Cycling Celebrity

Finding success on the collegiate circuit

For hockey coach Dallas Eakins, cycling is about mental fitness

Like most university clubs, Mcgill Cycling Team started recruiting new students this past September. That Montreal organization has to hit the ground pedalling, if you will. For the collegiate set, the short mountain bike season runs during that month. Of course, cyclocross is also on. For those who focus on the road, they have some time to train, but their races begin in March. It was during September 2014 that Emma Le Rossignol, who was starting her second year of a degree i n atmospheric sciences, joined the team. “I had only got into cycling that summer,” she said. “I bought myself a road bike, a Trek Madone, and started cycling with my brother. He was the one who suggested that I join the Mcgill club. I joined club, and then I joined the team.” In a way, the cycling club is just like any other: it’s open to anyone; there are group rides and winter training activities. But if you want to race on the team, you have to be a Mcgill student. The racers participate in the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference. It’s part of usa Cycling, that country’s governing body for the sport, and it has mountain bike, ’cross and road races. There’s even a track series in the summertime. Schools that participate in the eccc include Tufts, Columbia, Cornell, Harvard and mit. Mcgill and Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., tend to be the only Canadian schools that send riders to eccc events, especially to the spring road races. Le Rossignol got right into her new club. By April, she was the new vice-president of sponsorship. As students graduate, turnover is inevitable. She replaced the outgoing VP. For the 2015-16 season, Le Rossignol will maintain the relationships the club has with sponsors, which include a local bike shop and Ruby Project. “My job is also to find some new sponsors,” she said. “Mostly we try to go through Mcgill alumni and cyclists who are interested in helping teams out. We’re not that big. We don’t need too much sponsorship, but still, everything helps.” This past spring, the Mcgill team did well at the eccc road races. “I think we kicked butt,” Le Rossignol said. At their first race of the season – the mit/tufts Boston Beanpot at the end of March – Mcgill riders got seven podium spots, including four wins. At the Army Cycling Weekend that followed, Mcgill took six podium places. There were more successes at races the next two weekends. While Canadians, including the riders from Queen’s, did well, they didn’t qualify for awards in the eccc. They are welcome to compete, but because they not part of the usa Cycling system, they can’t collect eccc points or prizes. The Mcgill team really does participate in the eccc for the fun of it. “We like making the weekend trip, driving down to Vermont or New York or Boston for a weekend of racing,” Le Rossignol said. “In spring, it’s very cold in Montreal, so the weather’s a bit better when you go down south. But this year it snowed at our first race.” Mcgill riders also participate in Fédération québécoise des sports cyclistes races. Le Rossignol said that some prefer to stick with only the eccc because it has smaller fields and more categories for women. (In the eccc, the A category features the strongest athletes, followed by B, C, D and Intro for both the men’s and women’s fields.) Another challenge that Canadian students face when racing in the U.S. road series is exams. The Canadians have their finals in the midst of the road season. The Americans have their exams a little later. Unfortunately for Rossignol, the timing didn’t work out for her this past spring and she wasn’t able to race. But for spring 2016, she definitely plans to take on the races south of the border.