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FOUR CANADIANS LINE UP FOR LA COURSE BY LE TOUR DE FRANCE

Ottawa, ON (August 27, 2020) – After competing at the Grand Prix de Plouay earlier this week, an impressive line-up of Canadians will be taking the start of La Course by Le Tour de France this Saturday, August 29th. The seventh edition of the UCI Women’s WorldTour event begins in Nice and promises to be a very memorable edition with four talented Canadians representing three different teams.

Two-time La Course medalist Leah Kirchmann (Team Sunweb) will be looking to compete for a podium position alongside her teammate Alison Jackson, who will be competing in this race for the first time since 2017.

“I’m looking forward to racing La Course this weekend with my team,” said Kirchmann. “It is great to see that the race will have a strong Canadian representation. I feel motivated to go for a top result after finishing twice on the podium in past editions of the race. The course is completely new this year and I think the profile suits my strengths as an all-rounder.”

Joining them will be Sara Poidevin (Rally Cycling), an up-and-coming climber who finished an impressive 14th at the 2018 UCI Road World Championships, and Marie-Soleil Blais (Cogeas-Mettler-Look Pro Cycling Team).

On the men’s side, Hugo Houle of Astana Pro Team will be the sole Canadian in the 107th edition of the Tour de France, his second consecutive start at the Grande Boucle. The race begins on the same day as La Course in Nice and features a hilly course that travels through the Pyrenees and Alps before a scheduled conclusion in Paris on September 20. Houle most recently competed at the Tour de Pologne and is part of a select group of pro racers to have competed at all five Monuments and three Grand Tours.

“I’m really happy to have the chance to race the Tour de France this year,” said Houle. “It’s not easy to get a place at the start so it’s always a nice recognition from the team. I’m healthy and fit and I hope that I can be an active rider and be in the breakaway when the moment comes. I feel like I have the legs for it and I think I will have more opportunities from the team than last year.”

To watch the race action live, head to FloBikes to stream La Course and the entire Tour de France.

La Course Roster

Marie-Soleil Blais – Cogeas-Mettler-Look Pro Cycling Team

Alison Jackson – Team Sunweb

Leah Kirchmann – Team Sunweb

Sara Poidevin – Rally Cycling

Le Tour de France Roster

Hugo Houle – Astana Pro Team

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CANADIAN PROS RETURN TO WORLDTOUR RACING THIS WEEKEND

Ottawa, ON (July 31, 2020) – Canadian professional road cyclists are making their long anticipated return to racing in Europe this weekend after a five month hiatus. Tomorrow, the 2020 UCI WorldTour and UCI Women’s WorldTour seasons resume with the Strade Bianche in Siena, Italy.

Canadian WorldTour professionals have joined their team bubbles in the past weeks to prepare for the upcoming races, which will be condensed in a four-month window, running from August to November. Taking the start on the men’s side will be Mike Woods (EF Pro Cycling), Hugo Houle (Astana Pro Team), Alex Cataford (Israel Start-Up Nation) and Guillaume Boivin (Israel Start-Up Nation), while Leah Kirchmann (Team Sunweb) and Karol-Ann Canuel (Boels-Dolmans Cycling Team) will be competing in the 136 kilometer women’s race.

The Strade Bianche will be the first of a long series of races for Canadian pros, who have laid out some of their main targets for the 2020 season. While Mike Woods’ season opens this weekend, the 2018 World’s bronze medalist is scheduled to race Il Lombardia before targeting the Tour de France. Antoine Duchesne (Groupama-FDJ) will also be on the start line of the Grand Boucle at the end of August, while Hugo Houle and James Piccoli (Israel Start-Up Nation) are scheduled to race an autumn edition of the Giro d’Italia in September. Piccoli’s Israel Start-Up Nation’s teammates Guillaume Boivin and Alex Cataford are also preparing for the new season, with Boivin targeting the cobbled classics, including the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.

