Tell us, Lorraine

Since 2001, over 90,000 cyclist's have joined Cycling Forums to discuss topics from general cycling to equipment, training, racing and travel or vacation destinations (especially in europe during the tour de france). We also feature an great deals in our online store, 100's of articles, classifieds and product reviews.

Sent: Friday, January 05, 2007 9:54 AM
To: 'lorraine.lafreniere@canadian-cycling.com'
Cc: 'llafreniere@coach.ca'; 'Ed Arzouian'; 'lestomlinson@aol.com'; 'Lister Farrar'; 'louis.barbeau@fqsc.net'; 'wpom@telus.net'; 'Louisevelo@cs.com'; 'smerker@ontariocycling.org'; 'Curt Harnett'; 'Renee Sfalcin'; 'coach@canadian-cycling.com'; 'Christie, James'; 'Randy Starkman The Star'; 'Graham Parley The Star'; 'matt gailitis'; 'NP Sports Ron Wadden'; 'pierre.foglia@lapresse.ca'; 'Pierre Hamel'; 'sports3'; 'sports2'; 'Kristy Cycling News'; 'bjew@7dogs.com'; 'Wayne Scanlan'; 'rjones2'; 'Brett Stewart'; 'office@albertabicycle.ab.ca'; 'jmonchuk@cp.org'; 'CP Bill Beacon'; 'wmoriarty@png.canwest.com'; 'erolfsen@png.canwest.com'; 'Marcia Stewart'; 'pierre.blanchard@sympatico.ca'; 'kim.sebrango@canadian-cycling.com'; 'Bill Kinash'; 'Sylvain Richard'; 'Yvan Martineau'; 'Yvan Martineau'; 'SportDecision'; 'Sport Tribune'; 'Sport Nouvelliste'; 'Sport Le Soleil'; 'Sport La Voix de l'Est'; 'Sport La Presse'; 'Sport Journal de Montréal'; 'Simon Drouin'; 'Robert Jutras'; 'Rob Jones'; 'René Pothier'; 'Réal Labbé'; 'Pierre-Louis Augustin'; 'Pierre Pouliot'; 'Pierre Jury'; 'Pierre Hamel'; 'Pierre Foglia'; 'Michelle Gendron'; 'Mathieu Laberge'; 'Martin Smith'; 'Marie-Josée Turcotte'; 'Marc-André Joanisse'; 'Luce Richard'; 'Luc Bellemare'; 'Louis Hardy'; 'Léandre Drolet'; 'Laurent Godbout'; 'Alain Bergeron'; 'Sport30 - RDS'; 'CKAC-Nouvelles'; 'phickey@thegazette.canwest.com'; 'scowan@thegazette.canwest.com'; 'dstubbs@thegazette.canwest.com'; 'Martin Smith'; 'benjamin@pedalmag.com'; 'cyclingnews@cyclingnews.com'; 'florence.bourg@canadian-cycling.com'
Subject: Tell us, Lorraine?



Now that Canadian Cycling Association Chief Operating Officer or Secretary General or whatever title they have given Lorraine Lafrenière has an official email address, let’s ask her about her sports background:



Ms. Lafrenière, now that you are running the sport of cycling for Canada, tell us, have you ever attended a bike race? If so, when and where?



Have you ever been to a velodrome?



Have you ever competed in any sport yourself and if so at what level?



Have you ever organized a sports event of any kind whatsoever? If so what, where and when?



It would add to your credibility if you could respond to some of this, since you have no credibility in the eyes of most people in the sport, in fact you are an insult to the professionals and people who have devoted their life to the sport. How do you presume to come in and tell them what to do? When former Chief Operating Officer Steve Lacelle left the CCA he said the sport needed somebody like a Ken Read, a seasoned professional in his sport. Instead, cycling got you, someone who knows nothing about the sport and has never been involved in it.



How can we explain this stupidity?

