News – Page 38 – Cycling Canada Cyclisme

CANADA TO FIELD NATIONAL TEAMS FOR GRANDS PRIX CYCLISTES DE QUÉBEC ET MONTRÉAL

Team Canada expected to start both UCI WorldTour races

(Montréal, QC – June 17, 2013) Cycling Canada is pleased to receive an invitation from race organizer Serge Arseneault to race at the Grands Prix cyclistes de Québec et de Montréal, a set of UCI WorldTour races, and will be looking to field the best possible team for the event.

The Grands Prix cyclistes de Québec et de Montréal are the only UCI WorldTour races in the Americas, and attract annually the best professional cyclists in the world.

For the event, Cycling Canada will select riders to fill the eight-man team on the merit of performances throughout the season.

The teams will be managed by Gord Fraser, Men Road Program Manager at Cycling Canada.

“These events are critical to providing Canadian cyclists with much needed UCI WorldTour experiences. We’ve had plenty of success in the past with our partnerships with Canadian teams, and contributed in part to the success of the Canadian Road Cycling Team, currently with a record-number of riders on the UCI WorldTour,” said Jacques Landry, High Performance Director and Head Coach at Cycling Canada.

“The Grand Prix cyclistes come at the right time during the season as we make our final preparations for the UCI World Championships, this year Italy.”

The Quebec race is slated for Friday, September 13, while the Montreal race will be held September 15.

In addition to racing the UCI WorldTour races, Team Canada is also expected to field one rider, along with three other Canadian cyclists, to the Pro Sprint Challenge.

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“It was the spirit of coming together as Team Canada that was the catalyst for this result.” – Gord Fraser

Some of you may know I like a good soccer game.  There’s a respectful tradition that when a player scores against his former team he refuses to celebrate and often times almost looks sorry to have done so.  Today in St. Georges we pulled out all the stops once again to help vault Christian into a final podium on GC and a shot to win outright.  The price would be paid by my former team 5-hour ENERGY and my good friend Paco who’d lose his grip on the race.

The circuit in St. Georges is vastly underrated.  Lacking the glitz and glam of Quebec City, the final stage in our hosts’ backyard always challenges the athletes and provides dramatic racing.  From the gun the action was hot and cracks were already showing on defending team 5-hour’s armour.  It wasn’t until the third lap when the pressure dropped on the field as a very strong 8 rider break formed.  3 riders; Carlsen of H&R Block, Euser of UHC and Ottawa boy wonder Mike Woods of Garneau were all within 2:27 of the lead and would supply ample urgency to the chase behind.  Two Bissell riders in McCarty and McCartney provided grunt with the former on track to take polka dot climber’s jersey.  Along for the ride and looking for stage win was Jiminez of the unknown Inteja team and Jamis powerhouse Amaran.  Cycling Canada would place Nic Hamilton up front but his duties lay in either stage win or providing help to another CC rider coming from behind later.

Back in pack, the GC contenders and their respective teams were not letting 5-hour settle down and kept the pressure high in hopes of bridging to their teammates up the road.  Eventually a game changing chase group emerged with 3rd, 5th and 6th placed riders on GC giving 5-hour the slip.  Nathan Brown of Bontrager, Phil Deignan of UHC and our own Christian Meier would form a lethal alliance and make short work of the gap.  Any doubt of them making it across was erased when CC rider Nic Hamilton astutely dropped back and helped the trio with the last 20 seconds of road to close. 

Paco would have to launch with 2 laps to go and try and bridge a seemingly impossible 55 seconds by himself.  Watching Paco from within the past two years, I can assure you nobody in the peloton can push himself harder then my former team captain.  He would take Ben Day from UHC and the impressive Ty Magner of Hincapie to an agonizingly close 20 seconds before the group’s numbers up front withstood the charge and slowly pulled away.  The vitual standings vaulted Brown into yellow with Deignan 2nd and a fine podium for Christian in third. 

