Local cycling phenoms Liah Harvie and Sarah Poidevin have been chosen to represent Canada overseas and race for a chance to compete at the Road World Cycling Championships in Ponferrada, Spain.
Cycling Canada has selected both cyclists, along with six of the nation’s top junior female riders, as part of a pre-world selection project. Four will move on to the world championship, Sept. 21-28.
“It’s a good opportunity to race in Europe,” Harvie said. “I’ve been training harder than I ever have before … now I want to be selected, so I’ll go and do it.”
For three weeks, the top Canadian junior riders will train and race in Belgium and The Netherlands, with the best earning a ticket to Spain. Cycling Canada hopes to have its team named by Sept. 7, while Poidevin and Harvie will leave for Europe next week. It will be the first overseas race for both of them.
“It’s definitely a huge honour. I’m excited to have an opportunity to race and see what it’s like overseas. It’s a huge learning opportunity,” Poidevin said.
Both riders began their careers with the Rundle Mountain Cycling Club and now train with the National Training Centre in Calgary. Pushing each other every weekend, both are in the midst of excellent seasons. At Canadian Junior Road Nationals, Harvie finished second in the road race and third in the crit, while Poidevin was second in the crit and fourth in the road race.
Both landed on the podium at the Tour de Bowness, where they ended up in sprint finishes against one another in each race. Poidevin won the crit, while Harvie won the road race. Just to mix things up, Harvie also won the junior women’s Canada Cup in Whistler last week.
While Harvie has set her sights on one of the four world championship spots, researched the race formats, terrain and practiced on her new bike from sponsor Specialized, Poidevin has been so busy working for the MD of Bighorn she hasn’t had time to contemplate the fact she could be racing against the best junior women on the planet next month.
“It hasn’t hit me quite yet. I’m mostly very nervous to be racing at such a high level, but I’m happy for the opportunity. I’d like to see where I fit in,” Poidevin said.
The invitation also means greater demands on their time at crucial times in their education. The Canadian Rockies School District has agreed to help Harvie study while she races abroad, while Poidevin has decided to take a semester off from the University of Calgary to race and work to help pay for the trip.
Poidevin and Harvie have faced the other six Canadian riders before at nationals, so they know what it will take to earn the invitation to world championships. Both have trained hard this year, and had no idea world championships would even be an option for them until two weeks ago. They’ll both use the opportunity to make a good impression on Cycling Canada, and also thank everyone who helped them get to where they are today.
“The school has been really great, helping me miss time away,” said Harvie, who still plans to hit the books hard in order to keep her marks up. “My parents are helping and financing the trip, and Specialized gave me a new 2015 S-Works Tarmac. It’s pretty awesome.”
“I’ve had lots of help from my coach Phil Abbot and my parents for getting me overseas and to nationals,” Poidevin said.
Both use interval training for two hours a day throughout the week, partnered with long, four-hour rides on the weekends. Both have gotten stronger this year, so the tried and true training format has worked for them.
Cycling Canada will announce its full world championship roster on Sept. 7.
