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CANADIAN WOMEN FINISH TOP-10 IN ROAD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TIME TRIAL

Innsbruck, Austria (September 25, 2018) – Canadian women finished fourth and eighth in the Elite women’s time trial on Tuesday at the Road World Championships in Innsbruck, Austria. Leah Kirchmann of Winnipeg was just 1.62 seconds off the podium in fourth place, while Karol-Ann Canuel of Gatineau, Quebec, was eighth. Dutch riders swept the top three spots, led by Annemiek van Vleuten, the defending champion.

Kirchmann finished the 27.7 kilometre race with a time of 35 minutes and 52.17 seconds, one minute and 26.81 seconds behind van Vleuten. Canuel finished two minutes and 15.86 seconds behind van Vleuten.

“I think it was the best time trial of my life,” said Kirchmann, “so I’m super happy with that. It’s always hard to come fourth and be so close to a podium position. At the same time, it’s motivating; I showed today that I have the ability to be there and be competitive, so I’ll use that when I’m targeting future time trials. This result opens up options for me, and looking forward to the Games in 2020, they are definitely a goal, so maybe my focus will turn a little more to the time trial.”

“I’m so happy,” said Canuel, “I knew coming into this race that I could be top-10, so I’m really pleased with the result. This course was definitely a challenge for me, because technically I still have some improvement to do, plus I only saw the course yesterday so I only had a short time to prepare. The focus in the past few weeks has been on the TTT [Team Time Trial, where Canuel’s team Boels-Dolmans was second]. I think under the circumstances, this was the best I could do today.”

In the Junior men’s time trial, Canada’s Connor Martin of Kelowna, BC, was 25th, finishing three minutes and 35.94 seconds behind winner Remco Evenpoel of Belgium. Canadian champion Ben Katerberg of Courtenay, BC, did not finish after crashing.

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BOILARD FIFTH IN JUNIOR WOMEN’S ITT AT ROAD WORLDS

 Innsbruck, Austria (September 24, 2018) – Canada had a strong start to the Road World Championships in Innsbruck, Austria, on Monday, with Canadian national Junior women’s ITT champion Simone Boilard of Quebec City finishing fifth, 6.17 seconds out of the bronze medal. Canada’s other entrant in the race, Magdeleine Vallieres Mill of Sherbrooke, Quebec, did not fare as well, crashing early in the race, but finishing despite what turned out to be a broken thumb.

“Coming to Worlds I didn’t know what to expect,” said Boilard. “I didn’t have a chance to compare myself to the other girls, so I really focused on being my best. Today I was feeling super good. I think I did too many technical mistakes and started way too slow, but I was able to finish really, really strong. I’m happy with fifth place, but I’m sure I can do even better.”

“There was a big tailwind today, and it was going stronger and stronger at the end of the course. I had to keep a very high cadence and it was hard to spin my legs that fast! I’m really confident now going into the road race, because I already know where I could have taken the seven seconds [to bronze] – I’m a little disappointed about those seven seconds – but I’m confident I can be a good contender for the next race.”

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CYCLING CANADA STREAMLINES MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE

Ottawa, ON (September 18, 2018) – Canada’s national cycling governing body has revamped its organizational structure to better service its athletes and members.

After a thorough review process Cycling Canada’s Board of Directors has approved a streamlining of the organization that will see the roles and responsibilities of the vacant CEO and CTO positions distributed among the existing senior management team, while bringing in a highly respected sport advisor to help set the stage for future success.

“The Board recognized that we have tremendous expertise and leadership capacity within our existing team,” said Cycling Canada President John Tolkamp. “We have great faith in this team to work together to deliver on our collective vision for the sport of cycling in Canada. As an organization we need to be more agile, transparent and responsive to the needs of our members and stakeholders. We believe flattening and re-organizing our leadership structure goes a long way toward achieving that.”

Marketing Director Matthew Jeffries, who was appointed Interim CEO after Pierre Lafontaine’s departure in May, will continue as Executive Director. Jeffries will work closely with the Board of Directors and the other senior executives in leading the organization while continuing to manage and oversee commercial affairs.

