Five Canadian cyclists to watch at PyeongChang Winter Olympics
When they’re not on skis or skates, these Olympians race track, road and enduro
If you watching the winter Olympics and thinking “I wish there was a cycling to cheer for,” you can, sort of. There’s still no cycling events in Korea, but there are a number of athletes who race bikes in their off season. Like many cyclists take to skiing to train outdoors through a Canadian winter, many winter Olympians train for their sport using bikes in the summer. Not surprisingly, some of these athletes are very good at it. Clara Hughes made history as one of the few athletes to medal at both summer and winter Olympics and is the only athlete ever to win multiple medals in both Olympics. Georgia Simmerling, who was qualified to compete in PyeongChang before a ski cross accident in late January ended her season early, was the first Canadian to compete in three different disciplines across summer and winter Olympics. Simmerling, who has plans to return to cycling leading into Tokyo 2020, started with the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver in alpine skiing, then 2014 Olympics in Sochi in ski cross, and finally transitioned to track cycling for the 2016 Olympics in Rio, where she won bronze with the Canadian track pursuit squad.
From speed skating, cross country skiing and bobsleigh to track, road and enduro, here’s five Canadian cyclists to cheer for during the PyeongChang Olympics.
Alex Harvey – Cross Country Skiing
Going into his third Olympic games, Alex Harvey of Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges, Que. is one of Canada’s cross country skiing medal hopefuls in PyeongChang. A five-time medalist in the FIA Alpine ski world championships, Harvey if the son of four-time Olympian Pierre Harvey who competed at two Olympics representing Canada in cross country skiing and twice in cycling. The younger Harvey has focused his international efforts on cross country skiing as of late, but represented Canada twice at the junior world championships in mountain biking and continues to ride and race on and off road in the summer months.
Heather Moyse – Bobsleigh Two-Person Women
Moyse, of Summerside, P.E.I. is a two time Olympic gold medalist in women’s two-man bobsleigh. Moyse won her first gold at home in Canada during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, and defended in Sochi in 2014. She then stepped away from the ice and onto the boards, where she represented Canada at the Pan American Track Cycling Championships in March 2012. The multi-talented athlete has also represented Canada internationally on the rugby pitch a number of times. Moyse returned to bobsleigh late in 2017, quickly finding success with a fourth place finish at an event in Switzerland in January.
Denny Morrison – Long Track Speed Skating
Denny Morrison, the decorated long track speed skater from Chetwynd, B.C. relied heavily on cycling to come back from injury and return to the Olympic oval. Read the full story on how cycling helped Morrison.
Brittany Phelan – Ski Cross
A skier from Mont-Tremblant, Que., Brittany Phelan’s first Olympic appearance was in alpine skiing during the Sochi Olympics. Phelan made the switch to ski cross in 2014 and hit her first international podium at a December 2017 event. During the summer, Phelan races enduro for Juliana Bicycles. She has twice finished the imposing Canadian Open Enduro, the Whistler round of Enduro World Series, which has earned the nickname “Crankzilla” for its relentless technical difficulty and physicality. This year, she raced the first three stages with only one brake, and still finished the event placed 17th.
Jordan Belchos – Long Track Speed Skating
Long track speed skater from Scarborough, Ont., Jordan Belchos will be competing at his first Olympic games in Korea, where he’ll race the 10, 000m event, and team pursuit. During the summer, Belchos can often be found cross training on the bike, and describes himself as a bike lover on Instagram.
