Wednesday, June 25, 2003

By Louis Bertrand

The Men's and Women's Elite road races, held on Sunday June 29th, will highlight the Tim Hortons Canadian National Road Cycling Championships in Hamilton. Both are UCI Open events, meaning that foreign riders are allowed to participate although National titles are obviously awarded to Canadian riders only. In the Men's 1.5 race, UCI points will be granted to the top 10 riders, from 15 points to the winner down to one point for tenth position. In the Women's 1.9.2 event, there will be points for the first three riders (3,2,1).

As usual, the pelotons will be mainly made up of provincial teams, but some professional trade teams will also attend. Charles Dionne and Eric Wohlberg will get support from Saturn teammates Will Frischkorn, a former Tour de l'Abitibi overall winner and U.S. National Espoir (under 23) road race champion, and Australian time-trial specialist Nathan O'Neill. Five-time Canadian road champion Mark Walters will have three Navigator colleagues with him in Chris Wherry, Vassili Davidenko and Burke Swindlehurst. We will also have the two professional Canadian outfits, the Atlas Cold Italpasta squad lead by Andrew Pinfold, and the Jet Fuel Coffee team of defending Canadian road champion Andrew Randell. US Postal's Michael Barry (1997 Espoir Road champion), who just completed the Volta a Catalunya in support of team leader Roberto Heras (second overall), would race with the Ontarian Provincial team, however his presence in Hamilton hasn't been confirmed yet.

On the Women's side, 2001 road and individual time-trial Canadian champion Lyne Bessette and her Saturn teammates Manon Jutras and Amy Moore will wear their usual yellow and black colours, and will be joined by other riders in a composite team in order to comply with mandatory team size at the Nationals (four to six for Women, four to seven for Men). Defending time-trial champion and Montreal World Cup winner Geneviève Jeanson will be backed up on the road by a strong RONA contingent. Another trade team is the Victory Brewing-Amoroso's squad of 2000 road champion Sandy Espeseth, accompanied by fellow Canadians Sophie St-Jacques, Nicole Demars, Gina Grain, Kirsten Robbins and Ann Turrin. Finally, former multiple road and time-trial Canadian champ Linda Jackson, who hasn't raced since 2000, will return to competition in Hamilton as a member of a composite team. Linda won the Nationals road race in 1997 and 98, as well as three consecutive time-trial Championships between 1996 and 98.

For all participants, Sunday's road races offer the rare opportunity to race on the World Road Championships course, with less than four months to go until the Worlds. "It will be a good warm-up for the city of Hamilton and the Worlds' organizing committee", says seven-time Canadian time-trial champion Eric Wohlberg. "For instance, the people there will learn how to deal with road closures and hopefully that will turn out fine. For us riders, it is a chance to study the course and see what our possibilities will be at the World Championships. Besides myself, in Sunday's road race I see potential candidates for the title in Svein Tuft, Dominique Perras, Mark Walters and Jacob Erker."

Sprinter Charles Dionne, Canada's sole representative in the 2002 World Championships road race in Belgium, says he's been pondering everyday since what might have happened in Zolder had he not been slowed down by several riders crashing close to him in the final kilometres. "Winning the Nationals would give me my ticket to the Worlds and that is the main source of motivation. I really want to go back. Of course, anyone would like to wear the Canadian champion's jersey for a year, it offers great exposure. I am not familiar with the course, I'm eager to see how much climbing is involved."

Mark Walters reckons that "this is a hard course, which is good for me. With three Navigator teammates by my side, it is a good situation. Barry, Wohlberg, Perras and myself are all equal, I won't say one is a clear favourite for the title, but if Dionne is there in the closing kilometres, then we'll have a problem. As for the Worlds, I'm totally motivated. This year at Gent-Wevelgem in Belgium (April 9th), I felt I had the potential to win that race one day, even though I wasn't really healthy back then. I would like to race more often in Europe next year, I know I can do very well over there. So, why wouldn't I perform well in the World Championships on home turf ?"

Quebec climber Dominique Perras, runner-up to Andrew Randell last year in Woodstock, is pleased to finally get a hilly circuit to race on, the first since Abbotsford in 1998, where Walters took the Canadian title. Reflecting Charles Dionne's comments, Perras sees the upcoming Nationals as "the safest way to be selected for the Worlds, and also, the Maple Leaf jersey provides for great exposure in Europe, where I race all season long. To me, Barry will be the man to watch on Sunday, but I'll keep an eye on Walters, Wohlberg and Dionne as well."

Ceslaw Lukaszewicz, who retires every fall but keeps resurfacing come springtime, will be at the start on Sunday. Ceslaw won the Nationals road race in 1994, 97, 99 and 2000. "I am extremely motivated, but it would not necessarily be beneficial to the sport if I won again. Guys like Perras and Dionne need the jersey more than me. I won't hurt their chances but should they falter, I will defend my own if I still have the legs for it."

Finally, Nepean's "Flash Gordon" Fraser "has accepted the fact that I'll never be a Canadian champion. The Nationals road race has been frustrating for me over the years. A sprinter in a break is always a marked man, no one will cooperate with me." So Gord, who has registered his 12th win of the season in the Grand Prix de Beauce, won't make the trip to Hamilton. "It still would have been interesting but right now I find myself at the mercy of where my HealthNet team goes. Anyway, the main reason to be at the Nationals is the possible selection to the World Championships, but I wouldn't be going to the Worlds since I'll become a father in the first week of October. Also, Worlds are typically not for sprinters."

Starting at 9 am on Sunday, the Women will cover nine laps of the 12,4 km loop for 111.6 kilometres, and Men will follow at noon for 16 laps and 198,4 km. The start/finish area is located in front of the Hamilton City Hall on Main Street.


Louis Bertrand is a freelance sports commentator who's been involved in cycling for close to 30 years. If you've watched a cycling event on French television in Quebec in the last 15 years, chances are Louis was at the helm. He also works as race announcer for the Women's World Cup in Montreal, the Grand Prix de Beauce and the upcoming Canadian Road Championships in Hamilton. Basically, cycling is his life. With the World Road Championships coming to Hamilton, Louis will now have his weekly column on our website.