Guesses from guest Steve Rover in the car and my backseater and wrench extraordinaire Shawn Marshall for stage win honours and we concluded Amaran would win from the Inteja rider but we got it reversed as the Inteja rider took a fine win in front of the likeable Cuban from Jamis.

Christian would wrap up a dramatic comeback from puncture in the time trial and subsequent 8th overall up to a podium place.  Our post race meeting was unanimous.  It was the spirit of coming together as Team Canada that was the catalyst for this result.  We may have Canadians starting to produce world class results in the Grand and World Tours, but it’s these hardworking pros that give me great pleasure to work with.  I hope to see these guys again in the near future when a Cycling Canada team reassembles for the inaugural Tour of Alberta and of course I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a shout to Paco and 5-hour ENERGY for a valiant defense this week. 

 

We will enjoy the race organization’s banquet this evening knowing we raced our best and maximized our results under the conditions presented to us.  A special thanks to Louis Garneau whos new National Team jersey design was a hit with riders, press and spectators alike.  I’m sure they will become available for public consumption soon. 

Thanks for reading everyone!

 

— Gord Fraser, Directeur Sportif

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CLOSE, BUT NO CIGAR

It’s no Champs Elysees but if you were to ask me which finish line is the most prestigious in all of Canada my gut tells me the Grande Allee in Quebec City.  So many great races have played out in the historic streets of this incredible city over the years with the Tour de Beauce, Trans Canada Tour and the recent WorldTour races held in the fall.  An enthusiastic crowd always meets the riders here and today was no different.

For the Canadian Cycling Team, our stage tactic were a bit muddied as we were trying to balance going for the stage win but also take advantage and try and move Christian up in the overall standings. 

It’s funny being on this side of the fence.  Trying to break down Paco and his team was certainly a role I envisioned the past two years as I would always try and guess what the opposition had in store for the Spaniard when I was his director.  I had good insight into how strong his team was and what their capabilities were.  What I couldn’t predict is how the other teams in contention would execute their game plan.  The other team with the firepower and interest akin to us would be UHC and we were hoping they would share in the dismantling of 5-hour ENERGY.

The key to a jersey defense on these circuits is dictating what break goes up the road and hopefully allowing some rope to a group that can be contained later in the stage.  5-hour got their wish as the first serious move put no real pressure on.  The second major move contained some good riders but with Oscar Clark of Hincapie the highest on GC sitting 2:56 back, 5-hour would do well in feathering the gap open.  Along with Clark would be Driscoll of Jamis, former Quebec stage winner De Maar of UHC, Lewis of Champion Systems and our own points jersey wearer Boivin.  These 5 would gain a maximum of 3:30 which put Clark briefly in virtual yellow.

Honestly, this break wasn’t exactly what Cycling Canada was looking for and we needed more pressure emerging out of the pack.  After Guillaume picked up and intermediate with 5 laps to go stretching his tenuous points lead, I ordered the team to stir up hostilities once again, but even I was unprepared for what happened next.

Over race radio, it announced a break of 4 riders bridging up to the break.  3 of which were from Team Canada!! Talk about showing your cards!  I ordered Guillaume to sit on the break and be ready for the catch as the rest of his breakmates would surely hitch on to the Maple Leaf express!  Our tactics were out in the open for all to see and it would be a matter of simple strength. 

With Cooper, Britton and Guillaume driving the pace for team leader Meier it was just a matter of sitting back and hoping the boys had enough in the tank to launch Christian into yellow.  Unfortunately the price paid for getting the gap proved to high as our three workers would sacrifice perhaps just a bit too early leaving a committed Christian to push and pull the break remnants to fight for the stage victory.  The gap at the bottom of Cote de la Montagne was 28 seconds shy of what we needed for that yellow and certainly Paco would close the gap himself the last time up with the finish sitting atop the famous Grande Allee. 

Christian would make up 41 seconds and move from 8th to 6th on GC while placing 5th on the stage.  Not the rewards that were maybe warranted by the tremendous effort of the team. 

