A note from our High Performance Director, Kris Westwood:
After a seemingly interminable wait, the Tokyo Olympic Games are almost here.
I’ll be the first member of our delegation to land in Japan to begin an Olympic and Paralympic experience unlike any other—with social distancing, prescribed movements, daily COVID testing and masks, masks, and more masks. We can’t even begin to imagine the work that went into postponing the Games by a year and the huge efforts that organizers have made to ensure the Games happen.
I’m very comfortable with the measures our team has taken: most of our members will be fully vaccinated before we leave, and almost all the rest will have had one shot. Additionally, COVID measures the organizers have put into place are very stringent, including multiple tests before travel and daily tests once we’re in Japan.
Of course, we can only control what we can control. In the last few months, we’ve been dealing with constant flight cancellations, changing COVID directives, and a lack of basic information on things like room bookings. Despite all this, I believe once the Games begin, the focus will shift to sport, and we can all enjoy the spectacle of the world’s greatest athletes gathering for the most important sporting spectacle there is.
The Tokyo Games are spread out over multiple locations, and for cycling that means our team will be staying in four different locations; with two locations during the Paralympics. The Olympic road cycling events start in the western outskirts of Tokyo but finish at the Fuji International Speedway 100 km farther to the west. The track and mountain bike events take place an hour south of there, at the Japan Cycle Sport Centre in Izu. And the BMX events will be held in the Ariake Urban Sports Park in downtown Tokyo. The Paralympics are split between four days of track racing in Izu and four days of road at the Fuji Speedway.
All this means our support team will be stretched to the limit to support our 23 Olympic and eight Paralympic athletes with limited accreditation numbers and stringent COVID restrictions. It’s a daunting task, but we relish the challenge – this is what we love to do.
As has become tradition in recent Games, cycling kicks off with the men’s road race on July 24. It’s one of the first medal events in the Tokyo Olympics, and at 234 km the longest event of the entire Games. I will be there, standing in a roadside feed zone in sweltering heat handing up bottles to Mike Woods. I’ll also be there for the next 13 days of Olympic road, mountain bike, BMX and track competition up to August 8, and for the eight days of Paralympic track and road competition between August 25 to September 3.
If you catch a glimpse of me or any of my fellow staff on TV, we’re the ones that have been quietly working in the background to help give our athletes the best possible shot at a medal. Regardless of the outcome, we will be there for them. Please wish the whole Canadian team well!
OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC ATHLETE ANNOUNCEMENT
We are excited to be announcing our final Olympic BMX, road and mountain bike selections on July 6th, as well as our complete Paralympic team on July 7th. Click here to see our current road and track selection.
CANADA WINS FOUR WORLD TITLES AT THE PARA ROAD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Nine Canadian athletes raced for the first time in nearly two years at the UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in Cascais, Portugal from June 9-13. Both Shelley Gautier and Marie-Claude Molnar secured wins for Canada in both the individual time trial and road race and capped off the week with two world titles each.
JACKSON GOLDSTONE WINS SILVER AT HIS FIRST DH WORLD CUP
BC’s Jackson Goldstone placed second at his first-ever DH Junior World Cup on June 12 in Leogang, Austria, after also finishing second in the qualifying round. A promising start to his young career as he prepares for the third DH World Cup in Les Gets, France on July 3-4.
MAGGIE COLES-LYSTER PODIUMS AT PAN AMERICAN TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS
After a successful start to the road season in Salt Lake City with her professional team, DNA Pro Cycling, Maggie Coles-Lyster headed to Lima, Peru for the Pan American Track Championships. Despite being the only Canadian racing, she represented the maple leaf with speed bringing home three silver medals.
NEW DATES FOR 2021 ELITE/JUNIOR/PARA CANADIAN ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Initially scheduled to take place over the same weekend as the Masters Canadian Road Championships on September 3-6, 2021, the event for Elite, Junior and Para athletes will now be scheduled in lieu of the Grands Prix Cyclistes de Québec et de Montréal (GPCQM) on the weekend of September 10-12, 2021 in Beauce, Québec. As the COVID-19 pandemic and associated public health restrictions continue to evolve, please refer to the 2021 Event Status Update webpage for any updates and cancellations as the season progresses.
2022 CANADIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS CALENDAR
Last month, Cycling Canada confirmed the 2022 Canadian Championships calendars for the Road, Track, Mountain Bike, Para-Cycling, BMX and Cyclo-cross disciplines. The Canadian Championships represents one of the most important domestic competitions each year with athletes proudly representing the maple leaf on the international stage. View the full calendar here.