“I am really happy to be able to race again this weekend,” said Houle, whose last race was Paris-Nice in early March. “We are excited to be back and test the hard work done in training during the last few months.”

The women’s WorldTour season will be equally as busy, with Kirchmann targeting big races such as La Course, where she finished on the podium twice, while her teammate Allison Jackson (Team Sunweb) will be resuming her first WorldTour race season.

“I’m looking forward to restarting the season at Strade Bianche, one of my favourite races on the calendar,” said Kirchmann. “I have continued to work hard on my time trial while away from racing and hope to target a good result at the World Championships in Switzerland. My hope is that we can complete the season as planned in a safe and responsible way.”

To ensure a safe return to competition, the UCI has imposed strict health measures built off a team bubble system with frequent testing aimed at detecting any carriers of the virus before they enter a race bubble. Race organizers are also required to impose strict social distancing measures between the peloton bubble and the team bubbles, among other guidelines.

Fans can follow the 2020 season, including all five Monuments, the Grand Tours and the Road World Championships via Flobikes.

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CYCLING CANADA AND FQSC WORKING TO SUSTAIN 2020 GRAND PRIX CYCLISTE DE GATINEAU

Ottawa, ON (December 19, 2019) – The Grand Prix Cycliste de Gatineau was launched in 2010 and has been a stalwart on the North American women’s road racing calendar for 10 editions. In 2020, the race will no longer be organized by La Grande Visite de Gatineau, but Cycling Canada and the FQSC are confident they have the necessary resources and capacity in place to sustain the future of the event.

Cycling Canada and the FQSC are grateful to La Grande Visite de Gatineau for putting on the GP Gatineau and developing it into a world-class UCI women’s event. While they have decided to step away from the event due to financial concerns, it is an invaluable event for women’s cycling in Canada and North America. Cycling Canada and the FQSC will be working together to ensure the future of the event which will keep its current 2020 date and UCI standing.

More news on the 2020 edition of the Grand Prix Cycliste de Gatineau will follow in the New Year. The 2020 GP Gatineau road race remains scheduled for June 4 and Chrono Gatineau individual time trial for June 5.

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VALLIÈRES-MILL TENTH IN JUNIOR WOMEN’S ROAD RACE

Yorkshire, UK (September 27, 2019) – Canadian Junior women’s champion Magdeleine Vallières-Mill finished just seven seconds off the podium in tenth place, in the Junior women’s road race at the Road World Championships on Friday. Vallières-Mill was part of a chase group that almost caught winner Megan Jastrab (USA) on the line after 86 kilometres of racing. The three other Canadians in the race – Laury Milette, Camille Primeau and Adele Desgagnés – were all caught in the numerous crashes during the race, with Milette and Primeau finishing 84th and 85th, respectively, and Desgagnés not finishing.

“I am super happy with the race,” said Vallières-Mill. “I didn’t really know where I could finish today, so I just focused on being at the front most of the time to not crash and be able to be there if something was getting away. In the last corner there were two girls with a small gap and I just gave everything I had until the finish line. I think the most important part of this race was being well placed because it was a flat course.”

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CANADIANS IMPRESS AT GRAND PRIX CYCLISTE DE MONTREAL

Montreal, QC (September 16, 2019) – After three top-25 results at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec on Friday, Canadians continued to prove they belong among the world’s elite at the Montreal race on Sunday.

In the early stages of the 220 kilometre road race, five riders broke away from the main pack and created a gap which extended up to 11 minutes, before being caught by the peloton with 30 kilometres to go. Canadians Matteo Dal-Cin and Ryan Anderson were at the front representing Rally UHC Cycling, while Charles-Etienne Chrétien and Nickolas Zukowsky of Team Canada worked together to secure KOM points. Zukowsky, a third year U23, managed to stay at the front on his own for 10 more kilometres, and was able to secure the King of the Mountain title.