Tomorrow is the last stage with another tricky and difficult circuit race in St. Georges.  Perhaps a slight change in gameplan is on offer but one thing is for certain and that is I can count on another professional and inspired performance from my All Star selection of Canadian Elite men. 

 

— Gord Fraser, Director Sportif

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Updates to national team road programs

Cycling Canada would like to inform road athletes, provincial associations, coaches and managers of some changes to the 2013 national team program.

The women’s road program has been modified to reflect that the majority of national team athletes will be competing in North American events in the month of July. As a result, a European summer project has been cancelled. National coach Denise Kelly will instead attend BC Superweek to keep in touch with the athletes.

On the men’s side, thanks to the support of the organizers of the Grands Prix cyclistes de Québec et Montréal, Canada will be able to line up three additional starters in the Pro Sprint Challenge in Quebec City on Sept. 12. These riders will compete against representatives from all 19 WorldTour Teams, one Pro Continental team and the Canadian national team participating in the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec the next day. Two of these athletes will be selected through the sprint challenge and criterium events at the Canadian Road Championships.

The updates to the programs and selection criteria can be found on the Cycling Canada website at https://cyclingcanada.ca/road/national-team/program-policies/

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CANADIAN GUILLAUME BOIVIN WINS SECOND STAGE AT TOUR DE BEAUCE, EARNS YELLOW

The “Canadian Blue Train” brings back the peloton, shoots Boivin towards his first victory fall 2010

(St-Georges, QC – June 12, 2013) Guillaume Boivin of the Canadian National Team won the second stage of the Tour De Beauce, sprinting away thanks to the excellent work done by the “Canadian Blue Train” in the last three kilometres of racing and in the last lap of the final circuit in Thetford Mines.

With the victory, Boivin earned himself the right to wear the Desjardins Yellow Jersey in tomorrow’s stage as the race leader. Boivin also takes the Hydro-Quebec White Jersey as Points leader.

“The guys of the National Team rode so well together today. Today, we knew that we had the legs and lead the last lap. We had 45 seconds to close in the last lap, and that’s very hard to bring back. At the end, the team is united and, worked together for the team objectives. Dominique Rollin, Nic Hamilton and Christian Meier worked extremely hard today at the front to bring back the group. Big credits to these guys for this win,” said Guillaume Boivin after the race.

“I wasn’t thinking too much about the Yellow Jersey before coming here. I told myself that almost all of the professional cyclists in Canada won a stage at the Tour de Beauce. This is a strong and good race for the Canadians. I told myself I needed this in my palmares, I am very thrilled to add this win.

Early in the race and after a few attempts to break the peloton, a group of three riders took off in a breakaway that lasted until the last 500m of the race. The break, which only managed to increase its gap by no more than 3:25, rode nicely together, kept their cool throughout the very hilly course and almost made it to the finish line alone.

In the last three kilometers, the small break group of Robert Sweeting of 5-HR Energy, Jonathan McCarty of Bissel Pro Cycling and Joseph Rosskopf of Hincapie Sportswear  Development Cycling Team  had the finish line in sight after racing in solo for over 125 kilometers alone. It’s only in the third and last lap of the 3.7 kilometers urban circuit that the riders were caught.

In the last two laps, the Canadian National Team with an all-star crew and the Bontrager Cycling Team were both very active at the front of the peloton. Of course, the Canadian Team had Boivin’s sprint abilities in mind, while Bontrager tried to position their yellow jersey Jasper Stuyven for the sprint.

Ultimately, it’s Boivin, wearing the Hydro-Québec White Jersey on the day, who crossed the line first, followed by Matthias Friedemann of Champion System Pro Cycling and Stuyven in third.

This victory is a big relief for Boivin, who won his first race since the fall of 2010, the year he won the bronze medal at the UCI World Championships U23 road race. “I hope this will remove pressure for my shoulder and give me confidence for the future. It’s my first win since my knee injury.”

