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Québec riders dominate Junior women’s races at Canadian road nationals

Both titles and five out of six podium spots belong to La Belle Province

September 11, 2021
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The future of Canadian women’s road cycling seems to be emerging from Québec, as five of the six podium spots in the Junior women’s time trial and road race went to Québecois riders at the 2021 Canadian National Road Championships in Beauce Country. Elissa Proulx of Équipe du Québec earned Saturday’s road race title, and her teammate Jazmine Lavergne, crowned chrono champion on Friday, was third.

Twenty-five young women took off from near Saint-Georges to tackle the rippling 87-km course early on Saturday and soon after 14 of them, including Friday’s time trial champion Lavergne, broke away.

An 18-km circuit came at the 30 km mark. On the other side it was clear that the day’s winner was in the group of 14. Surely it would need to be winnowed down before the conclusion in Saint-Georges.

Unfortunately, it would be a crash in the circuit to go that thinned out the group. Lavergne quickly remounted, but three riders toiled to rejoin.

After the scare the riders had to regroup, head back to Saint-Georges and consider the four corners in the last six kilometres. There was a further streamlining of the break as the pressure increased.

An octet entered Saint-Georges looking for the maple leaf jersey. In her last year as a junior, Proulx was the fastest of the eight, beating another Québecois, Mathilde Huot of Espoir Laval Planète Courrier. Lavergne added another medal to her winner’s piece from Friday.

Mairen Lawson of Team Alberta was the only non-Québec rider to medal in the Junior women’s events at nationals. The last time the nationals were held in 2019, Équipe du Québec also won the Junior women’s race and took third via Magdeleine Vallieres Mill and Camille Primeau respectively.

1) Elissa Proulx (Équipe du Québec)
2) Mathilde Huot (Espoir Laval Planète Courrier)
3) Jazmine Lavergne (Équipe Du Québec)