Putting their fat tires aside, Liah Harvie and Sara Poidevin finished 17th and 21st respectively in the Canada Games road cycling time trial on Monday (Aug. 12), setting them up for a challenging road race Wednesday in Sherbrooke, Que.
Racing against Canada’s top cyclists – most of whom are between five and seven years older than the Bow Valley duo – Harvie and Poidevin finished in the middle of the pack in a tough time trial.
“It wasn’t very hilly. There was a gradual downhill that had a tail wind going out. You did a 180, and did it the same way uphill and into the wind. It was an OK course for me, and not a bad time trial course,” said Harvie, who finished the course with a time of 24:31.22. Annie Foreman-Mackey, 22, who has raced internationally for Canada, won the race with a time of 21:46.42.
“When the turnaround goes uphill, it’s hard to gauge your effort. Usually for me, it’s easier to push myself in a group,” said Poidevin, who clocked a time of 25:06.37.
The Alberta team was happy with their spot in the field.
“There was quite an age spread, so there were big changes across the field. I did well in my own way, so I’m pretty happy with the result… but I wanted to be on the podium,” Harvie said.
The road race could suit Harvie and Poidevin, as it has more hills than previous races. The cyclists will race a 12 kilometre loop six times, with lots of elevation gain and a big descent at the end. They drove the course on Monday to get a sneak peak.
“It will be a really good challenge. I’m racing girls five years older than me, so it will be a matter of staying with the main group. There are a lot of steep climbs, so that will help,” Poidevin said.
“I really like the course. You go up for a while, and have one big downhill at the end that covers all the climbing. Definitely riders will get lapped,” Harvie said. “I really want a medal, but we’ll see how it goes.”
Harvie said she’ll try to stay at the front of the race for as long as possible.
“Seeing it’s a course that suits my abilities, I anticipate I’ll do well,” she said.
Both riders had a fun mountain bike sprint to end their first week. Harvie qualified fourth overall in the sprint – a remarkable result – but was beat out in the first heat. Considering it was the first sprint ever for the two, they did very well, finishing ninth and tenth overall, respectively.
“I think I could have done better than I did. I wish I had been more aggressive. It’s a really fast start, which is important. I fumbled the start. I wish I could do that race again,” Harvie said.
“The sprint was a new event to me. I made a lot of mistakes and I could have gone farther, but it was fun to watch,” Poidevin said.
She picked up lots of tips for future sprint races, which are extremely rare in Alberta.
“Watching the riders be aggressive on the start was the difference. The course was mostly double track, but there wasn’t much passing,” Poidevin said.
She’s also enjoying life in Sherbrooke, getting lots of rest between races.
“It’s pretty funky. It’s nice to have seen the old buildings. We don’t have those at all in Alberta,” Poidevin said. “We usually do a recovery ride into Sherbrooke and have tea. It’s a good environment, but it will be nice to come home.”
“There’s lots of chilling out in the dorm room, and we pretty much have the same menu every day. I kinda miss my home, my own bed and shower,” Harvie said.
The girls will finish their Canada Games on Friday (Aug. 16) with the points criterium race.
