Grand Prix Cycliste Gatineau features a collection of debuts

Shelly Olds,

an American cyclist on Team Tibco, marked her first trip to Canada with a win at the Grand Prix Cycliste Gatineau. On May 18, Olds took the final sprint of the road race ahead of Canada’s Joëlle Numainville (Optum presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies) and Poland’s Katarzyna Pawlowska (gsd Gestion-Kallisto), who finished second and third, respectively. It was also Pawlowska’s first time in Canada.

Kinley Gibson, an 18-year-old cyclist from Edmonton, made her Gatineau debut. She had never done a road race as long as Gatineau’s 113-km ride. “Overall, I was very happy with Gatineau,” Gibson said. “I went in looking to stay near the front and experiment with moving around in the pack as it was the largest field I’d raced in. I was able to be around the front for about two-thirds of the race. I put myself in a reasonably good position heading into the finish.” Gibson finished 20th out of a field that started with 74 riders.

Gatineau’s second component, the time trial on May 20, was won by American rider Carmen Small of Specialized-lululemon. Numainville was second once again and Chantal Blaak (Netherlands/ Team Tibco) placed third. Gibson was 19th.