Similar to yesterday’s race, today was a day filled with mechanical issues and obstacles for the Canadian rider. “Today was not an easy day. Again, I had a few mechanical issues early on. Coming back in the Caravan at one time, I was following a car, and the caravan suddenly stopped as I was behind the Bontrager car. I collided with the car, but managed to hold on to the back of the car, unclipped and kept my bike upright. I was able to put this incident behind me as there was not much more I could do. I also crashed in the last 20 kilometers. But I managed to come back for the sprint.”

But the yellow jersey could be short lived for Boivin, who is not known to be a strong climber, an essential skillset needed in the third and difficult stage at the Tour de Beauce: “Mégantic is not my strength. Perhaps we will see another rider on the Canadian Team winning the Yellow. Tomorrow, I’ll do the work for my teammates, be the best I can be for them, all the way up to the base of the climb, as much as I can do. I owe it to them.”

Gord Fraser, the Directeur Sportif for the Canadian Team, was proud of the way the team rode today:“Guillaume had a lot of adversity yesterday and today. Thanks to Axel, the Directeur of the Bontrager Team for some extremely safe driving after a sudden stop in the caravan. He was very calm, and managed to save one of my riders. Today, Guillaume needed to win. For him, and for the program. Yellow will look good on Guillaume. That being said, we apologize to Louis Garneau, as they produced a great new design that the team is wearing today for us, and now we have to swap Blue to Yellow. We like the new jersey, but we like the Yellow much better!”

Tomorrow, the third stage is a 164-kilometre race from St-Georges to Mont Mégantic, with a very challenging climb.

 STAGE RESULTS & LEADERS

Complete results: https://www.dropbox.com/s/xuxpj5rk7zl4j8t/Resultats_TourDeBeauce_Etape2.pdf

Stage Classification

1. BOIVIN, Guillaume (ÉQUIPE NATIONALE DU CANADA) 3:53:20

2. FRIEDEMANN, Matthias CHAMPION SYSTEM PRO CYCLING TEAM -CCS 3:53:20 00:00

3. STUYVEN, Jasper (BONTRAGER CYCLING TEAM) 3:53:20 00:00

4. JIMENEZ, Diego (INTEJA, DOMINICAN CYCLING TEAM) 3:53:20 00:00

5. PUTT, Tanner BONTRAGER CYCLING TEAM) 3:53:20 00:00

6. BALDWIN, Christopher (BISSEL PRO CYCLING) 3:53:20 00:00

7. MAGNER, Tyler (HINCAPIE SPORTSWEAR DEVELOPMENT CYCLING TEAM) 3:53:20 00:00

8. REIJNEN, Kiel (UNITEDHEALTHCARE PRO CYCLING TEAM) 3:53:20 00:00

9. LEWIS, Joseph (HINCAPIE SPORTSWEAR DEVELOPMENT CYCLING TEAM) 3:53:20 00:00

10. LAVERY,Phillip (H&R BLOCK) 3:53:20 00:00

General Classification [Yellow Jersey Desjardins]

1. BOIVIN, Guillaume (ÉQUIPE NATIONALE DU CANADA) 7:59:15

2. STUYVEN, Jasper (BONTRAGER CYCLING TEAM) 7:59:17 00:02

3. FRIEDEMANN, Matthias (CHAMPION SYSTEM PRO CYCLING TEAM) 7:59:23 00:08

4. ROSSKOPF, Joseph (HINCAPIE SPORTSWEAR DEVELOPMENT CYCLING TEAM) 7:59:25 00:10

5. PERON, Andrea (TEAM NOVO NORDISK) 7:59:27 00:12

King of the Mountain Classification [Polka Dot Jersey Rocky Mountain]

1. STEMPER, James (5 HOUR ENERGY -5HR) 21

2. SWEETING, Robert (5 HOUR ENERGY -5HR) 17

3. MCCARTY, Jonathan (BISSEL PRO CYCLING) 13

Points Classification [White Jersey Hydro-Québec]