As Head of Development & Operations, Mathieu Boucher will remain responsible for events and domestic development programs while taking on additional leadership responsibilities alongside Jeffries related to business operations and stakeholder relations.

Brett Stewart will continue to manage the organization’s finances, human resources and day-to-day operations as Head of Finance and Administration.

After two years leading Cycling Canada’s road programs, Kevin Field moves into a new role as Head of Performance Strategy. Field will be responsible for overall strategic development for the organization, working closely with the management team to harmonize business and sport. Key areas of focus for Field will be sport-system architecture, performance pathways and alignment within Cycling Canada’s high performance programs.

Head of Performance Operations Kris Westwood will continue to manage the delivery of national team programs, including coaches, managers and other high performance staff.

The High Performance department will be strengthened by the addition of a High Performance Advisor in Peter Keen. Well-respected in the cycling world as both former elite performance director at British Cycling and former UK Sport performance director, Keen will provide support on a short-term contract basis, working as a consultant to help guide performance strategy and provide technical expertise. Keen will work closely with Kris Westwood and Kevin Field in conducting a high performance review that will help set Cycling Canada on the path for sustained success in the future.

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CYCLING CANADA ANNOUNCES ROAD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS TEAM

Ottawa, ON (September 12, 2018) – Cycling Canada has announced a squad of 23 riders who will represent Canada at the 2018 UCI Road Cycling World Championships in Innsbruck, Austria from September 23 – 30. Women and men will compete in two events – road race and time trial – across five categories: Junior and Elite women, Junior, Under-23 and Elite men.

The Canadian team includes national champions from every category, and is led by Elite professional riders from the highest level of the sport, including national women’s time trial champion and defending team time trial champion Leah Kirchmann, and national men’s road champion Antoine Duchesne. Other names to watch for in the Elite women’s category are former world time trial champion Karol-Ann Canuel, Canadian criterium champion Sara Bergen and climbing specialist Sara Poidevin. On the men’s side, the Canadian squad includes professional WorldTour rider Michael Woods, who recently won a stage at the Vuelta a Espana, as well as Hugo Houle.

“At Road Worlds a lot of attention shifts to our elite categories,” said Kevin Field, Team Canada manager. “We enter both the men’s and women’s races with strong wildcard chances. Sara Poidevin has demonstrated she’s got the potential to be one of the best climbers in the world of women’s cycling – she’ll come in under-rated and I like that. Leah [Kirchmann] and Karol-Ann [Canuel] have consistently demonstrated top performances in the WWT [Women’s WorldTour] and Alison Jackson has had a breakthrough season. I’m really excited to see what our women can do. We have a strong, motivated and committed team that will once again be led by sport director Zach Bell.”

“On the men’s side, Mike Woods has proven the ability to be among the best in tough one-day races like Liege [Liege-Bastogne-Liege] and climbing stages in both the Giro and Vuelta. Mike will get strong support from his team mates; everyone is pretty excited about our chances and committed to riding as a galvanized team.”

The Under-23 men’s selection includes national road champion Ed Walsh, national time trial champion Adam Roberge, and national Criterium champion Nickolas Zukowsky. In the Junior ranks, Team Canada has national women’s time trial champion and criterium Simone Boilard and double national men’s champion (road race and time trial) Ben Katerberg.

“I can’t thank our road community enough for demonstrating the support and collaboration to bring us to this pinnacle event of the season. The focus this year shifted to working even more closely with some of our emerging road partners like NWSDA, B2Ten and the Hamilton Foundation and we couldn’t be happier.”

The world championships begin on Monday, September 24th with the Junior women’s and men’s time trials, and conclude on Sunday, September 30th, with the Elite men’s road race.

