Canadian road, cyclocross legend Lyne Bessette appointed to Cycling Canada’s Board of Directors

Known to fans and observers as one of Canada’s top road and cyclocross competitors, Lyne Bessette will be serving a new role on the Canadian cycling scene. Filling a spot that has been vacant since fall, the Canadian athlete will sit on Cycling Canada’s Board of Directors as a Director-at-Large.

Bessette takes over for Peter Lawless, who left shortly after his September 2015 election due to other obligations.

During her competitive career, Bessette has been known as one of the country’s top road athletes from 1995 to 2006, and for much of the same period, she held a stirling reputation in Canadian cyclocross from 2001 to 2008. During these times, she climbed several podiums at the World Cup in both disciplines, earned their national titles on multiple occasions, and counted herself among Canada’s Olympic cycling rosters in 2000 and 2004. Before riding as a pilot with Robbi Weldon, with whom she won the para-cycling road world championship of 2010, the road time trial world championship of 2011 and gold at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, she also claimed victory at the Tour de l’Aude Feminine in 1999 and 2001 as well as the Women’s Challenge of 2001.

In short, her long, illustrious, successful career means she knows cycling inside and out—something Cycling Canada officials emphasized in announcing Bessette’s appointment

“In Lyne,” said John Tolkamp, president of Cycling Canada, “we have added a person who understands the system, is an outspoken advocate for clean sport and a well-respected organizer of participation events in Quebec. She is a valuable addition to the Board of Cycling Canada.”

Thanks everyone! I'm excited to be part of the Board @CyclingCanada

— lyne bessette (@frenchb7) March 2, 2016

Bessette herself, meanwhile, recognized the value of being part of Canada’s cycling community in fostering the next generation of athletes, something that means as much, she said, as raw skill in deciding the best of the best. Her role in officially helping to shape that community is a welcome one, she added.

“I’m pleased to be part of the Board of Directors of Cycling Canada,” Bessette said. “My experiences and knowledge gained during my time racing will hopefully be valuable to those competing now and in the future. I also realize that the most successful and valuable athletes are the ones who are true community members.”

“Being the fastest or best isn’t the only thing that matters,” she said.