World-Class Cycling Races
By Marina Kochetova
From September 20 to 27, Canada will welcome the world’s best road cyclists. This year’s UCI Road World Championships will be held in Montreal—not too far away for Ottawa residents wishing to attend a top-level sporting event. Among my acquaintances are even a few adventurous amateur cyclists who travel to Montreal by bicycle.
Montreal is hosting the UCI Road World Championships for the second time in history. The tournament will bring together approximately one thousand male and female riders competing in the Elite, U23 and Junior categories. The program includes three types of events: individual time trials, road races and the mixed team relay.
A total of 13 medal events are scheduled. The program is quite tightly packed: on September 20, the Elite men and women will compete for the individual time-trial titles; on September 21, the U23 riders will take on the same course; and on September 22, the mixed team relay will be held.
There is one detail worth mentioning: no medal events are scheduled for September 23. That day is reserved for training on the Mount Royal circuit and the UCI Congress. Thus, the championships will last eight days, although medals will be awarded on only seven of them.
The main dates for spectators are September 26 and 27. On Saturday and Sunday, the most spectacular and breathtaking events will take place: the Elite women will race over 180.4 kilometres, while the men will cover 273.7 kilometres. Both races will finish on Mount Royal, where accumulated fatigue and repeated climbs are expected to significantly thin out the peloton.
It is encouraging that cyclists from Russia, competing under neutral status, will also take part in the championships after receiving their Canadian visas at the last moment. In the Elite category, Russia will be represented by Kristina Novikova and Aleksandr Vlasov. Ottawa cyclist Michael Woods has been named to Team Canada. Who will we be cheering for?
Let us wish all the competitors good luck and a fair sporting contest. May the best rider win!