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

Elite Women
Sara Bergen – Coquitlam, BC [RR]
Karol-Ann Canuel – Gatineau, Quebec [TT, RR]
Alison Jackson – Vermilion, Alberta [RR]
Leah Kirchmann – Winnipeg, Manitoba [TT, RR]
Katherine Maine – Ottawa, Ontario [RR]
Sara Poidevin – Canmore, Alberta [RR]

Elite Men
Rob Britton – Regina, Saskatchewan [TT, RR]
Antoine Duchesne – Saguenay, Quebec [RR]
Hugo Houle – Sainte-Perpetue, Quebec [TT, RR]
Mike Woods – Gatineau, Quebec [RR]

Under-23 Men
Charles-Etienne Chretien – Amos, Quebec [RR]
Adam Roberge – Montreal, Quebec [TT, RR]
Ed Walsh – Halifax, Nova Scotia [RR]
Nickolas Zukowsky – Ste Agathe, Quebec [TT, RR]

Junior Women
Simone Boilard – Quebec City, Quebec [TT, RR]
Elizabeth Gin – Surrey, BC [RR]
Kaitlyn Rauwerda – Hamilton, Ontario [RR]
Magdeleine Vallieres-Mill – Sherbrooke, Quebec [TT, RR]

Junior Men
Ben Katerberg – Courtenay, BC [TT, RR]
Connor Martin – Kelowna, BC [TT, RR]
Carson Miles – Ottawa, Ontario [RR]
Robin Plamondon – Montreal, Quebec [RR]
Thomas Schellenberg – Chilliwack, BC [RR]

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CANADIANS ANIMATE GPCQM WORLDTOUR RACES

Montreal, Quebec (September 11, 2018) – Canadian riders were front and center for the Grands Prix Cyclistes Quebec et Montreal (GPCQM) races on September 7th (Quebec) and 9th (Montreal). The GPCQM races are the only Canadian events in the World Tour of road cycling, the highest level of international competition for professional men.

In Friday’s 201.6 kilometre (16 laps) through the streets of Old Quebec, five riders broke clear after two kilometres, including three Canadians. The break consisted of Guy Sagiv (Israel Cycling Academy), Bruno Langlois (Team Canada), Nicolas Dougall (Team Dimension Data), Alexander Cataford (Team Canada) and Robert Britton (Rally Cycling Team). The lead quickly grew to reach a maximum of 6:30 after three laps. Alex Cataford took advantage of the breakaway to collect the KOM points on Cote des Glacis for 13 laps. With two laps remaining, Langlois and Britton were still clear, and were only caught in the final 20 kilometres. Guillaume Boivin (Israel Cycling Academy) was the top Canadian finisher, in 21st place with the lead group.

“GPCQM was a success once again for the National Team,” said Team Canada captain Bruno Langlois. “Alex did a great job getting KOM points throughout the day, and we really put on a show for the spectators. It was one of the best days I’ve ever had on a bike and I want to thank all the people who came out to encourage us.”

On Sunday, the competition moved to Montreal for the 195 kilometre (16 lap) race on the classic Mont Royal circuit, where Canadians again animated the race. After one lap a five rider break formed, containing Canadians Hugo Houle (Astana Pro Team), Adam Roberge (Team Canada), Nigel Ellsay (Rally Cycling Team), and Charles-Etienne Chretien (Team Canada), as well as Briton Owain Doull (Team Sky).  Their lead reached five minutes at the end of the fourth lap, with a maximum gap of 5:45. With three laps remaining the gap was still two minutes, and Houle, Roberge and Ellsay were still at the front, before they were finally caught in the final 30 kilometres. Guillaume Boivin was once again the top Canadian finisher, in 19th place with the same time as the race winner.

“I’m really happy with the race,” said Team Canada manager Kevin Field after the Montreal race. “We did what we had to do today. We expected the break to be between four and six riders, and we wanted to have one or two riders in the move. That happened with two of our Under-23 riders [Roberge and Chretien]. It’s fantastic for them to get that experience and exposure so close to the upcoming World Championships in Innsbruck [where both will ride the Road Race].”

“James [Piccoli] has been on an exciting progression path in domestic racing over the past two seasons. After winning the Tour de Beauce this year we were looking forward to seeing what he could do in Montreal. Unfortunately, he got tangled up in a crash on the final climb of Mont-Royal, preventing James from truly showing his stuff. Overall, I’m really happy, and the guys rode to the expectations I had.”

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2018 EVENT OF THE YEAR FAN VOTING NOW OPEN

Ottawa, ON (September 11, 2018) – After a very successful season of racing across the country, Cycling Canada invites all cycling fans to vote online over the next few weeks to determine the 2018 Cycling Canada Events of the Year. Fan vote will count for 50% of the overall consideration for Road, Track, Mountain Bike, BMX, Para-cycling and Cyclo-cross events of the year.

