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Hesjedal on Raonic: ‘Another Canadian athlete breaking down barriers for Canadians in sport’

Just days after wrapping up the Tour Down Under, three-time Olympian and 2012 Giro d’Italia winner Ryder Hesjedal found himself in the stands at the Australian Open in Melbourne on Wednesday cheering on fellow Canadian Milos Raonic.

Ryder Hesjedal

by Aaron S. Lee

Cadel Evans and Ryder Hesjedal
Cadel Evans and Ryder Hesjedal. Photo credit: Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race

Just days after wrapping up the Tour Down Under (TDU) with his new Trek-Segafredo teammates, three-time Olympian and 2012 Giro d’Italia winner Ryder Hesjedal (CAN) found himself in the stands at the Australian Open in Melbourne on Wednesday cheering on fellow Canadian Milos Raonic.

The 25-year-old No.13 seed took three of four sets (6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4) to beat No.23 seed Gaël Monfils (FRA) in the quarterfinals to advance to his first Australian Open semi-final when he plays Andy Murray (GBR) on Friday.

“That was a great night, another Canadian athlete breaking down barriers for Canadians in sport,” Hesjedal told reporters at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race (UCI 1.HC) media conference in Geelong, Victoria on Thursday. “Great to see him do that last night and thanks to the race for putting that together – it was a fun night.”

The significance of the performance was indeed not lost on Hesjedal, who made history four years ago when he became the first – and only – Canadian cyclist to win a Grand Tour.

“To be the first Canadian to win a grand tour and have that responsibility and try to use it the best way I can for the sport, and cycling is definitely growing in Canada, like Milos said as well as tennis, and it’s a big compliment to be a part of that in the way that we do.”

Canadian cycling is enjoying a growth spurt, with the country finishing second in the UCI nation’s rankings of the Americas Tour in 2015. Due to that success, Canada’s elite men have been granted three Olympic slots for Rio later this year, meaning Hesjedal may finally have company should he return for his fourth Olympiad – which is expected. Compatriot Michael Woods (Cannondale Pro Cycling) also finished fifth overall in his WorldTour debut at the TDU last week as well.

“It will be nice to have a couple of teammates and it just shows where Canadian cycling is at and the great job the guys did in the Americas Tour,” Hesjedal told Canadian Cycling Magazine in his daily diary entry following stage 2 of the TDU last week.

“It’s a big compliment to them for getting the results and getting Canada three starts. It’s also so important for the growth of the sport nationally and reflects where Canadian cycling is in general. Road cycling is a tough sport but we are representing well and I’m thrilled.”

The Cadel Evans race, which is the namesake of the retired Australian cyclist who won the 2009 world championship and became the first Aussie to win the Tour de France in 2011, is in its second year. Last year’s race also served as Evans’ final race of his illustrious career.

The race, which has been upgraded from 1.1 classification, features a 174-kilometre route containing three laps of the Geelong circuit, which closely follows the 2010 UCI Road World Championship course. A women’s race (UCI 1.2), which has also been upgraded, returns in 2016 on a113km course.

For Hesjedal, who joined Trek-Segafredo after nine years spent with Slipstream Sports, this weekend marks his inaugural visit to Geelong.

“This is my first time here,” he explained to media. “I didn’t do the worlds in 2010 but we have been here all week and I have plenty of time to see all the roads and be ready.”

Hesjedal is just one of two riders remaining from Trek’s TDU squad to race in Geelong. He and teammate Jack Bobridge are joined by fellow Trek riders Eugenio Alafaci (ITA), Fumiyuki Beppu (JPN), Julien Bernard (FRA), Niccolò Bonifazio (ITA) and Laurent Didier (LUX).

“We have a unique team in a sense that we have a different group coming in aside from myself and Jack Bobridge from the Tour Down Under and I’m carrying on to this weekend and Jack also and then he is carrying on to the Herald Sun Tour,” explained Hesjedal. “We came in early and everyone looks motivated…and I think we are gong to have a good race.

“It’s going to be a complicated race with crosswinds and weather, and for sure it’s going to be exciting and hard but we’ve got Jack Bobridge, the Australian national champion,” he continued. “So he is definitely in good form and for myself to come from Down Under and already have that race in the legs I’ll be looking to take advantage of that.”

Ryder Hesjedal and Cadel Evans
Ryder Hesjedal and Cadel Evans. Photo credit: Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race
Ryder Hesjedal
Ryder Hesjedal. Photo credit: Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race

Aaron S. Lee (@aaronshanelee) is a cycling and triathlon columnist for Eurosport and a guest contributor to Canadian Cycling Magazine.