Hi everybody! My name is Josh, I am currently 17 and ride/race in Portland, Oregon USA. I am a dual citizen in Canada and the US and am planning on applying to UBC and McGill. Obviously cycling is a large part of my life and definitely something I want to continue in college. I currently race for the team PDX Devo (a portland junior development program). This year we sent 4 riders to junior nationals and I plan on going this next year. Even though I just started racing this year I have completed around 25 races (still with cyclocross season to come). Of these most have been road but I have spent a fair amount of time on the track and am a cat 4 on the track. Over the last 9 months I have progressed from barely staying in a cat 4/5s race to being comfortable and aggressive in the cat 3/4s. Unfortunately, I had a nasty crash halfway through summer which stopped my plans of upgrading to a cat 3 by the end of the season.
I was wondering if any or all of you could enlighten me on what cycling and bike racing is like in Canada and especially at UBC. Is there a lot of racing in Canada or are races far and few between? Will much traveling be required to do a fair amount of racing? Are there even chances of getting onto higher level teams as in America or is it much harder to “go pro” or semi-pro. I would like to at least have the chance to race amateur-pro races. Also, one last question, how is it balancing schoolwork and training/racing? I plan on doing a major in computer science and a minor in math or something similar.
If there is anything else you think I should know that would be great! Thanks!
Hi Josh. Lots of questions here, so I’ll pick what I can and let others close my gaps.
Cycling in Canada is on the whole probably less developed than in the USA, though that is mostly a matter of population density. Comparing Quebec to BC is a no brainer - Quebec is absolutely the most active racing scene in Canada, and the origin of current Canadian pros, Ryder notwithstanding, backs that up. In a specific way I can only talk about the racing in Quebec, having never lived in BC. Racing in Quebec is quite healthy IMO. In Montreal, there is a weekly crit all summer that attracts many semi-pros and pros and is reputed to be the quickest race in North America. Many weekends during the summer have either crits or circuit races within an hour’s drive, and several classic road races (Battenkill, Ottawa Bike Club) are within a reasonable travel distance. Several awesome stage races are also relatively nearby, like Green Mountain and Charlevoix.
In terms of ease of advancement compared to the States, I obviously can’t give a concrete answer. That being said, we’ve had several members who are currently racing for semi-pro teams, and one who even spent a season racing in Europe (hi Will). There is definitely a very linear progression of teams based in Quebec, from no-intention-of-going-pro (i.e. most of McGill Cycling) to really-should-be-continental (Garneau) and everything in between. If you have talent, drive, and the ability to make connections, I would be shocked if weren’t able to find a team to race with. Obviously though staying in Montreal (or Vancouver for that matter) throughout the year is crucial
Now to sell McGill Cycling: we run a nine day early season training camp during March down in South Carolina. We participate extensively in American Collegiate racing during the very early season, which is by all accounts pretty awesome racing and a very good learning experience. We can set you up with people to ride with who will challenge you (we just had 21 people show up for this morning’s weekly sprint-fest at the F1 track), as well as get you racing for a season or more until you find a team that’s perhaps able to better support you. Also, we’re kinda awesome.
That’s it for me, perhaps some other team members will jump in. Post if you have any follow-up questions.
One major difference between BC and Quebec is that you can bike pretty much year round in Vancouver, whereas in Montreal, we do have people training throughout the winter, but on cross bikes in the snow. We have a much shorter season, but we pack it rather full. And then spin and do cross training during the winter. And have that training camp in the spring.
We do go further south for week-end races in the spring and participate in the ECCC circuit, although we are “outsiders” and you cannot actually qualify for (US) nationals. The ECCC races involve some travelling, but it’s organized by McGill Cycling and very reasonably priced. (by students for students). During the summer, there are races on most week-ends, usually not too far away, and as Eric mentioned, a strong Cat 1 crit in Montreal every Tuesday. Many of us also head to the States for some of the bigger races: Battenkill, Killington, Catskills, GMSR. These are usually 2.5-5 hours away by car.
There are also cross races within close range on most week-ends, and at least, last year there was a weekly series, I think on Thursday nights, just outside the city. I don’t race it myself, but some of the others on the team did.
As far as moving up, some of our team members have made it semi-pro (Bikereg, Stevens) or pro (Bodysol), one of them who started racing road with us. It requires a level of dedication which needs training outside of what McGill Cycling will offer. And many of us race with Cat 1-2 teams during the summer.
I also know much less about the racing scene in BC, but I know UBC does have a team, so you should try pinging them if you haven’t already. What I’ve heard is the riding is much better out there, but the racing is better here.
Honestly, as far as cities are concerned Vancouver is one of the best cycling spots in the country. There’s an HC and cat 1 climb right around the corner (less than 140 km to do both in one ride), there’s quite a lot of green space and bike friendly shoulders (stanley park loops have low traffic; around UBC). The city itself is beautiful, but I’m BC born and biased.
That being said, I don’t know how the racing compares to QC. Actually, I have no clue what it’s like on the mainland, as I’m from Vancouver Island. There’s quite a great racing series on VI and many of the athletes are top in the nation for u23. I know they do go over to Van for certain races so there’s got to be a big scene there. But I think the calibre in Quebec is higher overall. Like Eric mentioned, the lachine summer crit series is outstanding. Not to beat a dead horse but there really is plenty of local competitive racing, with some races dipping into the USA where there are even more strong riders. Also not mentioned is there’s bi-weekly time trials on the estecade organized by the beaconsfield cycling club during the summer. And I will emphasize that the MCT is a pretty great group of people.
The main thing that gets me is the indoor winter training, but it’s not that bad in the end.
H&R block is out of Vancouver and does all it’s big time racing in the USA (Washington, Oregon) cuz there isn’t much in BC.
Also my NS friends on H&R say that while the climbs are nice, overall riding in Vancouver area is a bit of a drag. I’ll also say that riding in Montreal is a bit of a drag. The best place to ride is in the MARITIMES. Ooooooooh yeah
