James Piccoli | “I’m here because of my legs”

A free agent in Canadian road cycling, James Piccoli will compete in the last race of an atypical career spanning nearly 10 years at the Grand Prix de Montréal this Sunday. Against all odds, or almost.

With his little Julia, not even 4 weeks old, on his lap, James Piccoli told how he was ready to hang up his bike after a career of almost 10 years in the peloton.

“I always thought that being a professional cyclist and a good dad weren’t really compatible,” he explained last Monday. “On the one hand, you’re always going all over the world. On the other hand, you have to take risks in a race. I couldn’t look at my child and then go downhill at 120 km/h. For me, in any case, it was a bit of one or the other.”

The future is not a concern for the man who turned 33 last week. “I was lucky to be a professional cyclist, but I studied and I have other interests in life.” Drawn to finance, he recently obtained the title of chartered investment manager.

In an ideal world, the Mont-Royal native would have said goodbye last year at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal. However, he was not chosen to represent the national team after an appeal that ended in a mediation agreement.

Forced to restart the selection with an entirely new committee, Cycling Canada changed half of the roster, but Piccoli had to settle for a replacement role.

Disillusioned by this second acrimonious experience – he had also unsuccessfully appealed for the 2021 Olympics – Piccoli continued his season with his China Glory team. In October, he won a stage and finished third overall at the Tour of Hainan, a category 2.Pro event, one step below the WorldTour.

Those results qualified him for this year’s GPs in Quebec and Montreal. On February 28, two weeks after announcing he would become a father, Piccoli announced his decision to retire. The two WorldTour classics in Quebec would be his last races.

A criterion to be satisfied

His social media post raised eyebrows given that he had not competed in any competitions this year, with the exception of the National Championships road race in Beauce, where he dropped out shortly after the start on June 22. “I was sick. I went just to meet a standard for the September races.”

Under the circumstances, in unveiling the preliminary roster in mid-August, Cycling Canada (CCC) made veteran Piccoli’s participation conditional on “an assessment of performance fitness,” in accordance with a clause in its general selection policy.

“He’s earned his spot, he deserves to be here, but we just needed some assurances because we didn’t want a good kid sitting at home while someone could just do a lap or two,” said head of sport Scott Kelly on Saturday night.

Piccoli therefore shared a file from a training session on the Camillien-Houde climb. Judging this data insufficient to assess his condition, CCC demanded additional proof of fitness.

Given his strained relationship with the federation – he still has an ongoing Small Claims Court case seeking $15,000 (essentially the cost of his legal fees) for breach of a memorandum of understanding following the 2021 arbitration process – the soon-to-be retiree has filed another appeal with the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (SDRCC).

Piccoli said he spent a week researching. “I wasn’t practicing, I was just playing lawyer!”

A preliminary hearing was held before a third party appointed by the CRDSC. “He showed us a file where he had done 185 km and we said: yes, that’s completely acceptable,” assured Kelly. The Montrealer did not obtain final confirmation of his participation until the end of last week.

The dispute is still active before the CRDSC. Piccoli intends to force the federation to clarify its criteria. “It will be for the next generation of riders; I really want them to specify this criterion so that they cannot abuse it. Otherwise, they can exclude anyone they want. They have done it in the past with staff and riders.”

Piccoli refers to a recent environmental assessment by the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner that found a climate of “deep distrust in senior management at Cycling Canada” that has “spread down to the athletes.”

“From my perspective, things are not 100% fair at Cycling Canada. I have been treated unfairly throughout my career. Since I am done, I am not afraid of further retaliation or harm. I really want to push to improve the criteria so that it is fairer for the next generation.”

Self-taught on two wheels

Before the Quebec GP, Piccoli did not know if he would be able to put this bitterness aside to savour his last laps on the track.

An engineering student at Concordia, James Piccoli first got into cycling in his early 20s, initially to test products he had designed at university.

In 2018, this self-taught two-wheeler won the Tour de Beauce to everyone’s surprise under the colors of the American team Elevate-KHS.

The following year, he confirmed his great talent by winning the Tour de Gila, imposing himself at the summit of Mont Mégantic in Beauce (2^e overall) and especially by ranking second in the Tour of Utah, where he won the prologue. He concluded this season with a 22^e position at the Quebec GP and participation in the World Championships in England.

Recruited by Israel-Start-Up Nation, now Israel-Premier Tech (IPT), he spent three campaigns in the WorldTour, finishing two Tours of Spain. After a murky divorce from IPT, he competed his final season with China Glory, where his role was mainly to help his Chinese teammates score points in order to open a spot for the Paris Olympics. He had a remarkable career for a Canadian cyclist, especially for such a late convert.

“Chills”

Admitting to being nervous a few minutes before the start on Friday, he did well on the Grande Allée, hanging on to the peloton until about fifty kilometres from the finish, when Tadej Pogačar’s UAE stepped on the accelerator. He continued for a lap to the cheers of the crowd and a few members of his family who were wearing a t-shirt of his “fan club”.

There will be even more of them this Sunday in the first bend of the Camillien-Houde route, the traditional gathering place for his family and supporters. As usual, cookies will be distributed by the Piccoli. James also invites young cyclists to come and collect pieces of clothing and equipment accumulated over the years.

Ending his career on Mount Royal is a natural fit for him. He was barely a teenager when he followed the Women’s World Cups featuring Lyne Bessette and Geneviève Jeanson in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He devoted most of his training to the slopes of Montreal’s iconic mountain.

“I don’t want to get dropped in the first round. I’m proud of my form, of the career I’ve had for 10 years. I’ll do everything to finish, but if Pogačar wants to go all out for five hours, we’ll see.”

A breakaway? “Why not,” smiled the aggressive-minded rider. Julia, who turned 1 month old on Saturday, will be on the sidelines in her mother’s arms. The postponement of James Piccoli’s swan song will have had at least that much to offer.