Campbell: 2013′s top-10 moments in cycling

With the close of 2013 approaching, Canadian Cycling Magazine’s writers are reflecting on the major moments of the past year. Writer Dean Campbell rounds out our review of the year with his top-10 list. 

10. Alison Sydor joins Canadian Sports Hall of Fame

During the 1990s, Sydor set the stage for Canada to become known for mountain biking. Three consecutive World titles, Olympic and Pan Am medals, and countless top-five results in any international competition helped make Sydor one of the biggest names in Canadian cycling. Her efforts built the sport in Canada and paved the way for the likes of Marie-Helene Premont, Catahrine Pendrel and Emily Batty. Sydor was already on top of the world stage before the North Shore spawned the freeride movement. For all of her contributions to sport, Sydor’s induction to Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame is a highlight of 2013.

9. Doping admissions

There have been some big revelations and admissions in 2013 when it comes to doping in cycling. Some have international significance, others strike very close to home. While many stories focus on the shamed athlete, very few talk about those who lost opportunities because others cheated. We now know that both of the men representing Canada at the Athens 2004 Olympics were doping around that time. Those spots and the opportunities they represented for clean riders are forever lost. How many other results sheets could possibly re-written? Who might have missed out on carded athlete status—and a career—because of dopers? As cycling works to clean up the sport, these questions are just as important as questions over who did what and how.

8. Montreal named best North American city for cycling

Montreal has long been one of the best places to cycle in North America. In its 2013 index, Copenhagenize ranked Montreal 11th, tied with Munich, Germany and Nagoya, Japan. In fact, Montreal is the only North American city to even rank in the top 20. Pay a visit to the city, and it’s not hard to see why. The place is covered in dedicated, physically separated bike lanes. It’s the birthplace of Bixi—although admittedly the program faces some big problems at present—and the roads up the mountain are a great place to train. Montreal also hosts a UCI WorldTour road race, and is one of the main hubs on the Route Vert, Quebec’s provincial cycling route.

7. Bixi Toronto saved

In Toronto, there haven’t been very many bright lights for cycling lately. The mayor…well, you know how that story goes. In the midst of the city’s media circus, the Bixi bike-share program found itself in trouble. Creative thinking by city councillors has not only seen Bixi saved, with debts paid off, but a new concept for funding expansion of the system. Earlier this year, Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam worked with condo developers to secure $1 million to fund expansion of the program. More recently, former ally of Mayor Ford, Denzil Minnan-Wong worked out a deal to see the Bixi program taken on by the Toronto Parking Authority, and have the debts paid off and transition costs covered through an adjustment of a deal with Astral Media. In 2014, Bixi Toronto will grow by more than 25 per cent thanks to Pan Am funding. But the biggest news out of all of this is that Toronto seems to have worked out a way to grow Bixi and make the system more viable, setting an example others can follow.

6. Svein Tuft at le Tour

Granted, on this one, I’m cribbing from both Sturney and Frattini’s lists. But here’s the thing: get to know Svein Tuft, and you’re hard pressed to be anything other than a fan. At 36, he was added to the Orica-GreenEdge roster for the 2013 Tour de France, his first time at famous race. During the three weeks of racing, Tuft won a stage in the team time trial, and finished as the unofficial lanterne rouge, an indication of just how much he spent to help his team make their mark on the 100th edition of the race. But probably most telling was hearing Tuft speak about the Tour. Prior to being named to the team, he had said that the Tour was a big race, but seemed like it was just another big race. Once he’d been in it, he commented at how wrong he’d been, that the Tour is the stuff of legend and far bigger than any other race on the calendar.

5. Canadian road championships

I’m mostly rooted in mountain biking, so covering the Canadian road cycling championships in person was a real highlight. Even more exciting was seeing victory in the men’s event go to Zach Bell. I’d gotten to know Bell in the lead up to the London 2012 Olympic Games, and he’s a very driven, and very polite guy, a great representative for Canadian cycling. Christian Meier was easily the most combative, trying to break up the men’s race and trying hard to drop the sprinters from the lead group, but it just didn’t pan out for the Orica-GreenEdge rider.

The women’s race was also very exciting. Joëlle Numainville worked hard to improve her endurance to augment her amazing sprint skills. Everything looked good for Numainville, who was riding with the leaders through the entire race. With just 6 km to go, Numainville flatted, and had to get a new wheel from neutral service. It seemed her efforts were for nothing. Instead of accepting defeat, Numainville buried herself in effort, and caught the leaders in the final corners, just in time for a lead-out from teammate Leah Kirchmann. It was an incredible performance, and has certainly helped build my enthusiasm for road racing.

4. New Canadian mountain biking champions

The 2013 Canadian mountain bike championships saw new faces take ownership of the maple-leaf jersey in 2013. Emily Batty took the top spot in the women’s competition with a performance that showed she was head and shoulders above the other racers that day. Batty did this while coming down with a chest infection. Her only disappointment that day? That Catharine Pendrel was at home with a broken collarbone, instead of starting beside Batty at the race at Hardwood Hills, Ont.

Longtime Scott-3Rox Racing rider Derek Zandstra took his first national title with support from teammates Geoff Kabush and Cameron Jette. The three riders worked together to tire out defending champion Max Plaxton, and in the end, Zandstra came out on top. It was a sweet victory for Zandstra, who hails from Trenton, Ont.

3. Milton velodrome

The Pan Am Milton velodrome brings a true elite-level facility to Canada that will change how Canadian cyclists can train and develop. Currently, Canada’s track cyclists head south to L.A. to train at the velodrome there. Although the winter conditions in Canada will invariably see athletes head south, the track team will have a home in their own country to train and compete. Cycling Canada—the official organizational body for cycling sports in Canada—will also relocate to Milton, Ont., to take office space in the new Velodrome. Granted, the velodrome isn’t slated to open until next year, but the groundbreaking took place earlier this year, and legacy funding was announced recently to ensure the velodrome is well looked after following the Pan Am competition.

2. Curt Harnett, as chef de mission for the Pan Am Games

The impact of major events in amateur sports—the Olympics, the Pan Am Games—is that of increased support for sports, and the development of stronger sport programs. This year, Olympic medallist Curt Harnett was named chef de mission for the Canadian team at the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games. Harnett is a big believer in the capacity for sport to build not just individuals, but stronger communities. His work as the assistant chef de mission for the 2011 Guadalajara Games makes him extremely qualified to take on this role. The competitors at the 2015 Pan Am games will be lucky to have Harnett as their chef de mission—a role that has Harnett looking after all the needs of the team to help them compete at their very best.

1. Steve Smith wins World Cup downhill title

Without a doubt, this is the biggest news in Canadian cycling for 2013. Smith hails from B.C., and after great performances in the past, he put together a string of performances in the second half of the season to catch and surpass Gee Atherton, and take the World Cup title. He did this on a Canadian team, riding a Canadian bike, and his first victory of the year came at Mont-Sainte-Anne, the legendary Canadian stop on the World Cup circuit. In so doing, Smith became the first Canadian man to win a mountain bike World Cup title. The only way this could have been more Canadian is if Smith had followed up his title by eating maple-syrup covered poutine, while wearing his best logging jacket.