August 15/06 12:00 pm - Bessette Keeping Busy in her 'Retirement'

Posted by Editoress on 08/15/06
 

Bessette Keeping Busy in her 'Retirement"
By Amanda Leigh Cox

Recently retired Canadian Pro Cyclist Lyne Bessette is keeping busy in her retirement. The Knowlton-based star cyclist retired from professional road cycling this May 24th, roughly a week after abandoning France's grueling Tour de l'Aude after Stage 7. Though completely out of road racing, she left the door open for possible future competitions in cyclocross ˆ where swept the North American Crank Brothers series and was Canadian Champion in 2005.

Those who thought Bessette would take up knitting and gardening full-time were mistaken as this past weekend she took part in the Verdun Triathlon / Duathlon, organized by friend and former teammate Manon Jutras. Bessette came in third overall in a field of 37 athletes in an overall time of 1 hour 13 minutes for a 5 K run, followed by a 20 K ride and completed with another 5 K run.

In a recent interview with Quebec's Veloptimum, Bessette revealed what is next on her schedule: "I am getting ready for my first Endurance Adventure Race to be held the weekend of August 18 to 20th in Saint Raymond. The event will have a live link to the website www.enduranceaventure.com and will be in the Journal de Montreal. My team consists of Georges Visser, Jean-François Rivet, Nicolas Lemaître and me. It was the guys who approached me about it ˆ since they heard that I had some time on my hands! I have a friend who does Adventure racing and I had always wanted to try it so I accepted the challenge."

What's next for Bessette ? Only she knows, but the cyclocross season is approaching∑.