A Critique of Ontario Racing

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Did anyone catch this on the Jet Fuel site? Good read--thoughts?

A Critique of Ontario Racing

(by Andrew Randell)



I've got to say that the racing at this past weekend's Provincial Championships was disappointing - too few riders in the field were there to race as opposed to finishing. Racing abroad and then here in Ontario can be a trying experience and definitely shows up the differences in style.

I don't think that the riders here in Ontario are any less able than those we race against overseas, I think that the difference is in attitude towards the racing. In Belgium and in England they race with a never-say-die attitude, an early break does not mean that the race is over. Racing continued there behind the breakaway as riders repeatedly tried to get to the front of the race - all the riders were there to try and win the race. Many failed and were dropped, in Lincoln there were only 35 finishers out of at least 100. The point being that finishing the race isn't the point of racing, winning is. Riders here in Ontario need to take a more aggressive approach and also keep in mind that it's not always best to wait for Jet Fuel and Italpasta to make the race - take the racing to us, it would be a lot more fun. Having a break that rolled up the road in the first 5km win is a bit embarrassing.

Race organizers must also play a role in making Ontario racing better. For instance the course on the weekend offered little in the way of challenges, and the race was also too short. If it had been another lap the break probably would have come back as their gap was down to one minute at the finish. The races need to be challenging and longer, in that way we can develop some home grown talent. If the races are always less than 100km, as they seem to be this year with almost every race shorter that last year's (while entry fees increase), then we will never develop riders capable competing beyond our borders. Without riders improving and competing successfully abroad there will be little incentive for youngsters unpopular to attempt great things in this sport.

UBoat, your thread is going nowhere. Zero replies, few views. I'll give you a hand.

Did anyone catch this on the Jet Fuel site? Good read--thoughts?

A Critique of Ontario Racing

(by Andrew Randell)



I've got to say that the racing at this past weekend's Provincial Championships was disappointing - too few riders in the field were there to race as opposed to finishing.

The point being that finishing the race isn't the point of racing, winning is. Riders here in Ontario need to take a more aggressive approach and also keep in mind that it's not always best to wait for Jet Fuel and Italpasta to make the race - take the racing to us, it would be a lot more fun. Having a break that rolled up the road in the first 5km win is a bit embarrassing.

Race organizers must also play a role in making Ontario racing better. For instance the course on the weekend offered little in the way of challenges, and the race was also too short. If it had been another lap the break probably would have come back as their gap was down to one minute at the finish. The races need to be challenging and longer, in that way we can develop some home grown talent. If the races are always less than 100km, as they seem to be this year with almost every race shorter that last year's (while entry fees increase), then we will never develop riders capable competing beyond our borders.
Excellent comments by Andrew Randell.

I hope riders, organizers, media and the CCA are listening.

"The point being that finishing the race isn't the point of racing, winning is."

Good God, thank you very much for saying this!

Attitude, that's the problem. Canadian cycling has had mediocrity shove down most of its throats for so long, people cannot even remember what good is, what winning is.

We have politically correct, pencil-necked, inexperienced bureaucrats who tell us success is a good brain-storming session at an AGM conference room.(see Kinash Dec. 2004, Christmas Greting, I think). It is pathetic.

It starts at the top and runs downhill as crap usually does.

Who knows what it is going to take to get people to wake up.

Randell and Butler have made a good start. Let's hear from other riders and managers. Where are the Cunninghams. They have good ideas, let's hear them.

Enough with the piss-ants like Van de Wille who have done four races in their lives and never done a thing for the sport except help themselves to whatever they could get.

Where are the editorials from Pedal and Canadian Cyclist.

Where is the outrage at how our sport is being tarnished by small-minded, mediocre, policy wonks.

It starts at the top and we now have Three Blind Mice, Kinash, Lacelle and Sebrango, see how they run things.

Enough with the piss-ants like Van de Wille who have done four races in their lives and never done a thing for the sport except help themselves to whatever they could get.
It is comments like this that creates a mass exodus.

