Lex Albrecht looks ahead to the Grand Prix Cycliste Gatineau
The Canadian pro will contest both the road race and the time trial
“I used to hate time trials, but we’re starting to have a better relationship now,” said Lex Albrecht on Tuesday. The 26-year-old pro rider of Now-Novartis for MS has a wildcard invitation to Monday’s time trial event, part of the Grand Prix Cycliste Gatineau. Albrecht will also ride as a member of the national team in Saturday’s road race. But as for her fraught relationship with TTs: “I’ve been working on TTs a bit with my coach, Chris Rozdilsky. I’ve gained fitness compared to last year. I’ve definitely learned a lot about how to prepare and to execute the time trial.” Really, she seems to be doing quite well at the race against the clock. On May 11, she won the Grand Prix de Granby. She also has her sights set on the nationals.
The Barrie, Ont.-native will be making her fourth appearance at Gatineau this weekend. In the road race, her teammates include Kinley Gibson, Audrey Labrie, Véronique Labonté, Véronique Fortin and Candice Vermeulen. Denise Kelly of Canadian Cycling Cyclisme will be their coach. Albrecht has ridden a lot with Fortin. But Albrecht believes this race will be the first time they’ve worked together on a team. Labonté is a former teammate. Friday, the team will ride together and plan the strategy for the road race.
“In past years, there have been breaks but they’ve always been brought back,” Albrecht said. “So, there’s always been a sprint finish. But, we’ll be looking to have a presence in all the breaks, just in case something stays away.”
The race in the National Capital Region, which is the only women’s UCI event in Canada, has a lot of significance for Albrecht, who races mostly in the U.S. “It’s really cool that they brought another UCI race to Canada,” she said. “It’s really unfortunate that the World Cup event in Montreal, the Grand Tour du Montreal and the Tour de PEI were all discontinued. It’s really disappointing because I got to try them for the first time in 2009. I wanted to keep racing them. But on the bright side of things, it is really cool that there are two UCI-calibre events in Canada for women. It’s a great opportunity for me to race at this level at home.”
On Saturday, tune into our live coverage of the Grand Prix Cycliste Gatineau.