“It was a long day for sure, but it makes it so much more fun and it helps a lot when you’ve got all your family and friends cheering for you,” said Zukowsky. “It was really exciting to have four Canadians in the break and Charles [Etienne Chrétien] really helped me at the front. I knew I had to go deep to get the KOM with three laps to go and I couldn’t have done it without him.”

In the last kilometre, Mike Woods of EF Education First managed to position himself at the front and sprinted to eighth place, the best Canadian result of the day. This race also marked Svein Tuft’s final race as a professional athlete after a long and successful career.

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CYCLING CANADA ANNOUNCES ROAD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS TEAM

Ottawa, ON (September 11, 2019) – Cycling Canada is pleased to announce the squad of 25 riders who will represent Canada at the 2019 UCI Road Cycling World Championships in Yorkshire, United Kingdom from September 22 – 29. Women and men will compete in the road race and time trial events across five categories: Junior and Elite women, as well as Junior, Under-23 and Elite men.

This year, Canada managed to qualify six spots in the Elite men’s road race, giving the team access to more support riders. Leading the squad will be professional riders from the highest level of the sport, including last year’s bronze medallist and top ranked Canadian on the WorldTour circuit, Michael Woods, as well as Hugo Houle, known to be of the world’s best support riders.

“It’s always a great opportunity to represent Canada at the World Championships, especially with a great leader like Mike Woods,” said Hugo Houle. “I have been in excellent physical condition since the Tour de France – it was really important for me to be in the best possible shape for this competition in order to support Mike until the end of the race. He showed us he could be world champion in Innsbruck, and he needs teammates who live up to his performances.”

On the women’s side, the team will be led by former world time trial champion and current national road champion Karol-Ann Canuel. She will be joined by all-rounder Alison Jackson and climbing specialist Sara Poidevin. Top ranked Canadian rider Leah Kirchmann was set to compete, but will be unable to take part in the project due to injury.

“Our women were our stand-out performers last year in Austria” said Team Manager, Kevin Field. “We faced some injuries and setbacks this year – that’s all part of sport. Challenge is something these girls don’t shy away from and we’re ready to bring a good game to Yorkshire.”

The Under-23 men’s selection includes national road champion and breakout athlete Nickolas Zukowsky, as well as national time trial champion Adam Roberge. In the Junior ranks, national women’s road, time trial and criterium champion Magdeleine Vallières-Mill will be leading the team, while the men’s selection includes national road champion Raphael Parisella, and national time trial champion Jacob Rubuliak, who are both first in their first year as Juniors.

“I’m less concerned about results in our developing categories. We have very high potential athletes in these age groups; however, the goal of this event is to learn and experience, with a focus on process that we can leverage to springboard them forward. I have no doubts we can do that.”

The world championships begin on Monday, September 23th with the Junior women’s and men’s time trials, and conclude on Sunday, September 29th, with the Elite men’s road race.

Team Canada [TT – Time Trial, RR – Road Race]

Elite Men
Guillaume Boivin – Montreal, QC [RR]
Antoine Duchesne – Saguenay, QC [RR]
Hugo Houle – Sainte-Perpétue, QC [TT, RR]
Benjamin Perry – St.Catharines, ON [RR]
James Piccoli – Montreal, QC [RR]
Mike Woods – Ottawa, ON [RR]

Elite Women
Marie-Soleil Blais – Saint-Rosaire, QC [RR]
Karol-Ann Canuel – Gatineau, QC [TT, RR]
Gillian Ellsay – Courtenay, BC [RR]
Alison Jackson – Vermilion, AB [RR]
Sara Poidevin – Canmore, AB [RR]
Gabrielle Pilote-Fortin – Neuville, QC [RR]

Under-23 Men
Evan Burtnik – Edmonton, AB [RR]
Pier-André Côté – Levis, QC [RR]
Laurent Gervais – Montreal, QC [RR]
Nickolas Zukowsky – Ste-Lucie-des-Laurentides, QC [TT, RR]