Like others (formerly) on this forum, I hold a lot of respect for Patrick. You consistently making comments about him, like this one above, is the same as someone belittling my father in front of me. It is gut wrenching and embarrassing to see, especially since I and others on this forum agree that it is wrong. I see as many inaccuracies and lack of data in your posts as I may see in other posts. This is a FORUM however, we should be helping each other. I see no one backing you up in regards to Patrick, therefore, I consider this paragraph representative of the majority.

I have been a bike racer for over twenty years, so I have seen the same negative changes you observed. I came on this forum for you to help me fill in the gaps on reasons why the CCA is/ was in a quagmire. You pointing out the deficiencies and lack of transparency and accountability is excellent. Yes, your voice on these matters are required, your belittling Patrick is not.

Sort of a side note: I love formula1 car racing, I have a massive love for it. I will watch an F1 race over a bike race any day. I bet you any money I can write a better article on F1 than anyone here. I am not a journalist, nor have I raced an F1 car, but I could easily write a compassionate article on the subject and it will be a good read.

Despite Patrick's "lack of experience", he has a strong compassion for the sport of cycling. I see it in his submissions. I do not read the same from ex pros writing articles or commenting on TV. THEY SUCK in comparison despite the experience.

I glossed over my archives. My winning mags for example. All I can read is contributing writer; Patrick Van De Wilde, Patrick Van De Wilde, Patrick Van De Wilde. No one else I recognize. And good articles! I wil go over them on my vacation.

I have given you the up most respect. You know that. Others thought I was kissing your ass. This, despite what I read on other forums, I wrote them off. I ask you to keep your personal vendettas to yourself (for they carry no weight here) and focus on what YOU are compassionate at. Road Racing. I am not interested in personal issues nor will I partake in communication with some one who wishes to persue this direction.

Regards,

BillyBlass

I glossed over my archives. My winning mags for example. All I can read is contributing writer; Patrick Van De Wilde, Patrick Van De Wilde, Patrick Van De Wilde. No one else I recognize.
I'm sure Patrick Van de Wilde is a great writer. I was referring to Patrick Van de Wille, the guy on this forum.

Send me some of Van de Wilde's stuff, I'd like to read it.

You need better archives.

The best writer on road bike racing in English is Sameuel Abt. The second best is me. You think Van de Wilde (;) ) will ever do anything concrete to assist cycling other write something about what somebody else accomplished? If so, point to a track record of him doing that.

Hot air, that's it.

Get out on the road and talk to some pros. Talk to the people who ran the sport. Van de Wille has and will always be window dressing around what the movers and shakers have done and will do. He will eat at your buffet. that's it. Point to anything he has ever done apart from commentary.

Listen to Randell.

Wake up from your stupor.

Look at the mediocrity.

Dear BB,


Apparently you need some reminding. Here are the words of your favorite writer, this may be the best and most truthful thing he has ever written:

"Whoa boy, I think it's silly to say I have better knowledge of cycling than Ed. My own list of racing accomplishments is very, very scarce (though I did win one of the two races I entered, riding Chris Firek's too-tall bike and dressed up in the Ultramar Bear suit for the celebrity race). My only claim is spectator- and journalist-side. Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 1:07 am on Pedla Magaszine web forum by Patty the Lapsed Canuck" a.k.a. Patrick Van de Wille.

Can that be any more clear?????

BB, send us along some of Van de Wilde's writing, OK.....

""Whoa boy, I think it's silly to say I have better knowledge of cycling than Ed."

I agree it would be very silly to say that. You don't want to appear silly, do you, Billy Blass. Oh..., too late.

Sorry for the misspelling of Patrick's name. Van de Wille. I realize it is easy to confuse someone at your age. A good response would have been something like "I do not agree with you BB. In my opinion Sameuel Abt was better. Research his work". Then I would, and come back here and tell you what I thought of his work. I am also sorry you missed the point of my post. What a shame. Anyways, best of luck in your endeavors.

BillyBlass

Like others (formerly) on this forum, I hold a lot of respect for Patrick. You consistently making comments about him, like this one above, is the same as someone belittling my father in front of me. It is gut wrenching and embarrassing to see.

