A homecoming win for cyclocross rider Matt Staneland
Alberta provincial cyclocross champion who grew up in Peterborough wins men’s 35-45 title
The 2018 Shimano Canadian Cyclocross Championships proved to be a special homecoming for Matt Staneland.
He achieved his best ever finish at nationals, improving on a 2013 silver medal, by winning a gold medal in the masters men’s 35-45 age group at Nicholls Oval on Nov. 10. He also placed first the following day in a UCI points race on the same course.
The 38-year-old grew up in Peterborough but now lives in Jasper, Alta., where he works in signals communications for CN Rail. It was his fourth time competing at nationals but first time since 2015 as he skipped the two events in Sherbrooke, Que. In 2016 and 2017.
“When they announced 2018 was in Peterborough I really focused on it,” Staneland said. “I knew I’d be going home to race in front of my family.”
His mother Suzanne Steele lives in East City not far from the course. His father Andrew Staneland, an old riding partner, was his pit crew.
“I was stoked. I knew it would be great to visit and to have my family there. They had never seen me race before,” he said. “Plus, I had a lot of old friends in the area come out.”
In 2013 in Vancouver he was leading his race until he crashed in the second last corner and got passed. He finished off the podium in 2014 and 2015 when Winnipeg hosted.
“That had been hanging over my head the past few years so to finally win was great,” said Staneland, a four-time Alberta provincial cyclocross champion.
“We’d gone through two weekends of snow and mud, like there was in Peterborough, in Alberta already. Going into it I’d been racing in those conditions quite a bit already where everybody in the east hadn’t seen that, yet. It was a mental edge because you know what to expect and how to dress for the cold.”
He said the course was one of the more challenging he’s raced.
“The run ups were hard and the conditions made it even harder. It would have been great in the dry but the wet was great,” he said.
“I followed the wheels of three or four strong riders from Quebec who I knew would be the favourites. With the conditions it was more of a race of just staying upright and not making mistakes and being patient. People were too aggressive and crashing everywhere. At a certain point it was kind of a race of attrition.”
He grabbed the lead a quarter of the way into the final lap of the 3.5-kilometre looped course.
“That last corner I was really worried about because I was having visions of Vancouver again,” he said. “I made it around that last corner, thankfully, smooth and just sprinted to the line.”
Staneland attended Central Public School and Adam Scott Collegiate while growing up. He graduated high school in 1999 and attended Brock University before moving to Golden, B.C. He’s lived in Jasper since 2005.
While in high school he began mountain biking on trails at Jackson Park and Trent University. He also entered some local races but nothing too serious, he said. He did a co-op at Fontaine’s Source For Sports where his love of bikes grew. His father was also an avid cyclist and they biked trails together near their cottage in Burnt River.
Staneland got away from biking while in university but got back into riding when he moved to Jasper.
“The cycling bug returned because the riding is so great there for mountain and road biking,” he said. “I started racing and riding with a lot of people there and just got back into it.”
He started racing mountain bikes again in 2008 and added cyclocross in 2012. The races were shorter which made it easier with a young family to find the time.
His wife Meghan, a Jasper native, is also a competitive racer but she was unable to attend nationals due to work commitments. They have a seven-yearold daughter Morgan who accompanied Matt to Peterborough to visit with grandparents. The whole family is hoping to attend in 2019 when Peterborough completes a two-year commitment as hosts.
“We’ll be back,” Staneland said. “It was a great event and to have the opportunity to race at home makes it that much more special. The organizers did a great job.”