1. BOIVIN, Guillaume (ÉQUIPE NATIONALE DU CANADA) 29

2. STUYVEN, Jasper (BONTRAGER CYCLING TEAM) 28

3. BALDWIN, Christopher (BISSEL PRO CYCLING) 20

Team Classification

1. BONTRAGER CYCLING TEAM 23:58:33

2. UNITEDHEALTHCARE PRO CYCLING TEAM 23:58:33 00:00

3. ÉQUIPE NATIONALE DU CANADA 23:58:33 00:00

2013 TOUR DE BEAUCE – THE STAGES

Hydro-Québec Stage — Tuesday June 11: Lac-Etchemin/Lac-Etchemin (165 km)

Rocky Mountain Stage — Wednesday June 12: Thetford-Mines /Thetford-Mines (152 km)

Le Georgesville Stage — Thursday June 13: St-Georges /Mont-Mégantic (164 km)

Desjardins Stage — Friday June 14: St-Benoît-Labre (20 km) [Individual Time Trial]

Ville de Québec Stage — Saturday June 15: Ville de Québec (126 km) [Urban circuit]

Ville de St-Georges Stage — Sunday June 16: Ville de St-Georges (107 km) [Urban Circuit]

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GUILLAUME BOIVIN IN YELLOW AT TOUR DE BEAUCE

Thetford  Mines has recently been Tour de Beauce’s sprint stage and today would prove no different.  However, the route to the finish can always take twists and turns and today I saw things I’ve never seen before.  I’ll try my best to verbalize what I witnessed, but if there was ever a day for me (or Guillaume) to buy the lottery ticket it’s today.

Backtrack to the start and naturally we had a very aggressive opening half hour where finally a very strong break of 3 riders would snap the grip of the peloton.  5-hour ENERGY would place Bobby Sweeting along with Bissell’s Pat McCarty and Hincapie’s vastly underrated Joey Rosscopf.  Keeping this trio in check would take serious work and yellow jersey team Bontrager did just that.

After assuming more then our share of work in the opening stage, we opted to be more discreet and gamble that other teams would help control for that aforementioned sprint.  After an untimely puncture in some forming crosswinds, our second place man and favored sprinter Boivin would chase back to the pack.  I dropped Guillaume and recent Philly winner Reijnen of UHC onto the bumper of Axel Merckx of car 1 Bontrager when there was an abrupt brake stand.  What followed next will be etched in my memory for years to come.  I’ll try and do this justice.

Guillaume would slam into the bumper while Reijnen would be ejected into the ditch and down into a farmers field.  The latter’s fall fell into my peripheral vision as Guillaume was splayed out on the trunk of Axel’s car.  Luckily Bontrager opted for the race provided rental cars and it was a smallToyotasedan and not a flush wagon rear end like most pro team cars.  This allowed space for Guillaume’s torso as he grabbed the seam where the trunk and rear window met.  By his finger tips clutching himself upright and one foot unclipped dragging on the slowing pavement while the other foot dragging his Cannondale along for the ride, Axel deftly slowed down just enough for Guillaume to softly land back on his feet no worse for wear!!!  My bulging eyes watched our mechanic Shawn swiftly assess the damage and before we really understood what happened, pushed Guillaume off the resume his chase of the front group.  Mr. Reijnen also came out relatively unscathed and eventually would return as well. 

After all involved digested what just happened and took a deep breath, we all could only laugh and thank the karma gods for keeping our riders unharmed.  Accidents happen in bike racing but it was the talents of both riders and drivers involved that mitigated any further damage.  Thanks again Axel!

Undaunted, the chase was still struggling to reel in the break.  I crept up the side of the peloton with 20 km to go to instruct our team to lend a hand when another big pileup happened right beside me involving 4 of my guys including; you guessed it Guillaume.  This would delay our trip to the front.  Rob, Marsh and Nic would all escort Guillaume back up front with 15km to go with the gap still a nerve wracking 2:30. 

