Bromont, QC (Jan. 13, 2025) – The Canadian Track Championships for Elite, Master and Para athletes crowned a host of new champions from Jan.10-12 in Bromont, QC.
In front of a lively crowd, nearly 150 athletes took to the track for three days of endurance, track and team events.
Elite
For the third year in a row, sprinter James Hedgcock took top honours in all three races he entered: the keirin, time trial and sprint. His female counterpart, Sarah Orban, was on course to achieve the same feat: she won both the time trial and the sprint, but ultimately finished second in the keirin behind Tokyo 2020 Olympic medallist, Lauriane Genest.
Ngaire Barraclough and Lily Plante put on quite a show in the endurance races for the well-attended Canadian crowd. Alternating victories, Barraclough winning the points race and the elimination and Plante taking the jersey in the omnium and pursuit, they ended the weekend’s racing by teaming up in the Madison, where they added yet another title to their collection.
“I’m on cloud nine after an incredible week of racing,” said Plante. “I’m beyond peoud of my performances, and racing in front of my friends and family truly made all the difference. Their support was everything.”
The names of Mathias Guillemette and Michael Foley were also heard over and over again at the velodrome, as the two athletes respectively claimed the men’s points and elimination race titles, as well as the omnium and the pursuit title.
Para
Para athletes were also in action at the Vélodrome Sylvan Adams. In their first competition since the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, Mel Pemble (Women C3) and Alex Hayward (Men C4) put their hands on the titles in the time trial and individual pursuit, respectively.
This was also Pemble’s first time participating in the new version of the women’s time trial, now a distance of over one kilometer rather than the previous 500 meters. The first athlete in her category to attempt it, the British Columbia native set the world record with a time of 1min 22.515 s.
“I hadn’t been on my track bike since Paris so I approached the event with a totally open mind, just to see where my fitness was at but also to find out how to attack a kilo,” said Pemble. “I clearly felt the difference over the distance and I’m going to have to fine-tune a lot of things for the kilo and put a training plan in place, as it will definitely require more endurance.”
Jessica Law (Women C5), Lachlan Hotchkiss (Men C4) and Matthieu Croteau-Daigle (Pilot: Olivier de la Durantaye, Men B) also took part in the competition, where they won the championship jerseys in both the time trial and the individual pursuit in their categories.
Masters
Many names on the start list became familiar to the Canadian public over the weekend, as numerous competitors stood on the podium more than once. Daniel Blanche (Masters D), Guylaine Larouche (Masters D), Jennifer Bell (Masters A) and Jérémie Fontanaud (Masters C) claimed no fewer than three titles.
“The crowd made a huge difference: we were at home and we were lucky to have a crowd on fire all weekend,” commented Fontanaud, a regular at competitions at the Bromont velodrome. “No one has ever seen such an atmosphere for a Canadian Championships. Personally, I brought home three titles in my new category and I’m extremely satisfied. I was on the podium for every race, so I can’t complain!”
The complete list of podium finishes at the Canadian Track Championships (Elite/Masters) can be found here. Next up on the Canadian Championships calendar is the Canadian ESports Championships, hosted on MyWhoosh on Feb. 8-9. The complete calendar of national events can be found on the Cycling Canada website.
About Cycling Canada
Cycling Canada is one of the oldest national sport organizations in Canada and has one simple purpose: to inspire Canadians to cycle. Cycling Canada administers programs to promote and grow cycling across the country, hosts national and international events and manages the National Team in all levels of international competition.
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