April 1/14 0:28 am - Cycling Canada Starts Masters Program

Posted by Editor on 04/1/14
 

Cycling Canada, the Canadian national federation, has announced a new high performance initiative:  Masters World Championships.  The federation has been working on the plan for at least six months, revealed High Performance Director Jacques Landry, himself one of the targeted athletes.

"We started looking at all former stars of Canadian cycling, and it was a pretty impressive list," explained Landry.  "On the road we have riders like Steve Bauer, Gord Fraser, Alex Stieda, Ron Hayman, Lyne Bessette, Linda Jackson, Sara Neil ... off-road there is Alison Sydor, Andreas Hestler, Lesley Tomlinson, Chrissy de Jonge ... and on the track Curt Harnett, Gord Singleton and Tanya Dubnicoff are all in training."

"While the primary emphasis remains on the Olympic Games program, we need to recognize that it takes years to develop an athlete, with no guarantee of success.  However, with these athletes we already know they have what it takes!"

The project, dubbed "Grey Wheels", has been secret until this point, when it became apparent that something was underway.  "Gord Fraser really let the cat of the bag when he finished third at the Old Pueblo GP, and 15th at the Tucson Bicycle Classic Time Trial," said Landry.

Landry says that the program has already attracted interest from sponsors, with Just for Men signing Harnett [see Daily News - Curt Harnett to Reprise Hair Commercials], and Ensure joining as a nutritional supplement.  Louis Garneau was on board immediately, both as a sponsor and as an athlete in the program.