Ben Perry’s last-minute call-up to Grand Prix Cycliste de Saguenay
The Israel Cycling Academy rider from St. Catharine's will return to Canada following the new Hammer Series
by Aaron S. Lee
STAVANGER, Norway — Last year’s stage winner and overall race runner-up Ben Perry (Israel Cycling Academy) will get another shot at Grand Prix Cycliste de Saguenay, the 23-year-old told Canadian Cycling Magazine prior to the fifth and final stage of the 2017 Tour des Fjords on Sunday.
“I just found out super, super last minute I’m doing Saguenay with the Canadian national team,” said the reigning three-time under-23 national road race champion from St. Catharines, Ont. “But next I’m doing Hammer Series, so few days off, then Hammer Series and then another few days off, then Saguenay.
“It’s going to be pretty hectic for me the next 10 days.”
Joining Perry at Saguenay will be 2015 Canadian road-race champion and Israel Cycling Academy teammate Guillaume Boivin, who suffered a shoulder-shattering crash at the race last year.
“I was second last year and won a stage,” said Perry, who joined ICA this past September after two seasons with Silber Pro Cycling. “Guillaume Boivin, my Cycling Academy teammate, is also going to race on the national team, so it will be fun and it will be nice to be in Canada and see the old people I used to race against and old friends – and just enjoy being in Canada for a little bit, too.”
Following Saguenay, Perry will turn his attention toward the nationals in June and the second half of a season. So far this year, he has raced such high-profile events as Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, Dwars Door Vlaanderen, Gent-Wevelgem, Three Days of De Panne, Brabantse Pijl and, most recently, Tour d’Azerbaijan, where he finished 12th on general classification, as well as Fjords.
“I’m going to take a little break after nationals and reset,” said Perry. “Then I’ll do Tour of Portugal and some one-day races in Belgium and Italy, and maybe the world championships back here [in Norway] with the Canadian national team if I have a good season and get selected — so still a lot more to go.”
Aaron S. Lee is a pro cycling and triathlon journalist at Eurosport and contributor to Canadian Cycling Magazine.