Sort of a side note: I love formula1 car racing, I have a massive love for it. I will watch an F1 race over a bike race any day. I bet you any money I can write a better article on F1 than anyone here. I am not a journalist, nor have I raced an F1 car, but I could easily write a compassionate article on the subject and it will be a good read.

Despite Patrick's "lack of experience", he has a strong compassion for the sport of cycling.

Regards,

BillyBlassBB,


Don't get too "compassionate" with your "massive love" in public places, you can get arrested for that sort of thing....!

On another note, allow me to do you a small favour, again to keep you from looking silly. You may want to consult a dictionary on the difference between "compassion" and "passion"...

Finally, I really hope people stop belittling your father in front of you, that is really not a very nice thing to do.

Are you sure you are not a journalist? Your writing style reminds me of a Gazette editorial. I think you should consider taking it up.

Have a Happy Canada Day, BB, it does sound like your heart is in the right place despite what you think of Van de Wille.

Does this mean the drink-fest is off?

Guys..?

No, no, its on.


I'll drink with you, JJ. I'll drink with anybody. Why I'm drinking right now, cheap Busch beer with my raw, lemon-marinated salmon, because I finished my double Cinzano half&half.

Hell, I'l even drink with Paddy Van de Wille as long as he promise to keep his clothes on while I'm there.

Don't worry JJ. We are all game for a drink-fest. Things got a bit personal and now its time for a time-out with our bottled friend. I am enjoying a Warsteiner Premium right now.

This commentary has been sent to about 500 people in the sport, industry and media. It is a compilation of five or six lists. We apologize if you have received this twice (or more) . We apologize if you have received this in error. Please write back to be removed or to add somebody else on whom you think would like to recieve this commentary in the future. Don't worry about any automtated programs. You can call me direct if you prefer.

(Most of the commentary will appear on this forum, so regular readers may not want to be added to the mailing list. However, if you would like to be added to the listen just send your email address to me at ed@arzouian.com (ed@arzouian.com). )
It will be an ongoing campaign of about one message a week for as long as it takes.

If there is something you would like to discuss in these commentaries you can email that as long as well. Get involved.

Thx.

Ed A.



The following was written by Andrew Randell of the Jet Fuel Cycling Team. It is posted on the Jet Fuel web site. (http://www.cyclingteam.info/ (http://www.cyclingteam.info/))

My comments are below Andrew's.

Our sport is bad shape, don't kid yourself.

It is due to a lack of leadership.

The top two posts at the Canadian Cycling Association (CCA) are now held by two people WITH NO CYCLING EXPERIENCE AT ALL. The CCA is not the Peace Corps or Katimavik, on the job training should not be part of the program. These people are supposed to be leading the sport, not learning it. Find me one other sport body in such a mess.

Think about.

They have never competed in a cycling race: Road, MTB, Track or BMX.

They have never organized a cycling race.

They have never coached a rider.

They have never managed a team.

They have never sold one article of cycling material.

We cannot even be sure if they had ever even attended a cycling race before being employed by the CCA.

How can this happen?

All of this dismantling of the sport is being overseen by CCA President Bill Kinash who spent 20 years running the Saskatchewan Cycling Association, the worst cycling association in Canada. In those twenty years Kinash held one national-calibre road race in the province, a Master's national championship in 1991. In my 33 years in this sport, spanning about 1500 races, I have never had the urge nor need to attend a single event in Saskatchewan, yet the guy running that province's cycling somehow ended up running the sport for the country?

For the last two and half years we have had excuses and delays instead of action. We have had failures, big failures. Races are disappearing, big race. Two and half years to implement the most simple of changes. General Motors can change faster than that! The CCA has 8 directors and 11 member associations. Change should be easy.



Next week we have a new Official Criterium Championship. A simple and obvious change like this took at least two years, some say five! Imagine, five years to re-instate the obvious. How long will it take to do the complicated things?





