May long weekend becomes cycling festival in Gatineau

(Ottawa, ON – May 09, 2012) The Canadian Cycling Association is pleased to announce the Canadian squad which will compete for the Canadian National Team at the upcoming 2012 Grand Prix cycliste Gatineau Hydro-Québec and Chrono Gatineau Rona, prominent UCI-sanctioned women’s cycling road and time trial races on Canadian soil.

On Saturday May 19, some of the world’s best riders will race the Chrono Gatineau Rona, an international individual time trial race held on a technical 19.6-kilometre course. Canada’s national team will be represented by 2012 Pan-American Time Trial silver medallist Rhae Shaw (Exergy Twenty12), two-time 2011 Canadian Junior Champion Annie Ewart (Optum Pro Cycling-Kelly Benefit Strategies) of Victoria, BC, as well as 2010 Canadian Time Trial Champion Julie Beveridge (Vienne-Futuroscope) of Calgary, AB.

The traditional mass-start road race will be held on Monday, May 21 and will showcase some of the world’s top women’s cycling teams, such as Specialized-Lululemon, TIBCO- To The Top, Optum Pro Cycling and Specialized-Mazda-SGC, which include some of Canada’s best such as Clara Hughes (Glen Sutton, QC), Tara Whitten (Edmonton, AB), Joëlle Numainville (Montreal, QC), Véronique Fortin (Montreal, QC), Denise Ramsden (Yellowknife, NWT), Leah Kirchmann (Winnipeg, MB) and Lex Albrecht (Barrie, ON) just to name a few.

Canada’s National team in the road race will be represented by Shaw, Beveridge, Karol-Ann Canuel (Amos, QC/Vienne Futuroscope), Candice Vermeulen (St. Catharines, ON/Invita – FCV) and Audrey Labrie (Laval, QC), a seven-time National junior champion in track cycling and silver medallist at the 2012 junior Pan-American Championships.

Riders in the road race will complete 13 laps of a 10.18-km course for a total distance of 134 kilometres.

In 2011, Clara Hughes won the Chrono Gatineau Rona time trial with the Canadian National Team, while Italian veteran cyclist Georgia Bronzini took the victory in the Grand Prix Cycliste Gatineau Hydro-Québec, which ended in a bunch sprint.

CANADIAN SQUAD – 2012 GRAND PRIX CYCLISTE GATINEAU
Time Trial
Rhae SHAW (Exergy Twenty12)
Annie EWART (Victoria, BC/Optum Pro Cycling p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies)
Julie BEVERIDGE (Calgary, AB/Vienne-Futuroscope)

Road Race
Rhae SHAW (Exergy Twenty12)
Julie BEVERIDGE (Calgary, AB/Vienne-Futuroscope)
Karol-Ann CANUEL (Amos, QC/Vienne-Futuroscope)
Candice VERMEULEN (St. Catharines, ON/Invita – FCV)
Audrey LABRIE (Laval, QC)

(Belgium – March 31, 2012) Canadian cyclist Joëlle Numainville of Montréal, QC sprinted to the third place at the famous and coveted West Flanders women’s World Cup race today in Belgium.

Wearing the Team Canada colours, Numainville went on to cross the finish line third in a sprint against Kristen Wild of the Netherlands after 127 kilometers of racing, with long stretches on cobbled streets.

“I’m so stoked to be on the podium. I was so nervous last night because I knew my form is good and my capabilities. It’s also the first race in Europe. It went from the worst night to the best day,” said Numainville. “I was at the front for a long time in the sprint, but I thought it was better to stay there. I was really calm. I saw Kristen Wild beside me and knew we would be pushing the same watts as we had the same fatigue from the race. I just gave it everything I had.”

She then added, speaking of the course: ““I thought it was an easier course than last year plus I felt better. It is a great course for me because there are climbs but they don’t last for 20 km. The Oude-Karemont climb which was second to last was the hardest climb and I rode it quite well.”

Judith Arndt of Germany and Kirsten Armstrong of the United States finished first and second, and managed to separate themselves at the famous Oude-Karemont climb, and rode together to the finish line.

The Canadian team racing in Belgium today was headed by Denise Kelly, the Canadian Cycling Association’s women’s road head coach, and she was proud of the accomplishment by Numainville: “It’s a thrill to be part of Flanders and getting on the podium for Joelle and Canada is amazing. She’s had some good results in the States prior to coming here but it’s completely different racing as all the best in the world were here. It’s fantastic to carry the momentum from UCI Pan-American Championships to Europe for our spring campaign. The entire team is looking strong which bodes well for the rest of the month over here.”

The women’s program will continue its course in Europe until the end of April with a series of races across many European countries, and then will come back to Canada in May for the Chrono Gatineau and the 2012 IMMUNITY-FX Canadian Road Championships in June.

RESULTS – WOMEN – ROAD CYCLING WORLD CUP – WEST FLANDERS, BEL
1. Judith ARNDT (GER) Greenedge-Ais 3:19:05
2. Kristin ARMSTRONG (USA) USA National Team +0:02
3. Joelle NUMAINVILLE (CAN) Canada National Team +0:30
4. Kirsten WILD (NED) AA Drink-Leontien.nl Cycling Team +0:30
5. Adrie VISSER (NED) Skil 1T4I +0:30
=====
26. Denise RAMSDEN (CAN) Canada National Team +0:30
41. Leah KIRCHMANN (CAN) Canada National Team+1:52
45. Clara HUGHES (CAN) Team Specialized-Lululemon +1:52

Shaw takes the silver medal in the road individual time trial race in Argentina

(Mar del Plata, ARG – March 09, 2012) Rhae Christie-Shaw extended Canada’s success at the 2012 UCI Pan-American Championships in Mar Del Plata, Argentina, winning the silver medal in the road individual time trial race.

Shaw posted a time of 27:47.38 on the 20-km course stretching the Atlantic coast. The riders enjoyed a backwind on the first 10-km stretch, and suffered from a strong headwind on the way back to the finish line.

“I’m really excited to have brought home the silver medal back to Canada. It’s my first International Championship medal, said Rhae Shaw after the race. “It was really windy out on the course, a very difficult ride and I gave it my all. For my first time trial of the year, it’s a good indicator that training is going well and we learned a lot today to continue to improve.”

I’d like to thank the staff for all their help,” added Shaw.

Shaw came in seventh in the individual time trial at the 2011 UCI Road World Championships in Denmark.

American rider Amber Neben took the gold medal race, posting a time of 26:50.86, while Clemencia Da Silva of Brazil took the bronze medal with a time of 27:57.00.

Canadian rider Denise Ramsden of Yellowknife, NWT crossed the finish line with a time 29 :37.94 to take 6th place.

The silver medal by Shaw comes after five medals won at the velodrome by the Canadian Track Cycling Team.

The Pan-American cycling championships end on Sunday with the mass-start road race. Canada will have six riders on the start line.