume and Nicolas Rivard will race in the U23 Road Race, with Miles and Jussaume also contesting the Individual Time Trial. Eight athletes will represent Canada in the Junior category including Campbell Parish, Kiara Lylyk and Penelope Primeau who recently also represented Canada at the Junior World Track Championships in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Racing can be streamed live on FloBikes here, starting with the Elite women’s and men’s Time Trials on Sunday, September 18.

Elite Women
Olivia Baril (Road Race) – Rouyn-Noranda, QC
Simone Boilard (Road Race) – Quebec City, QC
Alison Jackson (Individual Time Trial, Road Race) – Vermilion, AB
Leah Kirchmann (Individual Time Trial, Road Race) – Winnipeg, MB
Magdeleine Vallières-Mill (Road Race) – Sherbrooke, QC

Elite Men
Pier-André Côté (Road Race) – Saint-Henri de Lévis, QC
Matteo Dal-Cin (Inidividual Time Trial, Road Race) – Ottawa, ON
Derek Gee (Individual Time Trial, Road Race) – Osgoode, ON
Nickolas Zukowsky (Road Race) – Ste-Lucie-des-Laurentides, QC

Junior Women
Éloïse Camiré (Individual Time Trial, Road Race) – St-Jérôme, QC
Kiara Lylyk (Road Race) – Guelph, ON
Penelope Primeau (Individual Time Trial, Road Race) – Rosemère, QC
Anabelle Thomas (Road Race) – Calgary, AB

Junior Men
Jerome Gauthier (Road Race) – Amos, Quebec
Felix Hamel (Individual Time Trial, Road Race) – Sainte-Julie, QC
Michael Leonard (Road Race) – Oakville, ON
Campbell Parrish (Individual Time Trial, Road Race) – Vancouver, BC

U23 Men
Carson Miles (Individual Time Trial, Road Race) – Ottawa, ON
Tristan Jussaume (Individual Time Trial, Road Race) – Contrecoeur, QC
Nicolas Rivard (Road Race) – Bois-Des-Filion, QC

Warwick, England (August 7, 2022) – Maggie-Coles Lyster caps off her first Commonwealth Games schedule with a fifth-place finish after a tight race for the line in the women’s Road Race in Warwick, England. The Maple Ridge native would be Canada’s top finisher in the event on the final day for both men and women’s races. Her performance comes just one week after winning a bronze on the track in the women’s Scratch Race in London.

“We went out to race for the win,” said Coles-Lyster after just missing her second podium finish. “At the end, the riders just had better legs. It’s tough when you catch riders going around you in your periphery, but you just have to do everything you can to get to that line as fast as possible. Overall, the Commonwealth Games was just such a great experience. There are so many people out watching and the atmosphere is just electrifying. We were in London racing on the track there and those stands were full, and then the village life down in Warwick, there’s just a lot to take in with these Games and I’ve loved every minute of it.”

Pier-André Côté pushed his way to 13^th spot in the men’s Road Race to be men’s top finisher where he held his ground with the peloton, where he was able to sprint with the pack before falling back in the last lap of the 160-kilometre race. The Quebec native also finished in 13^th when he competed in the men’s Time Trial earlier in the week.

“We were here to definitely win a bike race, so we raced in that direction,” said Côté. “We followed a few attacks the first hour, and then I ended up in a group of 15 with some of the strongest riders in the world. I felt good at the front, feeling confident and then I started attacking with three laps to go. Tried to play it safe and then gambled a little bit, just didn’t have the legs to be up at the front. It was a straightforward course but it had a nice flow to it. It was such a cool experience being here, it was one of the best bike races I’ve done.”

Other notable Canadian finishes from road athletes at the Games were Olympians Alison Jackson and Leah Kirchmann finishing 11^th and 12^th with Simone Boilard coming off the Tour de Femmes, just behind her teammates in 13^th place. Michael Foley also switched gears from racing at the velodrome on week one of the Games to finish in the top 25 in the men’s Time Trial.

