Local academy is cranking out champions
Waterloo’s McLean returns from nationals with 9 medals; KW Cycling Academy takes 34 total
The KW Cycling Academy has a mission statement to introduce young athletes to the sport and develop their skills.
An incredible 34-medal performance at the Canadian track championships (under-17, junior and para) in Bromont, Que., suggests the Waterloo-based academy is going well beyond the objective.
“Our little squad had an absolute killer weekend,” said KW Cycling Academy head coach Rob Good.
“I don’t like to pat ourselves on the back but, as a team, as a development team, we crushed it.”
No one had a better weekend than Waterloo teen Jake McLean, a U17 cadet cyclist who showed that hard work does pay off with a nine-medal performance (five gold, one silver and three bronze) on the 250-metre banked track.
The Laurel Heights student has been with the academy for six years and credits coaching, camaraderie and personal determination for his monumental weekend. “It’s good to be in a team environment, alongside people my age, and having their support,” said the 15-year-old McLean. “The coaches, too, to have their support and to able to talk about tactics and strategy.”
The youngsters also have cyclists like Kitchener’s Chris Ernst, Baden’s Tyler Rorke, Bothwell’s Nick Wammes and Waterloo’s Ethan Powell to look up to. All four have ties to the academy and have been successful in national and international competitions.
Powell, of course, is coming off a remarkable 2023 season that included gold-medal performances at the UCI Junior Track World Championships in Colombia and Canadian Road Cycling Championship in Edmonton.
“He (Powell) was on our team last year and someone I look up to,” said McLean, whose weekend medal haul includes wins in four individual events and one team race.
Academy members Ben Glover and Kaleb Arsenault also claimed medals in the U17 men’s division, and Alexandra Fangeat and Teagan Gawne did the same in the U17 women’s division.
Larissa Pedersen had podium finishes in junior women, and Andres Elliott-Cordoba, Jayden McMullen and Cole Dempster did the same in junior men.
Brendan Hopkins, Jacob Kemper, Evan Lucas, Ronan Mantle, Ian McLean, Jayden McMullen and Linden Spence also represented the KW Cycling Academy in Quebec.
Elmira’s Lili Salonen-Berscht of the Milton Revolution Cycling Club and Cambridge’s Albert Taylor of Ignite Junior Cycling made podium appearances, as well.
McLean and many of his teammates will turn to road work this week after closing out the indoor season. The cold-weather campaign included regular trips to the Forest City Velodrome in London and Mattamy Cycling Centre in Milton as part of the training.
Founded in 2018, the KW Cycling Academy boasts a membership of about 125 participants and offers programs for youngsters of all ages and abilities.
“We’ve got four or five weekly training rides here in town, mountain bike and road racing,” said Good. “We provide everything we can for the kids and, if the kid doesn’t have a bike, we’ve got loaner bikes.”
The high-performance group, sponsored by Liftow/Toyota Material Handling, offers road, mountain bike and track training for 50 weeks of the year. For information, visit kwcyclingacademy.ca.