Q & A with national team coach Denise Kelly

Denise Kelly has been the women’s high-performance coach for the past four years. She’s also been supervising riders at the Grand Prix Cycliste Gatineau since the race’s inception three years ago. Canadian Cycling Magazine caught up with Kelly ahead of the event, which starts Saturday with a road race.

Last year was an Olympic year and many riders used the Gatineau race for training. Are you expecting any differences between last year and this year?

I think that each year the race has been there, it’s been a little different. Last year was definitely a bit more aggressive. Being an Olympic year, the energy and drive were certainly present. The course is not too demanding in terms of the terrain, so it’s the racers that make the race. Last year, there were some good, solid breaks happening and a lot of attacks. I’m hoping same type of race will happen this year.

What’s your strategy for this year?

Any time we have a national team in a race, we want to have a positive presence, which includes being present in the breaks and at the front of the pack and making sure nothing dangerous gets away.

The team that is representing Canada this year is a mix of very strong all-rounders and a couple of good sprinters, who are more on the development side of our program. We have several cards to play with the talent that we have on the team.

What’s the significance of a race like the Grand Prix Cycliste Gatineau?

In this current climate, with sponsorship pulling out of the sport and races being cancelled, it’s very important for women’s cycling that the UCI races we have remain. This is the only UCI race in Canada. Canada has always had a strong presence on the international road racing scene for women. To have the opportunity for all the top riders in Canada to be present in an international-class race is very significant because they’re racing on home soil.

The gang from Cycling Canada will be there to watch. As a member of the selection committee, I get to see all the racers and mingle with them. I talk to our riders face to face. It’s really important for the centralization of the sport because people are so spread out across the country. When we get together at a race like this, for me, it’s good to touch base with everybody.

The national team at Gatineau is there so the maple-leaf jersey can be worn on home soil to represent the country in our own race. The team is also there to provide riders who are on UCI teams who are not attending with an opportunity to race at the highest level. There’s rule that riders can’t race for another team unless it’s a national team. We also usually have one or two second-year juniors on the team. That way we provide a bit of continuity for them when they turn elite the following year. Kinley Gibson is our second-year junior this year.

What’s the plan for you and the national team in the days leading up to Gatineau?

We’re all going to congregate Thursday night. Friday will be a pretty busy day. We’ll go recon the course. Riders will do their training for the day. We have a press conference. I have a managers’ meeting. Then we have a team dinner planned. We’ll have good meeting to discuss strategy and how to optimize our chances to podium. So, that’s the prep for the road race this year. In the past the time trial has been first. This year, the road race is on Saturday and the time trial is on Monday.

What do you expect from some of the newer riders?

For the newer, more development-type riders, the expectation for them is to really use this race as a learning experience. They’ll be able to pick the brains, so to speak, of the more experienced racers on the team. The new riders will be given tasks and will have to fulfil them whatever they may be, whether it’s chasing down a break or leading somebody out or, in some cases, just sitting in the pack to try to finish the race and gain pack experience.

And with the more senior riders?

I expect them to lead by example, share their experiences and contribute to the team-tactics discussions. I expect that once we get the plan in place that they follow the plan and do their jobs to the best of their abilities.