The "new", "national" series, Canada Cup Road Series if you will, is neither new nor national nor much of a series. It doesn't even have a title sponsor. There is only one event in Ontario and it is about 500 kms. north of Toronto. There are no events east of Quebec City. There are no events in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Manitoba and Alberta used to have good road races. Now they have none to speak of.



Fourteen months to write the by-laws for the CCA-Hamilton Legacy Foundation! Fourteen months of delays, excuses and inaction. Worse, Linda Jackson, Ross Chafe and Steve Bauer have their names attached to this. They should know better and do better. If the Foundation ever does get up and running what will it do? It will fund one or two small projects more a year? Will that change anything in the sport? Of course not. All this shows is a lack of initiative and ideas.



This is unacceptable.



Take back your sport.

Contact your Provincial Presidents and make it clear we need a new direction. Do not let them go to Yukon and re-elect Kinash and continue down a single-track into marginalize sport oblivion.

Follow Andrew Randell's and Dave Butler's lead at Jet Fuel. Look at your sport and speak up.

Take it back while there is still something left.

Ed Arzouian,

St. Anicet, QC

As I mentioned above, I sent out my first newsletter yesterday to about 500 email adresses. About thirty came back as no longer valid or with full boxes.

Only one person so far has asked to be removed from the list. They were immediately.

One person, a former CCA employee, responded with a 2300-word letter of his own agreeing with most of the stuff I mentioned. I have suggested he post his letter on this forum.

In the near future I will be adding about 400 road riders to the list. If you want to get on it just email me

Ed Arzouian (whom I have never met incidentally) suggested that as former short-term employee at the Canadian Cycling Association, that I might consider posting my response to his own editorial about the deteriorating state of cycling in Canada. And so, here it is:

How do you wake a sleeping dog?



Simple: Hit him with a stick when he's not looking.

Of course, the SPCA might come looking for your ass, but hey, the dog's awake, right? With fangs and growl to match.



Seriously Ed, I did enjoy all the comments I read, if only for their polemic value. I particularly loved the comment about "Success" being defined as a good "brain-storming" session at a CCA AGM. That was a sizzler that truly resonated with my own experience!!!



And why do I say that? Well, because I use to work there. So you might enjoy a recount of some of the historical insights I can share with you here.



I only worked in the CCA head office for a short time, and it was a long time ago, back in 1983 to be precise. These were the days when Marc Lemay (from North-western Québec) was President of the CCA, Louis Garneau was some new guy on the block with ideas of making cycling gear, Steve Bauer was Canada's rising cycling star, Marie-Claude Audette was among our first notable female road-race cycling pioneers, Danette Steele Tsoubouchi was Director-General (someone who was a recreational cycling enthusiast in her own right you will be happy to know), and Peter McCaffery -- a racing cyclist of British origin -- was the feisty Technical Director, who went on to open his own cycling shop, and organize many a race, including longer 200km road events.



And me? I was a newly minted graduate student with training in sports administration, who happened to be an upstart cyclo-sportif * rider -- who after riding his bike (against the wind) from Montreal to Ottawa one high humidity 31º Celsius August day -- just to see if I could -- came upon the heat delirious idea of organizing a 200+ km road race and cyclo-sportif cycling event from Ottawa to Montreal**.



Whether it was the residual of my delirium or the crazy cycling sensitive crew in the national office, or both, I somehow was able to convince them that this was an event whose time had come, and was well worth endorsing. And so I received logistical support (which is bureaucratic-speak for "no supporting money"). But I did get to use the office and phones to fulfill one of the CCA's constitutional obligations, namely: to promote cycling.



And as I was no doubt perceived as a fellow cycling zealot, I was given several contracts to promote cycling, the first one being as a Media Liaison for the First National Symposium on the Bicycle: Vehicle of the 80s, (as dated as that may now sound). To my continuing fluke credit, I was able to get the conference some pretty good visibility in the national media, particularly on CBC Radio's Morningside with Peter Gzowski, and Canada AM.



As a result I was offered another two contracts which I dutifully fulfilled. But what I remember most from those days was pretty much the opposite from what you describe in your probably deserving hard-hitting exposé. It is conceivable that things have deteriorated over time.