With Road Races complete, Canadian cyclists have officially wrapped up their Games schedule with a total of five medals from the track and a top five finish on the road. Full results from both track and road events can be found here.

Victoriaville, QC (July 5, 2022) – 24 Canadian titles across 8 male and female categories were awarded at the 2022 Canadian Masters Road Championships, which were held from July 1-4 in Victoriaville, Quebec. Over 300 participants aged 35-65+ from across the country competed in the Time Trial, Road Race and Criterium, with individuals also taking part in the 7^th edition of the Appalachian Classic on Sunday.

The Championships kicked off on Friday with the Time Trial, where riders tackled a 23.7-kilometer loop on the outskirts of Victoriaville. The following day, athletes competed in the Road Race over distances ranging from 85 to 132 kilometers on a hilly and punchy course, with harsh winds making the competition even more challenging. The weekend concluded on Monday with the Criterium event in the heart of the city, each category racing on the same 1.38-kilometer urban circuit for 40 minutes plus five laps.

Several familiar faces landed on the top step of the podium throughout the weekend, including 2016 Elite Canadian Road Champion Bruno Langlois, 65+ Canadian Esports Champion Anna Tykoliz, Canadian Track medallist Steve McKee, as well as 2021 Time Trial Champions Nancy Gillan and  Paolina Allan.

“I was here last year and I won the race so I knew the course, but this year was definitely harder,” commented Langlois. “It was the perfect course for me, even with some gravel that brings an extra challenge with equipment, choosing the right tires, the right lane. My legs were pretty good, I fed well and was able to attack with 30km to go; I’m not a sprinter so I knew I needed to win solo. The organization was great, and I really hope all the championships will be as challenging as this one.”

The event was part of the Gran Fondo World Series (GFWS) and gave Masters athletes a chance to qualify for the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships in both the Time Trial and Road Race events. Click here for full results or visit the Velo.Victo.Fest website for more information on upcoming events.

Results
Time Trial:
Masters A: 1- Louis Bussières 2 – Cory Jay 3 – Israël Gagné
Masters B: 1- Mark Sherboneau 2- Robin Pichette 3- Serghei Maximenco
Masters C: 1- Virgil Popescu 2- Lorenzo Caterini 3- Henry Tambor
Masters D: 1- Alain Goulet 2- Joel Katz 3- Robert Anderson
Masters E: 1- Nancy Gillan
Masters F: 1- Paolina Allan 2- Caroline Longchamp 3- Lorie Cochrane
Masters G: 1- Nathalie Champagne 2- Diane Bomans 3- Karen Paterson
Masters H: 1- Anna Tykoliz

Road Race:
Masters A: 1- Bruno Langlois 2- Cory Jay 3- Jeff Muise
Masters B: 1- Dominic Chalifoux 2- Bruce Bird 3- Eric Loiselle
Masters C: 1- Pascal Herve 2- Uli Mayer 3- Miguel Sanchez
Masters D: 1- Robert Anderson 2- Eric Magnoux 3- Alain Goulet
Masters E: 1- Marie-Hélène Carrier 2- Paule Levasseur 3- Nancy Gillan
Masters F: 1- Caroline Longchamp 2- Caroline Montminy 3- Paolina Allan
Masters G: 1- Nathalie Champagne 2- Dawn Heinemeyer 3- Karen Paterson
Masters H: 1- Anna Tykoliz

Criterium:
Masters A: 1- Jeremie Fontanaud 2- Jeff Schiller 3- Jean-Philippe Venne
Masters B: 1- Steve McKee 2- François Doyon 3- Hughes Joannis
Masters C: 1- Uli Mayer 2- Stéphane Le Beau 3- Daniel Therer
Masters D: 1- Cornelius Groeneveld 2- Mark Herbst 3- Thierry Bellanger
Masters F: 1- Leslie Horn 2- Josée Rossignol 3- Amy White
Masters G: 1- Dawn Heinemeyer 2- Shelly Christensen
Masters H: 1- Anna Tykoliz

Edmonton, AB (June 27, 2022) – The Canadian Road Championships Road Races came to a conclusion on Sunday with the U23 and Elite races which were held on a 14.4-kilometer loop in the scenic Edmonton River Valley area.

