Numainville aims for strong performance at GP Gatineau

Joelle Numainville (Optum-Kelly Benefit Strategies) is hoping for a sprint finish at the upcoming Grand Prix Cycliste de Gatineau held on Monday, May 21 in Ottawa. The Quebec native is one of several world class sprinters expected to participate in the UCI 1.1-sanctioned event.

“It’s a pretty important race on my side,” Numainville told Canadian Cycling Magazine. “I live in Quebec and all my family and friends will be there.  Each year, it’s always fun to come back. I had some good results in the last couple of years, so I’m hoping for a good race.”

The Grand Prix is one of two single-day events for women sanctioned by the UCI in Canada, which attract the top riders in the world. The field will race for 13 laps on a challenging 10.18-kilometre circuit, totaling 134 kilometres. Race organizers aimed to mimic the London Olympic road course by making it longer and adding more climbs than in previous editions.

“It’s super important in an Olympics year to gain more UCI points,” Numainville said. “A race like this brings a lot of good competitors and it gives a chance for young riders to compete at this level.  I think it’s also a good event to promote cycling in the community.”

Other top Canadian racers that will participate in the event are six-time Olympic medallist Clara Hughes (Specialized-Lululemon), three-time world champion Tara Whitten and national champion Veronique Fortin (Tibco).

There are a total of 21 teams participating in the race and many of them are from overseas. International riders that will line up on the start line include former world champion from Great Britain Nicole Cooke and Italy’s Fabiana Luperini (Faren Honda), German national champion Ina-Yoko Tuetenberg and U.S. time trial national champion Evelyn Stevens (Specialized-Lululemon).

The full list of participating teams include Axman, Colavita-ESPN, Destination Cycling, Faren Honda, Forno D’Asolo-Colavita, GreenEdge-AIS, Infinit Nutrition Cycle Power, Kallisto Wheel of Bloor, Now and Novartis for MS, Optum-Kelly Benefit Strategies, PK Express-Biemme, Real Deal Racing-La Bicicletta, Specialized-Lululemon, Specialized-Mazda, Stevens Racing p/b The Cyclery, Team Tibco, Vanderkitten-Focus, West Quebec Wheelers and Team Quebec. Participating national teams include Canada and Ukraine.

Join us for our live coverage of the circuit race on Monday, May 21 starting at 9:30am EST.