Monday, 6:45 p.m. The sun falls on Outremont. Avenue Laurier West, it’s party time. The adults sip a beer. The children are stuffing themselves with cotton candy. At Lévêque, we are preparing the terrace. At Mélilot, we extend opening hours to offer kouign-amann.
Why so much traffic on a weekday evening?
Because tonight there is a special event. A cycling criterion. Not with the world’s elite. That was Sunday, at Mount Royal. Here, the stars are local runners, who compete for a few hundred dollars.
Twenty young women take their place on the starting line. Around them, hundreds of spectators are looking for the best vantage point. Between the two groups, a man runs between stations to give his final instructions. It’s the organizer, Charles Huot.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
The organizer, Charles Huot
Total transparency: I know Charles well. Nothing special. It’s hard not to know Charles in the neighborhood. Because of his involvement at school. Or in the footsteps of the parks. Or in minor hockey.
Charles trained my oldest for a season, around ten years ago. It was one coach attentive. Implied. Keen. Charles is also the most convincing guy I’ve ever met. If he asks you to help him, he doesn’t force you to say yes. You want to say yes to him. An example ? When he organized cycling events on Saint-Laurent Boulevard at the end of the 1990s, he asked Pierre Foglia to plog his criterium in The Press. It took guts. Well, Peter did it. In the first paragraph of his column, moreover.
I quote: “Criterium cycliste next Wednesday evening, in the city center. The runners will go up Saint-Laurent Boulevard between Milton and Guilbeault, and will go down via Clark and Saint-Urbain, after a detour on Prince-Arthur. 45 kilometers. Departure (7:45 p.m.) in front of the Buona Notte restaurant. »
It gives you an idea of Charles’ determination and charisma.
It must be said that Pierre and Charles already knew each other, too. They had crossed paths at the Tour de Beauce a few years earlier. Charles was then one of the good cyclists in the country. “He will never become world champion,” Pierre wrote. He won’t win a medal at the Olympics, there was never even a question of him going. But he returns from Japan, sent by the federation. Two international races there. It opens the horizon. It’s worth a lot of medals, the horizon…”
After studying finance, Charles started working in a big company. “But I’ll be honest with you, I missed my days on the bike,” he told me. He therefore began to organize cycling events. The criterium on Saint-Laurent. The Quebec-Montreal race, twice. A charity event. “Except you don’t make a living doing that.” » So after a few summers, he focused on his career in finance.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Philippe Jacob, winner among the men
“I was lucky to make a good salary for several years. There, it’s fifty. And like many people my age, I ask myself questions. I see retirement approaching. I want to give back. To reconnect with young people. I wondered what I could do. I have a daughter who took up bike racing during the pandemic. It allowed me to see people I met 20, 25 years ago. It made me want to give back to the community. »
With his determination and his rolodex to make all the journalists in town drool with envy, Charles found sponsors. Croesus. Regis Cycles. The Siboire brewery. The Fiorellino restaurant. Real estate broker Georges Bardagi. “Everything is privately financed,” he says proudly. He also found an ally within the Outremont municipal administration, project officer Christian Dumont. So much so that in June, the first stage of the triptych took place successfully around the new campus of the University of Montreal, rue Thérèse-Lavoie-Roux.
Two other stages were planned on the same site, later in the summer. However, there were logistical conflicts with the university. We had to find another route, quickly. Difficult.
When you organize an event like this, there are 1001 reasons why it would never take place.
Charles Huot
Walk along Kennedy Park? Construction. Go around Siboire, boulevard Saint-Laurent? Deadlines too short. The SDC Laurier Ouest showed interest. It was still necessary to convince the district. For those who don’t know the area, Laurier Ouest is not exactly a cul-de-sac at the end of a pumpkin patch. It’s next to the city center. The “not in my backyard” syndrome is very, very well there – and politicians are sensitive to it. Fortunately, the elected officials of Outremont resisted the complaints of the grumblers.
“A man said to me: do you realize that we will be prisoners for two hours? You will hear about me, Mr. Huot. I’m going to call my city councilor. I replied: I understand your frustration. But sometimes you have to make sacrifices to encourage young people to get moving. »
“We talk a lot about obesity among young people. From our health system which is overtaxed. We must promote healthy lifestyle habits. Everyone can ride a bike. Even in town. It’s true, I could have organized the race in an industrial sector. It would have been less interesting for the runners. But what’s more, it would only have attracted spectators who are already attached to the race. Whereas here, on Laurier Avenue, we can raise awareness among people who have never seen it. »
During the stage at the University of Montreal, several children from the Hasidic community came to encourage the runners. This was still the case Monday evening, rue Saint-Viateur, where the peloton passed. I also met an impressive number of teenagers and young adults fascinated by the race.
Another notable element: a 100% female departure, before that of men.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Camille Desrochers Laflamme won the women’s event.
“There is a boom in women’s cycling,” explains Charles. In races for 12-13 year olds, we see as many girls as guys. Except that the older they get, the fewer events there are for them. It’s more profitable to organize men’s races. If I had done a men’s start and a masters start, and had charged an entry price for each runner, I would have had 150 competitors. Among the girls, I have around twenty. But we still chose to offer a female start, and to offer women the same scholarships as men, even if there are fewer participants. If we don’t offer opportunities like this to girls, how are we going to keep the youngest in cycling? [de compétition] ? »
After the great confinement, Montreal needs positive and unifying events, in the heart of its neighborhoods. From involved citizens, like Charles Huot. And elected officials who remove obstacles from the (bicycle) wheels of those who energize the city.