2018 Event of the Year winners will be determined by an equal proportion of public voting (this survey) and evaluation of the review of the following criteria by relevant staff & committees:

  • Communication with Stakeholders
  • Event Promotion
  • Event Presentation & Execution
  • Organizing & Planning

Cycling Canada would like to thank all the organizers & volunteers who have contributed to the success of these events throughout the season. Great Canadian events contribute to international success and to the growth of the sport in Canada. 

The survey will be live until September 30th at 11:59PM EST. Category winners will be announced at the 2018 Annual Congress, to be hosted in Ottawa from October 12th to 14th. Click here to access the survey.

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CANADA SENDS DEVELOPMENT TEAM TO GPCQM WORLD TOUR

Ottawa, ON (August 21, 2018) – 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 7th (Quebec City) and 9th (Montreal). The GPCQM 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 former Canadian national champion and six-time GPCQM participant Bruno Langlois. He will be joined by Alex Cataford of the professional continental level UnitedHealthcare squad, plus two stars of this year’s Tour de Beauce – overall winner James Piccoli and double stage winner Pier-Andre Cote. Also joining the squad are three current national champions – Adam Roberge (Under-23 time trial champion), Ed Walsh (Under-23 road champion) and Nicolas Zukowsky (Criterium champion).

“We’re bringing a youthful team and I’m excited,” said team manager Kevin Field. “Like every year, this project is about preparing our Under-23’s for the world championships. However, even more, it’s about showcasing Canadians in the “Big Show” [the WorldTour].”

“This year, we’ll have more Canadians than ever in the race – between Team Canada, Team Rally, Israel Cycling Academy, Astana and Mitchelton-Scott we’ll have [up to] 16 Canadians in the race. Team Canada’s plan is to put on a show, get in the breakaways and ignite the crowd. We’ll have four debutants and three race veterans in the Team Canada line up, anchored by team captain Bruno [Langlois].”

Alex Cataford – Ottawa, ON [UnitedHealthcare]
Pier-Andre Cote – St-Henri-de-Levis, QC [Silber Pro Cycling]
Bruno Langlois – Quebec City, QC [EC Velo Cartel]
James Piccoli – Montreal, QC [Elevate KHS]
Adam Roberge – Montreal, QC [Silber Pro Cycling]
Edward Walsh – Halifax, NS [T. Palm – Pole Continental Wallon]
Nicolas Zukowsky – Ste-Lucie, QC [Silber Pro Cycling]

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CANADIANS SHINE AT THE 5OTH TOUR DE L’ABITIBI

Val-d’Or, QC (July 24, 2018) – The 50th edition of the Tour de l’Abitibi concluded on Sunday with Team Canada’s Riley Pickrell winning his third of seven stages race and taking the Points Jersey for the overall competition. Riley Sheehan led a Team USA sweep of the overall podium, and became only the fourth rider in the history of the event to win both years he raced.

Connor Martin (TaG Cycling) was the top Canadian in the overall standings, finishing tenth, and also took the Polka Dot Jersey as the top climber in the race, as well as finishing third in the Best Young Rider category. Team Canada finished fourth in the Teams Classification, which was won by Team USA.

“The race was far more than I expected,” admitted Pickrell. “The strength of the international field is shocking and to come away with three stage wins is surreal. Abitibi was amazing. It is by far the favourite stage race I’ve competed in, due to the sportsmanship and fellowship created by hard international racing. I would often be amazed by the speed of the peloton as we flew through the Abitibi countryside.”

The team was directed by Scott McFarlane of Canadian professional development team Silber Pro Cycling for the first five stages, with Kevin Field, Road Program Manager at Cycling Canada, taking over for the final two stages.

