Canada has quietly stepped as much as problem the standard Olympic biking powerhouse nations like Great Britain, the Netherlands and Italy, qualifying the utmost variety of athletes in monitor biking and a rider in biking self-discipline besides BMX freestyle for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Dan Proulx, Canada’s head biking coach, shared insights into this milestone and the preparations main as much as it in an unique interview with Cyclingnews.
Canada is one in all solely a handful of countries which have certified riders for each self-discipline. Only Great Britain has been in a position to enter the utmost variety of athletes in monitor, MTB and street. Getting Canada to the identical stage as a powerhouse Olympic performer like GB is a results of exhausting work by the riders, eight coaches and supporting workers, and monetary assist from Sport Canada.
“This assist has made a major distinction through the years, making certain we now have world-class programming, coaches, and workers,” Proulx stated. “It’s raised the bar for everybody and helped us compete on the highest ranges.
“The one factor that’s actually distinctive about Canada is that we do not have the numbers that another nations do in our growth pipeline. Cycling isn’t the tradition in Canada, hockey is within the tradition, for certain. So usually, we’re deciding on riders from a really small expertise pool. So it is actually essential that we guarantee that they will keep within the sport for some time, and that we’re maximising the expertise that we do have. It’s a compact group, so we now have to have good relationships with everyone.”
“We’re very enthusiastic about it,” Proulx stated of maxing out the monitor biking crew. “To my information, that is the primary time Canada has ever achieved that. We hoped to qualify the utmost variety of spots, nevertheless it was by no means a assure till the final occasion. Before Milton [the last Nations Cup], we have been optimistic and hopeful however by no means took it without any consideration.”
The monitor biking crew, introduced this week, contains defending dash champion Kelsey Mitchell and keirin bronze medalist Lauriane Genest, who shall be joined by Sarah Orban for the crew dash. Erin Attwell, Ariane Bonhomme, Maggie Coles-Lyster and Sarah Van Dam will compete within the endurance occasions.
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But the largest surprises got here from the boys’s dash programme, who narrowly made the lower for the Olympics due to their closing trip in Milton.
“That one was a nail-biter,” Proulx recalled. “The actually cool factor is that these guys have been underneath strain and set a private finest. We have been comparatively assured concerning the crew pursuit since we wanted to be within the high 10, however all it might have taken was a contact of wheels, and that may have been it.”
James Hedgcock, Tyler Rorke and Nick Wammes will compete within the dash occasions in Paris. The crew pursuit squad additionally made the lower, with Dylan Bibic, Michael Foley, Carson Mattern and Mathias Guillemette being named to the crew.
The qualification course of was difficult by the shortened Olympic cycle after the Tokyo Olympics have been postponed one yr because of the COVID-19 pandemic. While it left little time for growth and experimentation, Canada pulled off nice performances to qualify a big crew, however that was not the principle aim.
“The three-year quadrennial meant we did not get that yr post-Olympics to do a number of growth work. We have been proper again into qualifying,” Proulx defined. “The coaches, workers, and athletes targeted on the method and the way they carried out in every occasion. Our aim is to carry out our greatest on the Games, relatively than simply qualifying for each occasion.”
Looking forward to Paris, Proulx emphasised the significance of preparation and psychological toughness. “Like everybody, we might like to see medals, however we truthfully can’t management that. We are practising efficiency underneath strain and fatigue situations to make sure the riders are able to delivering their finest on the Games. The Olympics are a strain cooker the place athletes usually underperform, so our focus is on controlling the controllables and creating an setting conducive to the riders doing properly.”
An important facet of Canada’s success has been the distinctive teaching workers, together with Catherine Pendrell, a bronze medalist on the Rio Olympics, who now coaches the mountain bike crew. “I believe that is an interesting story,” Proulx remarked. “She’s been a mountain bike coach for the final two years, doing a implausible job with our 2028-focused athletes. We can have mountain bikers on the Games, however with our mountain bike group, that is extra of a rebuild and expertise Games. Catherine shares her knowledge from an almost 20-year worldwide profession with coaches from varied disciplines.”
Siblings Gunnar and Isabella Holmgren will signify Canada within the mountain bike cross-country races. Isabella is the reigning junior world champion whereas Gunnar received the boys’s MTB race on the Pan American Games final yr.
On the street aspect, Michael Woods and Derek Gee will fly the maple leaf flag on a Classics-style street course in Paris, whereas Olivia Baril and Alison Jackson will signify Canada within the girls’s street occasions.
Mollie Simpson rounds out the crew in girls’s BMX Racing.
“We have some medal potential in a lot of totally different disciplines,” Proulx stated. “The thrilling half concerning the street course is how difficult it’s. Our coaches, like Nigel Ellsay, have achieved recon on it, and we now have a robust group to decide on riders from. We have our work lower out for us figuring out who shall be finest on the day.”
Canada’s preparations lengthen past bodily coaching. Collaborations with tools companions similar to Argon 18 and Louis Garneau have offered the crew with cutting-edge tools and clothes. However, Proulx harassed that mastering the fundamentals is essential. “The tactical aspect, particularly in monitor biking, is tremendous essential. We research our competitors and guarantee our athletes can compete in sudden methods. Technical points like perfecting begins and optimizing exchanges are additionally very important. Every coaching session contains video evaluation, energy evaluation, and aero testing.”
Mental preparation additionally performs a major function in Canada’s technique. “We’ve invested within the psychological efficiency sport, making a efficiency setting that’s mild, brilliant, and clear,” Proulx famous. “Our psychological efficiency coach, Sharlen Hoar, works with the athletes and coaches to create environments that convey out the most effective in folks. There’s an amazing vibe on the crew proper now, which has come from funding and steady work.”
Team Canada for the Paris Olympics biking occasions
- Molly Simpson (BMX Racing, Women)
- Isabella Holmgren (MTB, Women)
- Gunnar Holmgren (MTB, Men)
- Olivia Baril (Road, Women)
- Alison Jackson (Road, Women)
- Derek Gee (Road, Men)
- Michael Woods (Road, Men)
- Erin Attwell (Track Endurance, Women)
- Ariane Bonhomme (Track Endurance, Women)
- Maggie Coles-Lyster (Track Endurance, Women)
- Sarah Van Dam (Track Endurance, Women)
- Dylan Bibic (Track Endurance, Men)
- Michael Foley (Track Endurance, Men)
- Mathias Guillemette (Track Endurance, Men)
- Carson Mattern (Track Endurance, Men)
- Lauriane Genest (Track Sprint, Women)
- Kelsey Mitchell (Track Sprint, Women)
- Sarah Orban (Track Sprint, Women)
- James Hedgcock (Track Sprint, Men)
- Tyler Rorke (Track Sprint, Men)
- Nick Wammes (Track Sprint, Men)