Junior Women
Adèle Desgagnés – Montreal, QC [RR]
Laury Milette – Gatineau, QC [RR]
Camille Primeau – Rosemère, QC [TT, RR]
Magdeleine Vallières-Mill – Sherbrooke, QC [TT, RR]

Junior Men
Lukas Carreau – La Prairie, QC [RR]
Tristan Jussaume – Contrecoeur, QC [TT]
Raphael Parisella – Boucherville, QC [RR]
Riley Pickrell – Victoria, BC [RR]
Jacob Rubuliak – Kelowna, BC [TT, RR]

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CANADIAN ROAD STARS TO FEATURE AT GPCQM

Ottawa, ON (September 9, 2019) – The Grands Prix Cyclistes de Québec et de Montréal will kick off its 10th edition this Friday with more North American riders taking the start than ever before. The one-day WorldTour races will feature the best Canadians on the WorldTour and Pro Contintental circuit, as well as some of the country’s most promising U23 athletes.

Leading the charge will be Mike Woods, Canada’s number one ranked WorldTour rider and last year’s World Championship bronze medallist, racing in the colours of EF Education First. Antoine Duchesne will be competing with Groupama-FDJ in one of his first races since undergoing surgery earlier this summer, while Hugo Houle will line up for Astana Pro Team not long after signing a three-year contract extension.

For the second year running, Pro Continental teams Rally UHC Cycling and Israel Cycling Academy have been invited to attend both races, with both teams counting a number of world-class Canadians. Alex Cataford and Guillaume Boivin will represent Israel Cycling Academy, while Rally’s entire roster will be made up of Canadian riders. The team will be led by veterans Ryan Anderson, Rob Britton and Svein Tuft, who will be retiring at the end of this year. Current Canadian road champion Adam de Vos will also be looking to prove himself, alongside former champion Matteo Dal-Cin, Nigel Ellsay and Pier-André Côté.

The Canadian National Team will focus on development, having selected a team of up-and-coming U23 riders who will be able to gain valuable experience.  Montreal native James Piccoli, who has had an exceptional season so far, will be leading the team, joined by teammates Jordan Cheyne and Adam Roberge. The team will be completed by some of Canada’s most promising U23s, including Nickolas Zukowsky, Charles-Étienne Chrétien, Laurent Gervais, who all recently competed at the Tour de l’Avenir, as well as Evan Burtnik.

“It’s very exciting to see so many Canadians on the line in Québec and Montréal,” said Cycling Canada high performance director Kris Westwood. “It’s a testament to our athletes’ talent and hard work to see them taking prominent roles in some of the biggest teams in the world, while our next generation of road stars can look forward to an amazing development experience under the leadership of national team sport director Kevin Field. The future looks very bright for Canadian road cycling.”

WorldTour & Pro Continental
Michael Woods – Ottawa, ON [EF Education First]
Hugo Houle – Ste-Perpétue, QC [Astana Pro Team]
Antoine Duchesne – Chicoutimi, QC [Groupama-FDJ]
Guillaume Boivin – Montreal, QC [Israel Cycling Academy]
Alex Cataford – Ottawa, ON [Israel Cycling Academy]

Rally UHC Cycling
Ryan Anderson – Vancouver, BC
Rob Britton – Calgary, AB
Pier-André Côté – Lévis, QC
Matteo Dal-Cin – Ottawa, ON
Adam de Vos – Victoria, BC
Nigel Ellsay – Courtenay, BC
Svein Tuft – Langley, BC

Team Canada
Evan Burtnik – Edmonton, AB [X-Speed United]
Jordan Cheyne – Big White, BC [Elevate KHS]
Charles-Etienne Chrétien – Amos, QC [Interpro Cycling Academy]
Laurent Gervais – Montreal, QC [Aevolo]
James Piccoli –  Montreal, QC [Elevate KHS]
Adam Roberge –  Montreal, QC [Elevate KHS]
Nickolas Zukowsky – Ste-Lucie-des-Laurentides, QC [Floyd’s Pro Cycling]

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TEAM CANADA SENDS DEVELOPMENT SQUAD TO GRANDS PRIX CYCLISTES

Ottawa, ON (August 22, 2019) – Cycling Canada has announced the team of seven riders that will race in national team colours at the Grands Prix Cyclistes de Québec et de Montréal (GPCQM) on September 13th (Quebec City) and 15th (Montreal). The GPCQM, who will be celebrating their 10th anniversary this year, are the only events on the UCI WorldTour race calendar in the Americas, the highest level of international competition for professional men.