As someone who went on to work in the offices of two other national sport organizations, namely Badminton and Skiing, I can fully attest to the validity of some of the comments expressed. This is particularly true of the absence of performance measures in regards to elected office holders.



And as far as national or even provincial sport office staff is concerned, I strongly believe that a staff member's own personal and genuine interest as well as practice of the sport are critical elements in a person's motivational ability to market and promote a sport.



It is simply not enough to have the technical expertise needed to market a sport. Unless a person is a little bit obsessive about cycling, a character deformation most avid cyclists can easily identify with, then it is less than likely that that person will go out there and seek to conquer the world with the gospel of cycling.



I remember what I had to do back in 1983 to get newsmedia attention for the conference. Long days going out of my way to repeatedly visit the actual media outlets and to meet with the radio and TV show producers face-to-face, and print editors, to impress upon them the importance of the story, though they might not think so -- as was often the case.



Today, sports bureaucrats are simply "too busy" and "sophisticated" to go out of their way to engage in the kind of on-the-ground guerrilla promotional tactics I engaged in over twenty years ago. They prefer to remain in the office, and allocate that one hour in their agenda planner to making a few key phone calls, and to send a few e-mails with attachments to do the work for them. And then they're surprised when their "efforts" don't meet with success. But the paper trail that they show to their volunteer Board of Director bosses (if ever they should ask -- which is doubtful) that they did "their job".



But in the era before e-mails, before voice-mail, and the more rarefied use of facsimile machines, and before paranoid office security systems that now keep members of the general public from walking into a media outlet without an appointment, it was once possible to walk into a radio station or television station, and actually meet with a producer face-to-face to make one's story pitch.



And in that era, cycling had not yet seen the likes of Lance Armstrong, who has probably done more for catapulting cycling onto the cultural radar screen in North America than any other cyclist ever has.



And because he has had that sort of impact, given the exercise in which we are involved in here, it is worth asking why to see what might be learned. So why has Lance Armstrong had the sort of impact that he has?



Because he not only survived cancer, but he went on to win the Tour de France not just once, but six times!! And anyone who knows anything about cancer or about cycling, that's nothing short of a heroïc tale. It's as though Terry Fox had survived his cancer, and came back to become an Olympic calibre Paralympic championship runner.



So what's the problem with Canadian Cycling? Shouldn't a sport whose recreational participation base is second to none in Canada, theoretically see it as one of the great hot properties corporate Canada would be eager to sponsor at all levels? One would think so. But something is missing. What is it?



The answer is a complex one. And you in your blunt honesty have named one of the more important variables in the mix of variables needed to arrive at a satisfactory answer: Personal involvement in the organizational dimensions of the sport.



I originally came out of a track & field background. In fact, I was elected the President of a track club in its dying days in Ottawa, in the hope I might be able to save it. But sad to say: no one person can save a sport. Among the projects I was trying to see realized at the time was the construction of an indoor track facility in the city, another project which despite my best efforts over many years I regret to say failed.



One of the more sobering and distasteful realizations as to why it failed was that runners by and large, are a rather selfish, self-absorbed lot. Their focus is on "their" training, and "their" performance goals. And many (if not most) fail to consider, let alone appreciate the fact that behind all those running events they take part in every year, there is an immense amount of volunteer time that goes into making those events possible.



What's more, many in our culture fail to grasp that without they themselves giving something back to the sport that gave them the opportunity to become more empowered, goal-directed people through that sport, that the very activity that helped them may not in fact survive. Hardly a fair sounding proposition.



So the crisis you describe in cycling is by no means restricted to cycling. In fact, it has also been seen in the drop of service club memberships, where the men of my father's generation (the World War II generation), the men who learned the real meaning of self-sacrifice, and the importance of community involvement in the health of a society, are now at a point where they can no longer contribute the way they once could. And so many of the service club memberships have dwindled to a fraction of what they once were.



Our generation has yet to match the extent of their volunteerism. And why? Perhaps it's because we are children of the self-indulgent cable TV consumer-age, where the solutions to our problems can be bought off the store shelf. But we all know, life ain't really like that.



