Svein Tuft to return to the Canadian national championships

After missing the Canadian national championships in 2013, Svein Tuft is returning to compete for the maple-leaf jersey in both the individual time trial and the road race.

The Langley, B.C. native is no stranger to the national championships. He’s won the time trial title eight times, in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. In 2011, as a member of SpiderTech, Tuft won the national championship road race. On the world stage, he’s come second in the time trial world championships (2008) and second in the team time trial world championships (2013). On May 9, Tuft’s birthday, he won the pink leader’s jersey at the Giro d’Italia when his team, Orica-GreenEdge, set the fastest time in the Stage 1 team time trial.

Two days after the Italian Grand Tour, Tuft was back at home in Andorra. He had barely unpacked, the pink jerseys still in what he calls his “blow out room,” where stuff gets tossed immediately after races. The nationals were less than a month away, and they were on Tuft’s radar.

“As a time triallist or road racer, it’s super important to represent your country for the year,” Tuft said. “If I can bring the national champions jersey to the WorldTour, it’s quite nice for the team as well.”

It would also be quite nice if Tuft could bring the maple leaf to his second Tour de France appearance. While his participation in la grande boucle isn’t official, the French Grand Tour has been part of his schedule this year.