Global Relay Canadian Road Championships

As we fast approach BC Superweek in the lower mainland, other areas of Canada are currently underway with different races for their own communities.

One such race held over the past weekend was in Ottawa with the first day of competition for the Global Relay Canadian Road Championships p/b Lexus that saw close sprint finishes for road race titles awarded for Junior Men and Women, and Elite and Under-23 Women.

The marque Elite Women’s 120 kilometre road race, Olympic track bronze medalist Allison Beveridge (Rally Cycling) of Calgary, Alberta, won the sprint from the final breakaway to take the title, followed by team-mate Kirsti Lay of Montreal and Alison Jackson (Be Pink) of Vermilion, Alberta.  Finishing in the same breakaway was Under-23 champion Catherine Ouellette (The Cyclery 4iiii) of St-Lambert, Quebec.

An initial break of four riders was joined in the final 40 kilometres by six more riders, with four of them riding for the U.S. pro team Rally Cycling.  

Rally went through the final corner with 200 metres to go with Beveridge on third wheel behind team mates Sarah Poidevin and Lay, and the winner came off Lay’s wheel with 100 metres to go to take the title, followed by Lay and Jackson in third.

“It’s a bit weird to be honest,” admitted Beveridge, “I didn’t think going in that I could do it.  But we had the strongest team here and when we stacked the break with four Rally riders in ten total, we knew we had to do it. With the team we had, all I had to do was go out there and finish it off.”

In earlier races, Charles-Etienne Chretien (Equipe du Quebec) took the Junior men’s title just ahead of the peloton, with Félix Boutin (IAMGOLD) finishing second and Michael Foley (Team Ontario/La Bicicletta) taking third.  

Laurie Jussaume (Equipe du Quebec) won the Junior women’s title ahead of defending champion Erin Attwell (Cycling BC) and Simone Boilard (Equipe du Quebec).

Racing continues on Sunday with the Elite and Under-23 Men’s road race.

About Cycling Canada

Cycling Canada is the governing body for competitive cycling in Canada. Founded in 1882, Cycling Canada aims to create and sustain an effective system that develops talented Canadian cyclists to achieve Olympic, Paralympic, and World Championship medal performances.

With the vision of being a leading competitive cycling nation by 2020 celebrating enhanced international success, increased national participation and world class event hosting,

Cycling Canada manages the High Performance team, hosts national and international events and administers programs to promote and grow cycling across the country.

Cycling Canada programs are made possible through the support of its valued corporate partners – Global Relay, Lexus Canada, Mattamy Homes, Louis Garneau and Bear Mountain Resort – along with the Government of Canada, Own The Podium, the Canadian Olympic Committee and the Canadian Paralympic Committee.

Thanks to Cycling Canada for the info