UHC, Novo Nordisk would help Bontrager until finally our CyclingCanada formation would take control with one lap of the finishing circuit to go.  3.5 km to bring back 35 seconds;  my cuticles took a beating until my vision up front widened with a scant 500m to go where surprise the break was swallowed up under the fast leadout of the boys.  The question was could we finish off two days of hard work and the worst luck with a win? 

I overheard announcer Randy Ferguson proclaim the winner from TeamCanada.  The old horn of the Ford Focus may not ever work the same as Shawn and I celebrated pulling into team parking.  This was a great result and cumulative work of professional riders coming together and executing perfect tactics. 

Can’t wait until tomorrow where the races’ climbers take center stage.  It will completely change the dynamic of this years Tour de Beauce but I’d say if the first two stages are any indication we should be treated to another great day of racing.

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GUILLAUME BOIVIN SECOND IN SPRINT FINISH AT OPENING TOUR DE BEAUCE STAGE

Rainy skies greeted the peloton for the first stage of Tour de Beauce this year.  With an all-star cast of European-based and domestic-based pros comprising the National Team this year, all eyes were on us to control the first stage.

The key was getting a break up the road that was containable and we got what we wanted after only 10km of racing.  Jim Stemper (whom I followed in no less then three breaks in the Tour of California) for 5-Hour Energy and a hometown Ottawa native Alex Cataford of Garneau Quebecor would stretch out an advantage of over 9 minutes.  This was a few minutes more then I wanted, but with no interest from the other teams forthcoming, we would send Nic Hamilton up front to contain the gap.  UHC would help with Davide Frattini and for the next two hours of racing, the gap would be stabilized.  Once through the days KOM and intermediate sprints, we’d finally receive help from Bissell and Champion Systems respectively.

The stage wasn’t without its interesting moments as Guillaume Boivin would snap his seatpost just above his frame.  Great work from Cycling Canada mechanic Shawn Marshall to remove the stuck innards of the old post and quickly replace it with a post from a spare bike with Guillaume’s Fizik saddle, and we were back in business.  A few modifications to saddle tilt and post height and our sprinter was good as new.

The gap would drop and the catch occurred on the day’s last climb with 5km to go.  This is the same climb that launched an eventual GC winning move for Sutherland a year ago, so we new we had to be vigilant up front.  Some brief attacks and all together with 3km to the finish line.

Our team re-assembled and a formidable leadout took shape with Rollin and Houle in front of Guillaume. This is where our luck would end for the day with Rolling suffering a puncture at the flamme rouge and Houle being taken out in a crash.  Guillaume kept fighting and earned and excellent 2nd place behind Stuyven of Bontrager.

With the yellow jersey on the Belgian’s shoulder, perhaps we will get some assistance controlling the race tomorrow.  Hugo is currently in the hospital and getting professional care with lots of missing skin for our man who claimed 2nd overall last year.  Fingers crossed he can take the start tomorrow where Cycling Canada will aspire one step higher on the podium.  A demain. 

 

— Gord Fraser

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2013 CANADIAN CYCLING TEAMS JERSEY, DESIGNED BY LOUIS GARNEAU, UNVEILED

Cycling Canada’s longest partner designs and produces world-class cycling apparel

(Ottawa, ON – June 10, 2013) Once again Louis Garneau Sports has delivered a stunning design that will be used by Canada’s cycling teams competing around the world for Canada at UCI World Championships, World Cups, and other major events for the next four years.

The design incorporates the famous head-turning “Canada Blue” color worn by Canadian cyclists at the recent Olympic Games in London. The design also offers the striking Canadian maple leaf, symbol of Canada, on both the front and back of the jersey.

The cycling apparel is produced with world-class technical fabrics which have gone through rigorous wind tunnel testing to ensure Canadian cyclists are offered the best competitive clothing helping them perform on the world stage.