The team will be led by James Piccoli, who has had a breakthrough season, winning the Tour of the Gila and finishing among the top two at every single stage race he has entered in. He will be joined by Elevate KHS teammates Jordan Cheyne and U23 time trial champion Adam Roberge.

The team will be rounded out by U23 riders, including Grand Prix Cycliste de Saguenay winner and current U23 road champion Nickolas Zukowsky, as well as Evan Burtnik, Charles-Etienne Chrétien and Laurent Gervais.

“Our objective this year is to keep an emphasis on U23 development,” said team manager Kevin Field. “This race will be the final testing ground for our athletes prior to the World Championships and will provide them with valuable exposure to the WorldTour level. The changes we’re making in our road programs, including how we select athletes for these races and how we work with the trade teams has been working, and we have seen eleven athletes graduate to Pro Continental or WorldTour teams in the last four years.”

“I’m eternally grateful to the GPCQM team for the opportunity they provide to the National Team. It is a really unique experience for our athletes to be able to race at this level.”

Evan Burtnik – Edmonton, AB [X-Speed United]
Jordan Cheyne – Big White, BC [Elevate KHS]
Charles-Etienne Chrétien – Amos, QC [Interpro Cycling Academy]
Laurent Gervais – Montreal, QC [Aevolo]
James Piccoli –  Montreal, QC [Elevate KHS]
Adam Roberge –  Montreal, QC [Elevate KHS]
Nickolas Zukowsky – Ste-Lucie-des-Laurentides, QC [Floyd’s Pro Cycling]

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LAURIE JUSSAUME WINS BRONZE IN THE ITT AT PAN AM GAMES

Lima, Peru (August 7, 2019) – Laurie Jussaume won her second medal of the Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru, on Wednesday, finishing third in the 18.5 kilometre women’s Individual Time Trial with a time of 26:27.15. American Chloe Dygart took the top spot with a time of 23:36.51, with Teniel Campbell of Trinidad and Tobago taking silver. Canada’s other entrant in the event, Miriam Brouwer, finished fifth, 7.26 seconds behind Jussaume.

“With the start delayed, we had to adjust a little bit,” said Jussaume, “but I think I was ready for the start, so I’m pretty happy. I executed my ride well. It was a pretty fast course, flat but with some wind. It was a good time for me, I had good power. My plan was to conserve on the way out to the turnaround and then still have some energy to hit the little hill on the way back pretty hard, then empty myself for the last 3K after the hill. I managed my energy well, so when I got to the line I was empty.”

Competition continues tomorrow with BMX Supercross races on August 8-9, road on August 10 and BMX Freestyle on August 11. For a complete list of schedules and results, click here.

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CANADA RETURNS TO TOUR DE L’AVENIR

It has been eight years since Canada last entered a team in the Tour de l’Avenir. That year, after eight grueling stages traversing eastern France, from north to south, the Canadian team delivered David Boily to an incredible second-place finish in the overall classification behind Colombian Estaban Chaves. 

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The Tour de l’Avenir is a UCI Nations’ Cup race for men under 23 years old (U23). The race is one of seven in the Nations’ Cup series that determines valuable start quota allocations for countries at the World Championships and the event is reserved primarily for National Teams. The U23 category is also called “espoir” – or hope. The race’s name “Avenir” translates to “Future”. So, literally, the race is for our “hopes for the future”. A mini Tour de France for cyclists who may, ultimately,  one day showcase themselves in the Tour de France and the biggest road races in the world. 