The women’s 116.6-kilometer race kicked off with an attack from Olympic rowing bronze medallist Caileigh Filmer (The Cyclery Racing) who managed to create a gap of up to 1:30 minutes for over 70 kilometers. Filmer was eventually caught in the final two laps by the peloton, which was led by defending champion Alison Jackson (Liv Racing Xstra), and the pack remained together until the final climb. Sprinters moved to the front in the final 500 meters, with 2019 Pan American Games medallist Maggie Coles-Lyster (DNA Pro Cycling) taking the win in front of Jackson and former Junior World Championships medallist Simone Boilard (Saint Michel-Auber93). Boilard also claimed gold in the U23 race, followed by Laury Milette (Emotional.FR Tornatech GSC Blagnac) in second, and national Time Trial champion Ngaire Barraclough in third.

“Being a one rider team here, my job was kind of just to sit and play it smart, follow the right moves and because I have a lot of faith in my sprint, not really initiate anything until the very end and that’s how it played out,” said Coles-Lyster. “It’s a huge win; it’s my first road national title as an Elite so it’s extremely exciting to be able to wear the maple leaf for the next year and to be able to say you’re a national champion. It was such a good course for me and I knew I had it in me.”

If the women’s race was bright and sunny, the men once again had to face harsh winds, rain and hail during the latter part of the 160.6-kilometer race. Several riders attempted to break away from the main pack during the first few laps but were always brought back until Benjamin Perry (WIV SunGod), Guillaume Boivin (Israel Premier-Tech), Pier-André Côté (Human Powered Health), Carson Miles (Premier Tech U23 Cycling Project) and Ethan Sittlington (Toronto Hustle) created a gap midway through the race. Sittlington was eventually dropped, but the four other riders managed to maintain a one-minute lead and finish as a group until the final sprint. The gold played out between sprint experts Côté and Boivin, with Côté edging out the defending champion to take home his first-ever road title, while Perry was third. Miles finished just behind the group to claim the U23 title, followed by Nicolas Rivard (U23 Premier Tech Cycling Project) and Riley Pickrell (Israel Cycling Academy).

“I was glad it started raining because I was overheating a little bit and I know I’m pretty good in the rain and harsh conditions,” said Côté. “It’s so special to be national champion. I’ve been dreaming of this since I started racing bikes and in recent years it became something that could actually happen, and I’ve been working really hard for this so it means a lot. It’s going to be one hell of a special year wearing the jersey in Europe.”

Today, the Championships conclude with the Criterium, which returns to the race program for the first time since 2019. The Junior women and men will be racing in the afternoon for 30 minutes and 45 minutes respectively through Edmonton’s Old Strathcona district, while Elite races will be held in the evening for a total of one hour each. Full results and schedules can be found here.

Results
U23 Women: 1- Simone Boilard 2- Laury Milette 3- Ngaire Barraclough
U23 Men: 1- Carson Miles 2- Nicolas Rivard 3- Riley Pickrell
Elite Women: 1- Maggie Coles-Lyster 2- Alison Jackson 3- Simone Boilard
Elite Men: 1- Pier-André Côté 2- Guillaume Boivin 3- Benjamin Perry

Edmonton, AB (June 24, 2022) – The 2022 Canadian Road Championships kicked off on Thursday with the Time Trial races for Para, Junior, U23 & Elite categories, where athletes completed distances ranging from 12 to 48 kilometers. With most defending champions absent or moving on to new categories, several titles were up for grabs and only four athletes managed to hold on to their previous national titles.