“Once again, our cyclist competing around the world will feel a sense of pride in wearing the maple leaf with world-class cycling apparel,” said Jacques Landry, High Performance Director and Head Coach at Cycling Canada. “Our relationship with Louis Garneau dates back to the 1984 Olympic Games, and will continue to flourish for another Olympic cycle as our cyclists race around the world in all cycling sports, proudly representing their country.”

“We have an unwavering trust in our Canadian cyclists. They have made us so proud leading up to the 2012 Olympic Games, at World Cup and World Championships events year after year,” added Louis Garneau, owner of Louis Garneau Sport. “We are proud to be a Canadian company, offering the highest quality cycling apparel to cycling markets across the globe. Our partnership with Cycling Canada has been extremely powerful and beneficial in the constant growth of Louis Garneau Sport.”

Throughout the partnership between Cycling Canada and Louis Garneau Sport, a replica edition of the 2013 Canadian Cycling Team cycling kit will be sold across the country at Louis Garneau dealers and online to cycling fans, with part of the proceed going through the development of new Canadian cycling heroes.

PHOTOS of uniform:

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REGISTRATION NOW ACTIVE FOR 2013 CANADIAN ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Cyclists can now register online for the top domestic road cycling races on the 2013 calendar

(Ottawa, ON – June 06, 2013) The registration process is now active for the 2013 Canadian Road Cycling Championships, scheduled over two weekends from June 20th to 30th in St-George, QC and Lac Mégantic, QC, announced Cycling Canada.

The 2013 Canadian Road Championships will feature three road cycling disciplines –the traditional road race, the individual time trials, and the fast-paced criterium– featuring cyclists in junior, U23, elite and master age categories.

In addition, the event will feature Canada’s best para-cyclists in action, in the road race and the time trial race.

The opening weekend will feature the Elite and U23 events in St-Georges, while the Junior, Master and Para-cyclists will challenge for Canadian titles on the second weekend in Lac Mégantic.

Registration can be done at: http://www.championnatscanadiensroute.com/fr/inscriptionregistration

More information can be found on the event webpage at http://www.championnatscanadiensroute.com/ and on the event Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CanadianRoadChampionships

To volunteer for the event, please visit: http://www.grandprixcyclistedebeauce.com/fr/benevolesvolunteers  

Follow Cycling Canada on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cyclingcanada and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/canadiancycling.

The 2013 Canadian Road Championships is Canada’s top domestic road cycling event. The event annually attracts some of the country’s best road cyclists challenging for the Red and White Jersey awarded to the Canadian Champions in the mass-start road race, the individual time trial race as well as the fast-paced criterium. Organized by the Tour De Beauce in St-George, QC and Lac Mégantic, QC, the event is governed by the Cycling Canada, a member of the International Cycling Union (UCI).

The event is made possible thanks to the close collaboration between Cycling Canada, the Fédération québécoise des sports cyclistes (FQSC) and the Grand Prix cyclistes de Beauce.

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2013 CANADIAN ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS EXPECTED TO ATTRACT TOP CYCLISTS TO BEAUCE

St-Georges and Lac Mégantic ready to welcome Canada’s top road cyclists

(Québec, QC – June 06, 2013) The 2013 Canadian Road Championships promises to be very exciting this summer,  making its way for the second consecutive time on the beautiful roads of Québec with the top cyclists converging onto the cities of St-Georges and Lac Mégantic, QC to race for the ultimate Canadian honors and the coveted Red and White Maple Leaf jersey.

The 2013 edition of the event will be held from June 20th to 30th, featuring the traditional road race, the individual time trials, and the always exciting criterium. The event is expected to bring over 500 riders of all ages, from juniors to masters, including para-cycling.

“We are very confident that the organizing committee led by Francis Rancourt will once again deliver a solid and challenging event as they did last year. The course will be challenging, and the support from the community will be substantial. Preparations are in its final stages, and everyone is excited for this first Canadian Championships of the 2013 season,” said Mathieu Boucher, Performance Development Director at Cycling Canada.