L’Avenir is widely regarded as the most important and prestigious stage race for U23s in the world. The best professional teams watch the race, and its importance for recruiting emerging talent is historic. Starting in 1961, this year’s race will be the 56th edition. The list of former winners is filled with athletes who’ve gone onto the heights of professional cycling; Egan Bernal who just won the Tour de France won the Tour de l’Avenir in 2017. Chaves, who bested Boily in 2011, went on to place on the podium in the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta Espana. 

Canada’s ability to return to this race in 2019 is thanks to collaboration and support from private donors and the Hamilton Foundation (HF). The Hamilton Foundation is a private legacy fund created after the 2003 Road World Championships that took place in Hamilton, Ontario. The general directors of the HF are former Executive Directors, Presidents, Performance Directors and athletes of Cycling Canada. Luc Despins, a director on the board of the HF and member of Cycling Canada’s newly empaneled Fundraising Committee, coordinated the private fundraising for the project.  Working closely with Pierre Hutsebaut, Luc, the board of the HF and Cycling Canada have collaborated diligently for many months to bring the project from idea to reality. 

The goal of this project is to create program continuity, opportunity, and development for our Under 23 athletes. The secondary hope is for this project to catalyze excitement within our community of alumni, sponsors, and partners as Cycling Canada rebuilds and refocuses energy on its development and elite road programs after an incredibly successful 2018 Road World Championships performance in Austria last year. 

“In a review of our  High Performance programs conducted last fall, Peter Keen stressed a need for a future ‘mixed-economy’ for Cycling Canada. One where we collaborate more broadly with multiple stakeholders and partners to deliver value in new ways to our athletes, members, and our community. This project is a perfect example of how we will increasingly operate in the future. I’m thrilled and grateful for the support of the Hamilton Foundation, in particular, Luc and Pierre’s efforts to make this project a reality for some of our most promising young athletes.”

Matt Jeffries, Executive Director of Cycling Canada. 

“We have an exciting wave of U23 men coming through the ranks,” said Kevin Field, Head of Performance Strategy and director of the road programs at Cycling Canada. “This will be an amazing race opportunity for our guys, not just for our build-up toward the U23 World Championships, also for their future. Pier-André has already graduated up from Continental to ProContinental and I’m pretty confident we’ll see others take the step to the next level, in great part thanks to the opportunity to showcase themselves in this race (Tour de l’Avenir). The selection has a balance of guys from 1st to final year of U23, so for those who don’t graduate, the race will be a crucial development opportunity to carry through the remainder of their time as U23s. ” 

This year’s race will be 10 stages traversing southern France from Marmande (west of Toulouse) to Saint-Colomban-des-Villards in the French Alps. The race starts August 15 and finishes August 25. 156 riders from 26 teams will take the start: 23 national teams, 2 regional selections and one international mixed team (CMC – from the UCI World Cycling Centre).

Team Canada: 

  • Nickolas Zukowsky – Sainte-Lucie-des-Laurentides, QC / Trade Team:  Floyd’s Pro Cycling
    Canadian U23 road champion, bronze medalist in the Elite road race,  Canada’s highest-ranked U23 in the international and America Tour Standings and winner of the 2019 GP Saguenay
  • Pier-André Côté – Lévis, QC / Trade Team: Rally-UHC
    Winner of 3 stages at the 2019 GP Saguenay
  • Adam Roberge – Prévost, QC / Trade Team: Elevate-KHS
    Canadian U23 time trial champion, bronze medalist in the Elite time trial
  • Ben Katerberg – Comox, BC / Trade Team: Sunweb Development
  • Laurent Gervais – Montréal, QC / Trade Team: Aevolo
  • Charles-Etienne Chrétien – Amos, QC / Trade Team: Interpro 

More race info → www.tourdelavenir.com

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