April 1/20 14:27 pm - April 1st Revisited

Posted by Editor on 04/1/20
 

We have been posting April 1st 'news' for 25 years as of this year, so we thought it might be time to revisit some of them.

1998 - Linda Jackson left cycling to take up snowboarding, and we bought Cycling Canada - this one went over so well, that staff at the federation were asking the Executive Director if their jobs were secure...

2000 - Cycling Canada starts an incentive program to get elite cyclists to have children together and create a generation of super cyclists.

2002 - Road Nationals to be held in Buffalo after no suitable Canadian location found; UCI enacts technical restriction limiting bikes to 12 gears.

2003 - Road Worlds move to Montreal since Hamilton can't get it together. This was a banner story - La Presse newspaper in Montreal picked up the story and started interviewing riders; when Dom Perras informed them that they had been 'fished', it was already printed in the paper... Also, Ryder Hesjedal released a rap album.

2004 - UCI microchips riders to monitor for doping; we introduce Yo Dude magazine; and bobblehead dolls of Canadian riders - this one resulted in hundreds of orders and we actually investigated producing them, but the minimum order was 10,000...

2007 - We married off pro mountain bikers Max Plaxton and Trish Sinclair and photographed the ceremony, with Seamus McGrath there as best man (both their phones blew up afterwards...) - this wasn't the first marriage we did, with Alison Sydor and Eric Lindros tying the knot (pre-internet, in the print magazine); Clif introduces Cibble - a kibble-shaped snack for riders and their dogs.

2009 - Another big year, with Emily Batty signing an agreement with Mattel to be 'Mountain Bike Barbie' - even her family were calling her with congratulatory messages. Also, Andreas Hestler appeared on 'So You Think You Can Dance Canada'

In 2010, Cycling Canada added Defensive Training to the national team, and we have the photos...

In 2012, the CBC shot a pilot for a reality program called Tough as Tuft centered on Svein Tuft; Cycling Canada began a GPS microchip program to track Junior riders on national projects, with national coach Dan Proulx explaining the details in a video.

In 2014, Fat Biking joined the Winter Olympics; Curt Harnett also reprised his Pert Plus hair commercial with Just for Men Sandy Blonde...

In 2016, the Rio track cycling events were going to be shifted toMilton; two of Cycling Canada's most eligible bachelors spoke about their burgeoningromance.

In 2017, Clara Hughes joined Ron MacLean at Hockey Night in Canada - this proved to be a very popular idea.

Last year, Pete Disera announced he would be leaving cycling for his real love break dancing. Also, Cycling Canada and Cycling New Zealand announced an exchange program for athletes and staff.