Tour de France
June 26 – July 18
France
Giro d’Italia Féminin
July 2-11
Italy
MTB World Cup #4 XCO and #3 DH
July 3-4
Les Gets, France
St. Félicien Canada Cup XCO
July 10
Saint-Félicien, QC
UCI MTB World Cup #4 DH
July 14-15
Maribor, Slovakia
Sherbrooke Canada Cup XCO
July 17
Sherbrooke, QC
St. Albert Canada Cup BMX
July 17-18
St.Albert, AB
Fernie Canada Cup DH
July 17-18
Fernie, BC
Panorama Canada Cup DH
July 19-21
Panorama, BC
Canadian DH MTB Championships
July 24-25
Golden, BC
Olympic Games
July 24-25-28 (Road)
July 26-27 (Mountain Bike)
July 29-30 (BMX Racing)
August 2-8 (Track)
Tokyo, Japan
We are proud to be part of a dynamic and outstanding cycling community whose many achievements and contributions go beyond performances on the bike. In an effort to recognize some of these many noteworthy achievements, Cycling Canada would like to highlight the following individuals and accomplishments:
- For the first time in history, a Canadian has been named as team leader for the Tour de France. Mike Woods has been set to lead his team, Israel Start-Up Nation, and will race alongside Canadian teammate, Guillaume Boivin, for the 21 stages of the Tour. Hugo Houle will also be racing with his team, Astana Premier-Tech before heading to Tokyo with Woods to represent Team Canada at the Olympic Games. Watch the races here.
- Carter Woods was Canada’s top finisher at the Mountain Bike XCO World Cup in Leogang, Austria, placing fifth in the men’s U23 category. He is currently ranked first in his respective category as he heads into the fourth World Cup in Les Gets, France.
- After hosting the BMX World Championships in 1997, Saskatoon is now welcoming the province’s first provincial team with the goal of fostering Olympic talent while promoting the sport.
- HopOn has officially wrapped up in Whitehorse, Yukon as one of the nine provinces and territories participating in programming for school-aged kids. The six-week program gave kids the opportunity to learn the basics and safety of riding through games-based learning. To find out more and register your child, visit the HopOn website.
- Pedal Poll kicked off at the beginning of the month and gathered data on cycling habits across the country. Full data can be found here.
- On June 25, nine Common Empire riders started their 6-day, 1, 272 km journey from Ottawa to Timmins to raise money for the HopOn national grassroots program. Help them reach their goal of raising $10,000 by donating & taking part in the raffle.
- The Jordie Lunn Bike Park in Langford, BC officially opened to the public on June 22. The park offers a free and accessible cycling space year-round and will also serve as a high-performance training location, while offering development opportunities for schools and sports teams.
- St. John’s welcomed its new pump track with the help of Canary Cycles, who donated $10,000 to help with building costs. The track will be home to the 2025 Canada Games.
SAFE SPORT – HEAD INJURY/CONCUSSION PROTOCOL
As return to competition begins, Cycling Canada is pleased to highlight a resource every month to ensure safe sport for all. As it has been more than a year since many of us have participated in competitive cycling, we would like to share Cycling Canada’s Head Injury/Concussion Protocol. This resource provides guidance, education, signs and symptoms, management and steps to properly manage a suspected head injury or concussion. Additional information can be found on Cycling Canada’s Safe Sport webpage.
SKILLS AND TACTICS THEORY COACHING COURSE
Our upcoming Skills and Tactics theory course is now open for registration. The two-hour course will run from 7 to 9 pm EST on July 6, 8, 12, 14 and 15 with a $75 registration fee. You can find more information and sign up here.
CYCLING CANADA CASUAL KIT
We’re excited to release our latest Cycling Canada casual cycling kit! Available in both men’s and women’s sizes, the short sleeve jersey and bibs are the perfect fit for those long summer rides. You can order your kit here. 4iiii x CYCLING CANADA GIVEAWAY
We are excited to be partnering with 4iiii to give away a factory-installed powermeter! Head to both 4iiii and Cycling Canada‘s Instagram pages to enter the contest before July 2.
200 LAZER HELMETS DONATED TO HOPON
As part of their “Buy One. Save Another” campaign, Lazer will be donating 200 helmets to HopOn national grassroots programs across the country. Thank you to all those who registered their helmets over the last months!
WAHOO PRODUCTS
You know our National Team athletes are loving the new Wahoo Kickr smart trainers when they use them even in the peak of summer! The Kickr trainer is adapted for every kind of cyclist and continues to provide the best-in-class indoor smart trainer design with carbon steel body for maximum durability and stability. For a full list of Wahoo products, click here.
The Shifting Gears blog provides a platform for our staff, athletes, board and community members to write about interesting topics and ideas. Last month, Canadian Sport Institute of Ontario and National Track Team physiotherapist Aly Hodgins shared the best ways to avoid cycling injuries prior to and during rides, while our team compiled a list summer road closures for cyclists to enjoy across Canada.
If you are passionate about cycling and interested in contributing to the blog, please reply to this email.