Defending junior men’s cyclocross champ Willem Boersma will have ‘home-course’ advantage
Willem Boersma can’t remember exactly when he got into cyclocross—at age 12 or 13—but he does remember being the youngest rider on the course. “There was a pretty big ‘cross scene back in Manitoba at that point, but nobody under the age of 18 or 20 would do it,” remembered the native of Portage la Prairie, Man., who is now 17 years old. He also remembered being in a Winnipeg bike shop looking at ‘cross bikes, which he thought were pretty cool. The employees at the shop invited him to try cyclocross. He got hooked. Boersma’s mother would drive him one hour from Portage la Prairie to Winnipeg for weeknight ‘cross practices. “I’d obviously get lapped and I’d be coming in last. But I’d go back and get better and better,” he said.
And he did get better. Last year, he won the Canadian junior men’s championship race in Surrey, B.C. He then went to the world championships. His race was marred by a crash that happened in the first lap of the junior men’s race. He was 56th after the first lap, but rode hard, picked off other riders and finished in 28th. His performance stood out for a fellow Canadian cyclocrosser, Aaron Schooler. “It was pretty unreal to see a standout ride by Willem, especially after the crash that happened after the start,” said Schooler. “Willem was on it and prepared for anything, and he had the legs to follow through.”
Following the 2013-14 ‘cross season, Boersma was focused on the road. He raced Tour de l’Abitibi in July, where he worked as a lead-out man for Pier-André Côté, but was also able to sprint for fifth on the fifth stage. In September, he was in Europe with Canada’s national team. He rode in races—which included two kermesse races and the La Philippe Gilbert junior race—as part of the selection process for the junior world championship race in Spain. Since Boersma wasn’t selected for Canada’s four-man junior squad, he returned to North America to get some ‘cross racing in his legs. He raced both Gloucester and Providence, part of the New England’s “Holy Week” of cyclocross. It was all top-10 finishes, except for the final day of Providence, where he had a crash and a mechanical. He still finished 12th.
It’s been a long season for Boersma with both road and cyclocross. The young rider will likely have to face a decision in the near future about which discipline to focus on. It will be a hard one. “I’d like to focus on the road, but I also l really love ‘cross,” he said. “It’s hard to balance both, but I’d like to do well in both.”
Boersma’s next challenge is defending his maple-leaf jersey at the Canadian cyclocross championships on Oct. 25 in Winnipeg. “I feel a lot of pressure,” he said. “Trying to deal with it is a big thing right now. Being the defending national champion in your home province— Everyone is expecting you to win. We’ll see how it goes. I’d love to win. But there are a lot of other guys who are capable of winning. It’s going to be a really hard race, but it will be a lot of fun.” He sees one of his best friends as his competition, Oliver Evans, who was second at this year’s Le tour de la relève internationale de Rimouski. Quinton Disera, Rhys Verner and Raphaël Auclair are also riders Boersma feels will animate the race.
Unlike much of the competition, Boersma will have a “home-course” advantage. “To live an hour away and to get to sleep in my own bed is a huge advantage. Friends and family give all the support I’ll need. I don’t need to fly. It’s going to be a good experience,” he said. He’s also looking forward to the festive atmosphere that will surround the races at The Forks in Winnipeg.
