"That’s the thing about plans..."

"That’s the thing about plans. No matter how perfect you think they are, however brilliant or audacious they may be, well, they can still go to s*** when that one thing goes wrong. And once that happens, there’s no going back. It’s all downhill from there." Javier Peña

This quote is from Javier Pena, from the series Narcos, but it could also well represented my 2017 season. After our crash in Maniago and a delayed peak of form after nationals, I took some time to look back and develop a new vision for the rest of the season. I wanted to make good use of the fitness I had gained through training at altitude all winter in Aguascalientes. 

I decided to target the track National championships omnium, a race I came close to winning a few times. The plan was to maintain my aerobic and endurance qualities through July and August and then do a high intensity/track camp in September to have a shot to be at my best at Nationals at the end of the month. Simple enough...

I started things off with the GP the Matapédia. I made the trip with Michel Jean and Jean Carlos Tejeda. Jean-Carlos is a young Dominican rider that I got to meet many years ago during the Vuelta Independencia in his country and it was a long-lasting project to have him in Canada to compete, learn French and English, etc. The whole project being a bit too complicated to realize, we figure we would first try with just a month. The GP Matapédia is a 5-day stage race organized by Michèle Fugère. After a disappointing time trial, I refocus and went on the win the next stage going flat out on a breakaway and then managed to keep the yellow for the remaining 4 stages. It was a good feeling to win the overall considering the difficult task of controlling a peloton with only one teammate. 


GP Matapédia Podium


After Matapédia, I head towards Mardis Lachine for the season finale. There was rumors of Garneau going for the course record, but I didn't really believe it was going to happen and even when the announcers were saying the split times, I thought it was only to spice up the ambiance. I felt really good tough and was floating comfortably in the top 10 all race long. Near the end though, the pace really dropped and I lost a few positions that put me too far to contest the sprint. I crossed the line in 7th freewheeling on top of the hoods in disbelief and frustration because I believe I had the legs to win the sprint. Huge congrats on Pier-André who pull it off and who is 15 000$ richer ;)



Mardis Lachine finale - Photo Daniel Beaudoin - Pixelyst 


The following weeks, I enjoyed training with Jean-Carlos and showing him Quebec city. I hook him up with some physiological testing at ULaval, a borrowed bike from Apogée, some work with a friend business in exchange for housing and he definitely had a great time here. 


Jean-Carlos in front of Chateau Frontenac 


Mexico trip

Back in March, a friend in Mexico told me about a criterium race in Michoacan with a very impressive prize money, called the Classica Amando Zacapu. With the ongoing business project in development in Jalisco and my track bike still in Aguascalientes, I decided to make the trip. 

I didn't have all the info about the race at the time and close to my departure date, I found out that I could only enter the race as a team. Also, the "criterium" turn out to be a 188km long circuit race. See the term criterium can have very different meaning.  From then, I had the option to join a Mexican team or enter my own. I choose the later. I made a few phone calls and quickly I had some riders interested to join. Among them, was Antoine Fabry whom I got to know at the Vuelta Costa Rica the year before. He also introduced me to Clement Ouimet, a promising junior that I met in Matapédia. Two Mexican friends would complete our team; Flavio De Luna (ex Spidertech rider) and Jonathan Sandoval whom I met in Mexico and later race Beauce and Saguenay with.

We flew from Quebec city on September 6th. We arrived in Guadalajara and were welcomed by my friend Eduardo and the next day we left Ocotlan towards Aguascalientes the three of us in my small Suzuki to train for a week and acclimate to the altitude before the race. I couldn't repeat enough to both Antoine and Clément to be cautious with altitude. With roughly a week before race day, all we could do was slowly build up training and then mostly recover the next 72h before the race. I was happy with my form and had good expectations for the race.


We managed to fit 3 riders including bikes, several pieces of luggage, bike cases in a small Swift


In less than 10 days, we managed to join forces and enter Mexico's biggest cycling event. According to some Mexicans, winning the Classica Zacapu is more important than National championships title. The peloton was quite impressive with 250 riders split among 28 teams! We entered the race as Quebexico / The Bike Pack to create additional promotional material for The Bike Pack, the product I have been working on the last couple years and more intensively this year. It is going to be on the market in 2018.


From left to right: Jonathan Sandoval Ulloa, myself, Antoine Fabry, Clément Ouimet. Missing Flavio De Luna


Between an average speed close to 44km/h and the high altitude, the race was quite hard. Tactically, not knowing who was strong, didn't play in our favor. I decided not to take any chances and cover all big moves. The good move came mid-race and when I realized how it was gonna unfold, I tried to bridge across. In the end, all things considered, we did pretty well. I finished in 9th with my teammates Jonathan in 12th and Clement and Antoine in the field. 


Track nationals &  grief 

After Zacapu, I focused entirely on track training and the form was very promising. I flew directly from Mexico to Toronto where I got picked up by team Quebec coach Eric Van Den Eynde and Adam Roberge. We had a couple days before the omnium to test out the track and recover from the trip. That is when my plan went South! There was a couple athlete and staff with a cold and that time, I couldn't escape it. The next day I had a high fever and the day of the race was even worst. In those conditions, all you can do is your best and things were not too bad until the points race where I got destroyed in an event where I'm usually the aggressor. It was a hard one to swallow but in the end, it's just another experience to build on. 

Only a few days after I got back from Milton, I was devastated by the terrible tragedy of Clement Ouimet passing in a tragic too frequent car accident. I only had known Clement for a short time. Clément had a contagious smile and his passion for cycling was evident. He was a young talented cyclist which I would have like to help move up the ranks. The impact on the cycling community the following weeks was impressive and I am sure he will never be forgotten, I know I won't.


As usual, thanks for reading!