The 16km circuit located in Beaumont, on the outskirts of Edmonton, was mostly flat but came with its own set of challenges, including tight turns and longer distances. Harsh weather also settled in for the Elite races at the end of the day, with wind, rain and cold representing an additional challenge for riders. Israel Cycling Academy’s Derek Gee completed the 48km course with a time of 58:18.9 to claim gold, almost one minute ahead of Matteo Dal-Cin (Toronto Hustle) and Pier-André Côté (Human Powered Health). Tristan Jussaume (Équipe du Québec) finished with the fourth fastest time, earning him the U23 title for the second year in a row.

“It’s kind of nice, when it’s raining that hard and it’s that cold, you feel the legs a little less,” said Gee. “I got COVID about two months ago and it has been a long road back. The power I put out today, I was failing 10 minutes at that two weeks ago so it’s really nice to see that it’s come back and it came together today, I couldn’t have asked for a better day. It’s really special to be able to wear the jersey after Hugo [Houle], who I’ll be teammates with next year.”

Defending champion Alison Jackson unfortunately had to pull out of the Elite women’s Time Trial yesterday morning due to illness and was unable to defend her title against a stacked field of Elite and U23 riders. In the end, professional triathlete and Edmonton local Paula Findlay took the win with a time of 44:40.4, followed by Marie-Soleil Blais (Team Farto – BTC) and track star Ngaire Barraclough (The Cyclery Racing), who also won the U23 title.

“Kind of the main reason I did this race is because it’s in Edmonton and I’m from here. It was a lot of fun, a lot different to what I’m used to; I usually race triathlons, so it was cool to go hard and not have to run after,” said Findlay. “I’ve been focusing on this for the last three weeks and doing a lot more high intensity efforts versus what I usually do for triathlon. My strategy was really just to go hard and I knew for time trials it’s just a different mindset you get into than the four hour triathlons that I’m used to. It’s just put your head down, go fast and try to be as aero as possible.”

In the Junior races, Campbell Parish (Red Truck Racing/Cycling BC) and Pénélope Primeau (Équipe du Québec) set the fastest times to win their first Junior Time Trial titles after both claiming silver last year. Para-cycling competitions saw titles awarded in eight different categories, three of which were won by 2021 Canadian champions Marie-Claude Molnar, Louis-Albert Corriveau Jolin and Lowell Taylor (with pilot Ed Veal).

Saturday, Para athletes from all categories will be competing in the Road Race as of 8:00am, followed by the Junior women at 11:30am and Junior men at 3:30pm. Full results and schedules can be found here.

Results
T1-2 Women: 1- Shelley Gautier 2- Marie-Ève Croteau 3- Thuy Do
T1-2 Men: 1- Louis-Albert Corriveau-Jolin 2- Nathan Clement
H1-2 Men & Women: 1- Matthew Kinnie
H3-5 Women & Men: 1- Alex Hyndman 2- Charles Moreau 3- Joey Desjardins
C1-5 Women: 1- Marie-Claude Molnar 2- Keely Shaw 3- Mel Pemble
C1-5 Men: 1- Alexandre Hayward 2- Piotr Czyzowicz 3- Lachlan Hotchkiss
Tandem Women: 1- Carla Shibley & Meghan Brown
Tandem Men: 1- Lowell Taylor & Ed Veal 2- Daniel Chalifour & Jean-Michel Lachance 3- Benoit Lalumière Cloutier & Maximilien Moreau
Junior Women: 1- Pénélope Primeau 2- Éloise Camire 3- Ava Holmgren
Junior Men: 1- Campbell Parish 2- Carson Mattern 3- Félix Hamel
U23 Women: 1- Ngaire Barraclough 2- Sarah Van Dam 3- Adèle Desgagnés
U23 Men: 1- Tristan Jussaume 2- Francis Juneau 3- Thomas Nadeau
Elite Women: 1- Paula Findlay 2- Marie-Soleil Blais 3- Ngaire Barraclough
Elite Men: 1- Derek Gee 2- Matteo Dal-Cin 3- Pier-André Côté