“Three stage wins and the Points Classification highlighted a very successful Tour de l’Abitibi for Team Canada,” said McFarlane, who was attending Abitibi for the first time. “We also captured 38 valuable Nations Cup points. Riley really proved he has the class to win at the international level on the road after dominating the sprints throughout the race. In terms of the overall, Carson Miles was tracking for a top five in the ITT [Stage 3 individual time trial], when an unfortunate crash took him out of the GC. Better time trial preparation will raise Team Canada’s competition level in this race and add more top ten GC options. Having 3-4 riders in the top ten in GC after the ITT is very doable with the talent in this country.”

Kevin Field said, “It was really special for us to be here for the historic 50th edition and to see Team USA rewrite history. This is a pivotal race in the development of all our athletes and having a team with three first year athletes bodes well for our future. A special thanks to Scott McFarlane from Team Silber who stepped in to help lead the majority of the project.”

The only North American stop on the UCI Junior men’s Nations Cup, Abitibi has seen some legendary cyclists begin their international careers here, including Steve Bauer, Alex Stieda and Laurent Jalabert.

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PICKRELL TAKES SECOND WIN AT TOUR DE L’ABITIBI

Val-d’Or, QC (July 21, 2018) – Team Canada’s Riley Pickrell earned his second victory at the Tour de l’Abitibi on Friday in the fifth stage, a 99.8 kilometre road race between Amos and Val-d’Or, that took place under a hot sun. Pickrell extended his lead in the Points competition with his win. Riley Sheehan (Team USA) solidified his hold on the Brown Jersey of race leader by finishing third behind Taisei Hino (Team Japan).

“Once we were in the circuit, I knew it would be hard to move up, and if you’re 20 wheels back, you’re very unlikely to win the race,” explained Pickrell.  “My teammates worked really hard for me to navigate the two roundabouts coming in to the circuit, keeping me in good position.”

The race was marked by a fall involving about fifteen participants about one third of the way through the stage. Five cyclists were later forced to retire.

Sheehan has managed to raise his lead from 11 to 15 seconds over Team USA team mates Kendrick Boots and Michael Garrison in the GC competition, with Canadian road champion Ben Katerberg (TaG Cycling) remaining in fourth, at 19 seconds. Pickrell now leads the points standings with 102 point, 14 more than Hino.

For the sixth and penultimate stage of the Tour on Saturday, cyclists will stay in Val-d’Or for a 104 kilometre urban circuit.

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PICKRELL SECOND IN STAGE 4 AT TOUR DE L’ABITIBI

Val-d’Or, QC (July 20, 2018) – After taking the Brown Jersey at the Tour de l’Abitibi in the Stage 3 time trial on Thursday morning, Riley Sheehan (Team USA) extended his lead in the overall classification later in the day on Stage 4 by winning the field sprint and grabbing the six bonus seconds on offer. Team Canada’s Riley Pickrell, the winner of Stage 1, finished second and took back the Points Jersey.

The short 52.8 kilometre stage that began and finished in the town of Malartic was controlled by the U.S. national team, who quickly shut down any break attempts. Gusting crosswinds also discouraged efforts to get away, and the field came into the final kilometre intact. Sheehan lead up the false flat final straightaway, with Pickrell closing in the last 100 metres, but running out of road. Yoshiaki Fukuda (Japan) took third ahead of team mate Taisei Hino, who lost the Points Jersey to Pickrell. Robin Plamondon (Team Canada) also made the top-10, finishing eighth.

“It was a very good stage, but I would have been happier with the win,” admitted Pickrell. “It was a well raced stage by team USA, so I have to accept second. The wind was a huge factor; the main crosswind section was two kilometres before an intermediate sprint [won by Pickrell] so the pace was fast, and if you were caught out of the first echelon, you had to do a lot of work. The focus has shifted a bit [for the team]; we will still be going for stage wins, but the goal will be to come away from Abitibi with a jersey.”

Sheehan now leads his two team mates Kendrick Boots and Michael Garrison by 11 seconds, with Canadian road and time trial champion Ben Katerberg (Tag Cycling) remaining in fourth, now 15 seconds back.  Garrison remains in the Blue Jersey as Best Young Rider, as does Kevin Cervantes (Alterra Home Loans) in the Climber’s Jersey, since there were no KoMs contested.

In the Points competition, Pickrell now has 72 points to Hino’s 64, with Sheehan moving into third with 54 points.

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