When the International Cycling Union (UCI) Champions League gets under way on November 12, there will be four Canadians on the track, including one who didn’t believe he was there: Mathias Guillemette from Trois-Rivières.
Posted at 3:26 p.m.
Not that Guillemette hasn’t offered great performances over the past year, especially during the Worlds, held in St-Quentin-en-Yvelines in October. He first helped the Canadian team pursuit to an all-time best time of three minutes 53.739 seconds (3:53:739), in addition to finishing 13e in the points race and at the madison, with Dylan Bibic.
The competition is reserved for the crème de la crème: only the first three of the Worlds in the endurance events and the first six in the sprints obtain their ticket for the competition, which is contested over four weekends. Guillemette received an invitation from the organizers to obtain her place.
“It’s big,” he said when contacted by The Canadian Press earlier this week. It’s different from a normal race. You don’t really need to perform, it’s more of a show, with the best in the world. It is certain that the competition is fierce, but it is less stressful and stressed than a Nations Cup or a World Championship. »
Guillemette will be accompanied by two other endurance athletes: Dylan Bibic — world scratch champion — and Maggie Coles-Lyster. Kelsey Mitchell will be the only Canadian representative in the sprint for this second edition of the competition.
The 20-year-old cyclist believes he can make a podium in the five races that will constitute the Champions League, without being able to identify which one.
“I want to try things in races, things that go or break. If it breaks, we resume the following week. I am able to make at least one podium. »
But above all, it is experience that he wishes to bring back from this adventure.
“Running against these guys: it’s really rare that you go to a Nations Cup and that all the best are there, he notes. Usually they do well at Worlds and don’t need to make Nations Cups for points. Just to be able to do four or five weeks of racing with them is an incredible opportunity for racing experience. »
Words that resonate with the coaching staff of Cycling Canada.
“It’s huge: we only had Maggie (in this competition) last year, and that played a huge role in her development,” said Jenny Trew. It helped her a lot to get on the level of other international cyclists. To have three more (endurance) cyclists jumping into the dance this season and to learn at this level, we are very happy.
“With COVID, young cyclists haven’t had as many opportunities to race in the last two or three years. These four cyclists are all exceptional, but there is a difference between having excellent preparation and ending up on the job with the best. »
“Being in Canada, we are quite far from all the big events on the track, adds his colleague Laura Brown. It is difficult to register our young athletes for all these competitions. That they can participate in so many races with such a high field is a fantastic opportunity, not to mention the UCI points which are also distributed in this competition. »
The Champions League has four events: the sprint and the keirin (sprint), as well as the elimination race and the scratch (endurance). The competition has been formatted to appeal to the Discovery Channel, the official broadcaster of the event, so that everyone’s day lasts no more than three hours, whereas a Nations Cup can span double of time.
” This is completely crazy ! There are light effects and 3D computer graphics on the track, things you don’t see in other competitions,” said Guillemette, who will participate in the elimination race and scratch on each day of competition. .
The first races will take place in Mallorca on November 19. The following two Saturdays, the peloton will travel to Berlin and St-Quentin-en-Yvelines. The grand final will be played over two days, December 2 and 3, in London.
“We don’t have another national team event or development camp on the menu, so it’s great that they can get to such an event at the end of the schedule,” said Brown. All we want is for them to give their all and get as much experience as possible from these four weeks. But above all, have fun doing it. »