Competition kicked off with the individual time trial on June 29. Zack Morris recorded his first-ever national title in the Masters A category, while a bevy of riders successfully defended their time trial title for a second year running: Masters B athlete, Mark Sherboneau (Ride With Rendall p/b Biemme); Masters E athlete, Nancy Gillan (Agowatt); Masters F athlete, Paolina Allan (Uxbridge Cycling Club); and Masters G athlete, Nathalie Champagne (Agowatt).
Continuing a strong 2023 season, Bruce Bird (Wheels of Bloor) added the Masters C win to his Gravel Masters 55-64 Championship title. Sylvan Adam (Israel – Premier Tech) found himself with a Masters D gold medal several years after his first Canadian Time Trial Championships in 2012 and 2013. The Masters H category rounded out the day’s competition, with Anna Tykoliz (St. Catharines Cycling Club) adding to a 2023 tally that includes the Canadian Esports and Gravel Championships (Masters Women 65+).
The next day saw the men’s categories battle strong winds and a long climb for the road race. Three athletes crossed the finish line to add their name to the Canadian Championship history books: Maxime Forget (Rackultra), Nicolas Proulx (Les Rouleurs Polo-Vélo) and Éric Provost (Clan Knox) won the Masters A, B and C categories, respectively.
Adams collected his second Masters D title of the weekend, commenting, “This is my eighth Canadian Championship jersey in all disciplines – track, time trial and road. But I’ve never won in the same year and I’ve only won the road race once before so for me it’s really special. It was a bit of a grind to try and drop the peloton and end up in the breakaway. Ultimately, the entire podium drooped the peloton and when I was with those two guys, I knew I was going to win the sprint. So I was able to sit and be very patient and didn’t even initiate the sprint until 100m to the line.”
The women’s turn to race came on Canada Day. Jodi Wendland (The Cyclery) used experience gained winning the 2023 Gravel Championships (Master Women 35-44) to clinch the Masters E category, while Caroline Montminy (Équipe Studio Vélo) built on last year’s second-place road race finish to win the Masters F for 2023. Champagne and Tykoliz also earned their second maple leaf jerseys of the weekend in their respective categories.
“It never gets old, it is always so very humbling and with the greatest of gratitude being able to wear this jersey, especially on July 1 – how amazing is that? And I think my [Cycling Canada] socks helped out, too,” joked Tykoliz, who used the event to qualify for the UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow, GBR. “All the athletes have had just an amazing experience and really appreciate [Grand Prix Cycliste de Beauce] being able to host. And I am very proud that I now get to go to Scotland!”
The event finished on July 2 with a hilly 50min criterium, where Tykoliz (Masters E) and Adams (Masters D) successfully completed a title trifecta and Provost (Masters C) claimed a second Championship. A handful of athletes made the most of the opportunity to earn their first Champion’s jersey: Samuel Blanchette (Siboire-GFT) in the Master A category; Patrick Tremblay (Les Rouleurs Polo-Vélo) in the Masters B; Pauline Diaz (ECF – Communimed p/p Davélo) in the Masters E; Josée Rossignol (Ecomax/Velogare) in the Masters F; and Dawn Heinemeyer (Calgary Crankmasters) in the Masters G.
“I kept checking behind me to see where the other girls were and kept trying to expand; it was magical to create a gap like that,” commented Rossignol. “We had our peloton with around 25 Masters girls. It was a good thing to have a lot of Master Women to compete this weekend, it was such a great experience. Since a lot of women quit after 35, we want to encourage more women to compete.”
The full list of results can be found here. Next up on the Canadian Championships calendar is the Canadian Downhill MTB Championships from July 15-16 in Fernie, BC. The full calendar of national events can be found on the Cycling Canada website.
Source: Cycling Canada
Cycling Canada is the nation’s oldest National Sport Organization and has one simple purpose – to inspire Canadians to cycle. Our mandate is to holistically develop the sport in partnership with our 11 Provincial/Territorial Sport Organizations, putting more Canadians on bikes from coast-to-coast and on podiums around the world.