Lance Armstrong's first book was entitled: It's not about the Bike.

What it is about is the spirit behind what makes the bike move at all.



Yet you wouldn't know it for all the expensive bikes I see around Vancouver. Not that I have anything against a beautiful carbon-fibre frame road bike. It's a work of art as far as I'm concerned. But I still ride my 25 year old double-butted chrome-molly 12 speed crit bike, and love the feeling of passing someone on a $3,000+ machine, if only to demonstrate: "it's not about the bike".



But I digress from the topic at hand. My point is simply this: What percentage of the folks who own and ride one those fine thorough-breds have ever volunteered to help organize a cycling event? What percentage have bothered to run for the board of directors of a local cycling club, let alone a provincial or national sport association? The very rare few I should think.



It is too bad that when cycling racing licences are issued, there wasn't a provision that you must work as a volunteer on at least one cycling event a year in order to keep your licence. What that would accomplish is instill and normalize the cultural message that if you want to participate in a sport, you must give something back, at some point. And it would help those who participate in the sport to recognize the value and importance, and yes, even some of the fun that comes out of the organizational experience.



And this is how you begin to implant the values of community within a sport.



The existing "Autobahn" speedster mentality that appears to pervade if not dominate the consciousness of those who ride in North America is not.



Anyone watching the stage awards ceremony during the Tour de France will never fail to see Bernard Hinault on the stage shaking some victors hand. Why? Is it because he misses the limelight? Maybe. But I bet it's more because he knows that as a five time Tour de France champion you have to give something back to the sport.



This isn't just the sign of a mature athlete, it's the sign of a mature human being. A real champion is only as good as the human being who lives underneath the glorious image. And that is why Lance Armstrong is such a superlative champion, an iconic heroïc legend in our own time really. It's because he recognizes that it's not about the bike. The bike is merely an extension of his inner drive, a drive that has equally seen him give his time to raising money for Cancer Research.



So while all those Yuppies whose boring self-absorbed consumer lives look to owning carbon-fiber bikes as the _expression of their frustrated athletic egos, and who have little time for anything less self-serving in their lives than to ride their bikes on Sunday mornings in the hopes of blowing by their fellow cyclists up some steep incline, we need only look at the life and example of Lance Armstrong to see that as busy as he is, he can still find the time to give of himself in a way that does not recompense him with any personal monetary gain.



So, if you want to really change the cycling system in Canada, then by all means, hold those who hold the related offices in organizations like the CCA to account. In fact, every one of the staff should be subject to an annual performance review by the volunteers during the AGM, and if they don't meet some realistic objectives, then fire their sorry asses. (Though you might want to hire them on annually renewable contracts, so you don't find yourself in the position of a lawsuit for unrightful dismissal.)



And to get the organization you want, you're right, take back the sport. Take it back from the lethargy that has allowed it to deteriorate to the point it has, as you so forcefully point out. Recruit and hire the zealots with the necessary organizational talents to populate the provincial and national offices, and you will likely find that a dynamic new era for cycling in Canada will emerge.



What choice do you have? Without them, the sport will continue to dwindle into greater and greater irrelevancy. With them, you will get bold new, in-your-face initiatives that make the sport as dynamic a proposition as alpine skiing.



And let's not forget the media, as you also point out. Everytime they fail to provide coverage for key cycling events, they need to be cayenne peppered with e-mails and phone calls that ask the editors "why?"



It's time for a new generation to kick butt. I certainly did what I could.



Paul H. LeMay

(no relation to Marc Lemay)



*(For those unfamiliar with the word "cyclo-sportif", a term which seems to have fallen off the radar of use, it is used to describe someone who is more than a recreational cyclist, but less than a licensed competitor).



**(Happy to report that the Ottawa-Montreal Cycling Challenge attracted some 700 cyclists, with fewer than half a dozen people who did not finish the 225km course!!! As a footnote: It did not continue in subsequent years in large part due to a lack of corporate sponsorship interest, and a lack of volunteers.)