The Canadian Championships are an important opportunity for young riders to test their skills against World Tour and Pro-continental riders, and to grow within the Canadian competitive cycling scene.

The first weekend of competition will feature the Elite and U23 cyclists in St-Georges, while the second weekend will attract the top Para-cyclists and up-and-coming Junior cyclists as well as masters riders

This year, many of the Canadian riders racing on the WorldTour are expected to be on the start line, such as Guillaume Boivin of Longueuil, QC (Cannondale), Hugo Houle of Ste-Perpétue, QC (AG2R La Mondiale), Dominique Rollin of Boucherville, QC (FDJ and Christian Meier of Sussex, NB (Orica-GreenEDGE). All of these riders will already be in the region, representing Canada at the Tour de Beauce a week earlier.

Both defending Canadian Champions, Ryan Roth (Cambridge, ON) of Champion System Pro Cycling and Denise Ramsden of Optum-Kelly Benefits, are also expected to be present.

Added Boucher: “The event is a critical step in our Long Term Athlete Development model. The up-and coming riders will have the exciting opportunity to race against top Canadian riders from the WorldTour, and to test their skills and development.”

Cycling Teams from all over Canada are expected to be present for this race, including Canadian-based UCI Continental teams Équipe Garneau-Quebecor, and Équipe Ekoi-DeVinci and Canadian-based UCI Women’s professional cycling team GSD-Gestion Kallisto.

In addition to the traditional road races, the 2013 Canadian Road Championships will host the Canadian Sprint Challenge for the second time at Canadian Championships. The country’s top sprinters will go head to head, in heats, in a single elimination format. The top rider along with the Elite men criterium will earn their ticket to the Pro Sprint Challenge at the 2013 Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec, this upcoming September.

The organizing committee is led by the Francis Rancourt, the same organizer as the popular and classic Tour de Beauce.

Registration for the event is open, and riders can register at: http://www.championnatscanadiensroute.com/

SCHEDULE (subject to change)

St-Georges, QC

Thursday, June 20 – Time Trials (Men and Women, Elite and U23)

Friday, June 21 – Road Race (Women Elite, U23)

Saturday, June 22 – Road Race (Men Elite, U23)

Sunday, June 23 – Criterium Challenges (U23/Elite)

Sunday, June 23 – Canadian Sprint Challenge (U23/Elite)

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Lac Mégantic, QC

Thursday, June 27 – Time Trials (Juniors, Masters, Para-cycling)

Friday, June 28 – Road Race (Masters)

Saturday, June 29 – Road Race (Para-cycling, Juniors)

Sunday, June 30 – Criterium (Juniors, Masters)

2013 CANADIAN ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS

The 2013 Canadian Road Championships is Canada’s top domestic road cycling event. The event annually attracts some of the country’s best road cyclists challenging for the Red and White Jersey awarded to the Canadian Champions in the mass-start road race, the individual time trial race as well as the fast-paced criterium. Organized by the Tour De Beauce in Ville de St-Georges, QC and Lac Mégantic, QC, the event is governed by the Cycling Canada, a member of the International Cycling Union (UCI).

The event is made possible thanks to the close collaboration between Cycling Canada, the Fédération québécoise des sports cyclistes (FQSC) and the Grand Prix cyclistes de Beauce. The 2013 Canadian Road Championships will be held from June 20th to 30th and showcases racing in all categories: Junior, U23, Elite and Masters, as well as para-cycling.

ABOUT THE CORPORATION DU GRAND PRIX CYCLISTE DE BEAUCE

With the Rocky Mountain Cyclosportive, the Tour de Beauce, Quebec’s Road Cycling Championships and Classique Montréal-Québec to its credit, the Grand Prix cycliste de Beauce Corporation is proud to add the 2013 and 2014 Canadian Road Championships to its program. The corporation’s goal is to organize high calibre cycling events in order to promote health through sport while positioning cycling as a major tourist development asset for the Beauce region.

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Phone : (613) 248-1353