Valleyfield Quebec Cup

I had heard great things about the Valleyfield triathlon. And even though it is just a short drive away from Ottawa, I had never done it before. So it was great to be able to participate in this year's event! The weather forecast called for a day of cool, wet weather (we should be used to this by now). But as luck would have it, the sunshine held out for the duration of the day which made for an absolutely ideal day for racing/spectating.

I had heard great things about the Valleyfield triathlon. And even though it is just a short drive away from Ottawa, I had never done it before. So it was great to be able to participate in this year's event! The weather forecast called for a day of cool, wet weather (we should be used to this by now). But as luck would have it, the sunshine held out for the duration of the day which made for an absolutely ideal day for racing/spectating.

The races in Quebec are some of the most competitive in the country and this was no exception. With roughly 30 guys on the startline it rivaled last week's Nationals in terms of numbers. And the talent that is coming out of Quebec is second to none. My guess is that in a few years we are going to see a good number of the very top athletes in the country coming from this province.

It was my plan to swim pretty hard. I thought we could get a small group going and maybe be able to stay away. There were a few very good swimmers that I expected to latch on and come with me - Francis Sarrasin-Larochel, David-James Tache, Patrice Hamelin, and others. Unfortunately, they told me afterwards that they didnt notice me starting on the outside until it was too late. As a result I ended up swimming alone and came out with a 15 second lead. About half way through the swim I noticed that there was a bit of a gap behind me but kept the pace steady, figuring I could use the extra time to get rolling on the bike.

When the others caught me on the bike, we were a much larger pack than I was anticipating (a testament to the rising level of talent in Quebec). There was also a decent sized chase pack about 20-30 seconds behind. At that point I knew that it was going to be a much harder race than I was prepared for. We worked well for the most part and managed to put some time on the group behind us. Guys like Alexis Ascah, David-James Tache and David Gagnon were really pushing the pace.

We started off the run as a pretty big group. David-James had a quick transition and had an early lead. But Marc-Antoine Christin pushed the pace and we managed to reel David-James back in, about half way through the first lap. Marc-Antoine and Francois Hogan alternated leads and were holding a pace that was punishing. I kept thinking that I was going to fall back. Just before the end of the first lap Francois Hogan surged. I went with him but Marc-Antoine couldnt. Through the second lap Francois and I ran together but the pace continued to be very hard. As we rounded the final corner, with the finish line in sight, Francois surged again though this time I couldnt respond. He sprinted in for first place and I was content to settle for a hard fought second.

I would like to thank all the guys in our race for such a fun day. Congrats especially to Francois, Marc-Antoine and Patrice Hamelin (aged 18, 16 and 22) who took 1st 3rd and 4th. Watch for these names in the future!