September 16/15 12:13 pm - Inaugural Cycling Hall of Fame Inductees Announced

Posted by Editor on 09/16/15
 

The newly established Canadian Cycling Hall of Fame, which will have its permanent home at the Mattamy National Cycling Centre in Milton, Ontario, has named its first class of inductees and it is a who's who of Canadian cycling. [Note: Our editor was a member of the Steering Committee for the Hall of Fame]

The first class of nominees were selected from a list of potential inductees from voting by members of the Canadian cycling community:

Steve Bauer first came to national prominence with his breakout performance at the 1984 Olympic Games, where he won Canada's first ever men's road race medal, finishing second in a sprint. Following those Olympic Games he turned professional and won a bronze medal at the World Championships in 1984 and silver in 1988. Throughout his twelve-year professional career, Steve made eleven appearances in theTour de France. He became the first Canadian to win a stage of the Tour when he claimed the coveted yellow jersey at the end of the first stage of the 1988 event. In total, Steve wore the Yellow Jersey for 14 days.

Tanya Dubnicoff was the top female track cycling sprinter in the World in 1993, winning the world sprint title, and becoming the first Canadian woman to do so. Throughout an illustrious career she represented Canada at three Olympic Games, three Pan American Games and two Commonwealth Games. Her Pan Am gold medal haul of four titles included two in the 1999 Games held in her hometown of Winnipeg, where Tanya led the Canadian team into the Opening Ceremonies as the team's flag bearer.

Curt Harnett represented Canada four times at the Olympic Games, bringing home three medals. In 1984, he won silver in the 1,000m time trial, along with a bronze in the 1992 and 1996 match sprint event. He holds two World Championship silver medals and five gold and three silver medals from World Cup competition. Curt was the first rider to go below 10 seconds in the Flying 200m, a record he held for over 11 years. In addition, he has enjoyed multi-medal winning success at other major Games including two match sprint silver medals from the 1990 and 1994 Commonwealth Games. He also won a gold 1,000m time trial medal and bronze match sprint medal at the 1987 Pan American Games.

Marc Lemay will be inducted in the Builder category for his years of exemplary service to the sport. Domestically, Marc served as President of the Canadian Cycling Association from 1981 to 1992 and as a member of the Canadian Olympic Association Board of Directors from 1982 to 1996. Internationally he led the Union Cycliste International (UCI) Mountain Bike Commission through its early growth period from 1990 to 2001, including the successful addition of men's and women's cross country to the Olympic program in 1996.

Jocelyn Lovell first represented Canada at major Games in 1968 when he was selected as a teenager to the Olympic Team that competed in Mexico City. In 1970 he won three medals at the Edinburgh Commonwealth Games, including gold in the 10-mile Scratch Race, making him the first Canadian in 32 years to win a cycling gold at those Games. He dominated the 1,000m time trial throughout the 1970s, winning gold at both the 1971 and 1975 Pan-American Games and in the process setting a record for the distance that would stand for 28 years.

Lori-Ann Muenzer rose to prominence in 2004 at the Athens Olympic Games where she won the Match Sprint gold medal in dramatic style. In addition, she has won six World Championship medals (in Match Sprints, Flying and Standing events), the 2002 Commonwealth Games silver and bronze medals - where she set the Flying 200M record - and was a Pan American Keirin and Match Sprint Champion. She remains the only Canadian cyclist to win an Olympic Gold Medal.

Torchy Peden was the most prominent Canadian cyclist in the highly competitive six-day race events that took place between 1929 and 1948. During that era Torchy won 24 of the 48 races that he entered. He teamed with various riders from around the world throughout his career but his most memorable victories were the ones with his brother Doug who also was a gifted athlete. He represented Canada in the 1928 Olympic Games.

Gordon Singleton began his amateur cycling career in 1975. In 1978 he participated in the Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Alberta, and returned home with a gold and bronze medal. In the years to come, Gord rose to international stardom, becoming the first cyclist ever to break and hold, simultaneously, world records at the 200 metres, 500 metres and 1000 metres distances. In 1982 he became the first Canadian cyclist to win a World Championship title, in the Keirin.

Alison Sydor started her career as a road racer, which culminated in her winning a first-ever road world championship medal for a Canadian woman in 1991 at Stuttgart, Germany, when she took bronze. From there she transitioned to the sport of Mountain Biking where she was a medal contender at the World Championship and Olympic Games level from her first silver World Championship medal in 1992 to her final medal in 2004. Alison had an incredible streak of 13 consecutive top-5 world championship results in the women's cross-country. In that period she won twelve World Championships medals including cross-country World Champion in 1994, 1995 and 1996, and Team Relay world champion in 2002. In 1996, she won a silver medal at the Atlanta Olympic Games.

The induction of this class will take place on Saturday, October 10th, in Milton, with the first Canadian Cycling Hall of Fame luncheon. Tickets for the luncheon may be purchased Here.

Corporate tables are available. Please contact Matthew Jeffries (matthew.jeffries@cyclingcanada.ca / 613-248-1353 ext. 2609).

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