David Veilleux
Dreams have come true
for David Veilleux. The cyclist who hails from Cap-Rouge, Que., turned the heads of his Team Europcar’s management after winning the first stage of the WorldTour-ranked Critérium du Dauphiné. He then earned a spot on the start line at his first- ever Tour de France.
In early June, Veilleux secured his biggest career win when he soloed to the Stage 1 victory in Champéry, Switzerland at the Critérium du Dauphiné. He was in a decisive breakaway for much of the 121-km stage but attacked his small group and rode the last 45 km alone, winning the stage nearly two minutes ahead of the field. News outlets and socialmedia feeds erupted with the story and photos of the Canadian pulling on the yellow leader’s jersey, the first since his fellow countryman Steve Bauer led the race after winning the prologue in the 1989 edition.
“I was so overwhelmed and extremely happy to have won the race,” Veilleux said. “It was a good situation for us and my team was dedicated to helping me keep the jersey.” With help from his Europcar teammates, Veilleux hung onto the yellow jersey through the next three stages. He lost the lead during the Stage 4 time trial and slipped into seventh overall. The nine-day stage race ended with an overall win for Chris Froome (Sky Pro Cycling) and Veilleux finished in 60th place.
It wasn’t all for nothing for Veilleux, whose performances during the early stages impressed Europcar enough to give him a shot at the Tour, a race that he’s dreamed of doing since he was a kid. “I had strong chances of doing the Tour de France already, but my performance at the Critérium du Dauphiné showed that I had the fitness to participate in the Tour,” he said. Veilleux continued to show his strong form even after the Dauphiné. He won the Boucles de la Mayenne, a four-day uci 2.2 race in France, on June 16.
Team Europcar has affectionately nicknamed Veilleux “Le Caribou” likely because he comes from a country where the robust animal lives. He travels home every fall to work toward completing his degree in mechanical engineering at Laval University. “I took two classes last fall and I’ll take a couple of more classes this fall. I want to keep working on my education, slowly,” he said.
Veilleux has no idea what his racing schedule looks like for the rest of the season following his Tour de France debut. But when asked if he will return for the double WorldTour events, the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec and Montreal, held on Sept. 13 and 15, he said, “Yes, definitely.”