Canadian cyclist Olivia-Baril wins elite women’s national road title

June 23/24 11:24 PM – Olivia Baril wins Elite Women’s National Road Title

Posted by Editor on 23/06/24

After finishing second last year, European professional Olivia Baril (Movistar) is the new Canadian elite women’s road race champion. Mara Roldan (Cynisca Cycling) won the Under-23 title, while Jayden McMullen (KW Cycling Academy) won the Junior men’s title and Zachari Moreau (Équipe du Québec) took the Under-17 men’s jersey. National road titles were also awarded in the Para categories.

Unlike Saturday, when the riders were blessed with almost perfect weather conditions, the races on Sunday were held in wet and cold conditions, with sometimes heavy rain showers. The Under-17/Junior men’s race had to be postponed and shortened by one lap due to fears of lightning and hail which fortunately did not appear. The women rode the entire two circuits.

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The women’s race was animated on the early climbs by Magdeleine Vallieres Mill (EF Education Cannondale), with the peloton losing a ton of riders every time she upped the pace. After 20 kilometers, 11 riders had remained clear, including all the favorites: Baril, Vallieres Mill and her teammate, defending champion Alison Jackson, plus Roldan, three DNA riders (Sarah van Dam, Sara Poidevin and Nadia Gontova), Ava and Isabella Holmgren (both Lidl-Trek), Lucy Hempstead (Cycling) and Eloise Camire (Skyline).

The reduced peloton came back together halfway through the first lap, just in time for the climb of Lac Etchemin (a KoM a week earlier in the Tour de Beauce), where Vallieres Mill once again moved to the front. This time Jackson could not match the pace and the leading group broke up into smaller groups, with three survivors at the front at the end of lap 1: Vallieres Mill, Baril and Roldan. At this point the rain was heavy, flowing in small rivers down the slopes and reducing visibility.

As Vallieres Mill continued to try to put pressure on her remaining two rivals, she was unable to shake them off. Behind them, the three DNA riders worked together but gradually lost ground, followed by Camire (the second Under-23 rider) and Hempstead, and then Ava Holmgren alone (the third Under-23 rider). The peloton was more than six minutes behind.

The lead three came around the final corner with 250 meters to go for the uphill sprint to the line, and Baril launched from the front to win easily. Vallieres Mill came second and Roldan third, and under-23 champions.

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In the Men Under 17/Junior it was mainly a battle of attrition that tore the peloton apart, with the leading group containing only 17 riders with 25 kilometers to go. McMullen took the title by a few bike lengths after opening a small gap at the final corner, with Mikael Guilbault (Équipe du Québec) beating Tristan Drews (Glotman Simpson Cycling Club) in the bunch sprint. Moreau was the top Under-17 rider in the chasing group almost three minutes behind, three seconds ahead of Sagan Goertz (Stimulus Next Wave) and six seconds ahead of Ryan Nickerson (Escape Velocity / dEVo).

Elite/U23 Women results are currently unavailable

Road Nationals: junior and U17 men’s road race results