Le Tour de la Releve Internationale de Rimouski has been an amazing experience for me, as it is my first race of this level, length, and with such a large field. All of the stages have had their own challenges, and I have been able to learn something from each one. We started the week off very well with the TTT where we fought against an incredible headwind along the 7 km waterfront course, and placed 2nd. Since then we have raced two road races and the individual TT. The hardest race for me so far was the 80 km road race with 1065 meters of total elevation. The hills made for a very strung out field, and myself and Teammate Kia were able to work together and move up between small groups to gain distance. Racing in a field this size is brand new to me and has proved to be very fun and also challenging. I am excited for the next two stages, and to have had the experience of racing with the great girls on Cycling BC at this project! Thank you to all the sponsors and supporters who make racing experiences like this possible for us!
Holly Simonson
We are now on the final two stages of le Tour de la Releve de Rimouski and it has been a tough journey. The first stage was a team time trial where we killed it! Our communication and technical riding gave us all the advantages that we needed over third place. The second stage was a short 55 km of massive crosswinds and aggressive racing. We managed second place podium position! The next stage was a very challenging 80 km loop of non-stop climbing. It was a tough day for the whole team but all in all we learned a ton! Today was the individual time trial along the water where we were tested on our speed against other riders. We were all happy with our rides and now we are getting ramped up for the criterium tonight! Of course none of this would be possible without the tremendous support from Cycling BC and all the sponsors. Thank you!!
Gillian Ellsay
