Anika Todd aims to bring her time trial prowess to the Grand Prix Cycliste Gatineau chrono

To hear her accounts of a two-year career that already reads like a veteran’s, the challenges that Anika Todd has experienced, going into this Thursday’s Grand Prix Cycliste Gatineau road race, sound like defining ones. They’re the sort of trials that refine an athlete’s progress, not stall it.

“I have had a few challenges with injury and illness this year,” Todd said, “and so my immediate focus is to get back to being 100 per cent healthy so that I can train at the intensity necessary to race at this level.”

“My career has been a whirlwind so far,” Todd recalls, looking back to 2013 as the first year that she hit the pro circuit. “I tried road racing for the first time at Barry’s Roubaix in April of 2013, and was offered a professional contract with Team Tibco just three months later after a surprise silver-medal performance at the 2013 Canadian time trial championships.” Next was a ride in the national road race, where she placed seventh. The following year, in 2014, she visited the national championships once again, this time placing third.

“I began racing full time with Team Tibco-SVB in January of 2014,” she said, “and have since had the opportunity to compete in many races both domestically and on the international stage. The learning curve was a steep one and every race I started taught me something new.”

One of those experiences in 2014 was that year’s Grand Prix Gatineau Cycliste road race, whose 2015 iteration burns up the asphalt of Gatineau Park on June 4, starting at 5 p.m. In preparation, Todd is going with her much-lauded, well rewarded, and very evident strengths.

“I have been focusing on time trial in preparation for Gatineau,” Todd said, “so time trial intervals as well as racing the local Tuesday night time trial.” With the Chrono Gatineau part of her agenda, Todd seems to recognize that she has a certain advantage heading into the competition, especially with the stakes in mind. “The Chrono Gatineau,” she said, “is a UCI time trial on a course that is well suited to me, so it’s a great opportunity.”

And it’s an opportunity that elevates the 25-year-old rider’s prospects for this race in an especially well-timed, advantageous manner, considering who she’s up against. “The women’s field is incredibly strong this year,” Todd said, echoing the thoughts of other competitors, “and that has made for exciting racing across the board. I think that the top teams all have some very strong and talented riders. So there is not one team dominating, and that makes for aggressive and exciting racing.” Beyond that, though, this year presents unique prospects that make prevailing at Gatineau a matter of bigger, more ambitious things on the competitive stage. “With 2015 being a pre-Olympic year,” Todd added, “it also gives riders an added incentive as selections for those teams begin.”

“All things considered, I think that the road race will be very aggressive and I would also expect some world-class performances in the time trial.”

The Grand Prix Cycliste Gatineau happens on June 4 at 5:00 p.m. Follow all the action live via our online portal.