If you see this woman at a bike race in Canada ask her if it is her first:


http://www.canadian-cycling.com/cca/images/CCA_Staff/Lafreniere-Lorraine_thumb.jpg

So, Lorraine, tell us, will you oversee the first cancelled National Road Cycling Championship in the modern history of the sport in Canada? What will Tim Horton's say if you have to cancel their championships. Will they pull their pittance???

You know, if Tim Horton's gave the national championships a decent sponsorship budget it would be far easier to find organizers.

But you don't know anything about organizing national championships do you? Did you have a national coaches' championship with the Coaching Associaiton? What did you do at that group anyway? What does their association do? Teats on a bull if you ask me.

This news below is from Canadian Cyclist. Why isn't the CCA reporting this on their site?


The Canadian Cycling Association is a disgrace. It is now your disgrace.

CCA screwed (again) by UCI
Once again Canadian Cycling gets screwed by the UCI.

Thank Pierre Hutsebaut and Brian Jolly who are supposed to be looking out for Canadian interests with the UCI for that.

You can also thank an inexperienced and incompetent staff at the CCA, that is Steve Lacelle who just quit as Chief Operating Officer and Lorraine Lafrenière who just took over and knows nothing about the sport since she comes from IT and public relations and a coaching association.

Now one of the CCA’s primary mandates, its national road championships are in jeopardy

That is the legacy of Bill Kinash, former CCA President who has presided over the destruction of the sport for the last five years.


No story about this is yet posted on the CCA web site. (www.canadian-cycling.com (http://www.canadian-cycling.com/))

http://www.canadiancyclist.com/default2.html (http://www.canadiancyclist.com/default2.html)


Canadian Road Nationals Update

On January 4th, the Canadian Cycling Association released a preliminary schedule for the national calendar (see Daily News: January 4/07 8:45am EST - 2007 National Calendars). In the Road schedule, the organizer for the Road Nationals was listed as 'TBA' and the date was pushed back by a week from the previously planned date.

The reason was the shift of the UCI continental stage race Tour of Utah to dates on top of the planned Road Nationals date (so it wouldn't conflict with the Montreal-Boston stage race). This has had a ripple effect...

Richard Deslandes, who was going to organize the Road Nationals has had to pull out with the date shift - there is a big festival going on in the Granby region on the new dates. The CCA is currently in discussions with two potential Quebec organizers, and is looking at the following schedule:

July 4-7: Junior and Master road and time trial events (possibly Criterium)
July 8: no racing (or possibly Criterium)
July 9-11: Elite and Espoir road and time trial events

The logic behind this schedule is:

- The Elite/Espoir men finish the Tour of Utah on the 7th, so this would give them a day to travel, before starting the time trial.
- Masters (who make up the bulk of the numbers) are less able to take time in the middle of the week to race.
- It is critical to have as many top Canadian pros as possible able to attend Nationals, for maximum ranking points (for Olympic qualification).
- The following weekend doesn't work too well for B.C. riders, since it is the start of B.C. Superweek.
- Three days are now needed for Elite/Espoir events because there will be separate road races for Elite and Espoir categories (at least for the men).

If a Quebec organizer cannot be secured for those dates, then the CCA will look at other Eastern Canada (Atlantic, Ontario) venues first, and then open it nationwide. If no one can be found for those dates, then other dates will be considered, as long as they are before August 15th (UCI deadline for points to count in nation ranking). However, other dates are likely going to conflict with some other major event on the domestic calendar.

And the primary reason that all this shuffling is happening? The UCI did not protect the previously approved Nationals dates from other UCI events in North America when they allowed the Tour of Utah to shift! For countries with ProTour teams and riders, national championships are not as important as they used to be for ranking, so non-ProTour countries are left scrambling.

Have you ever competed in any sport yourself and if so at what level?
Somehow I would bet that she could leave you standing still at any hill.

Also, please post a picture of yourself so that everyone can come ask you questions. You previously refused to say you are Ed, yet you are perfectly willing to say you were banned at Canadian Cyclist. So just say, "I am Ed" if you don't want to post a photo.

I'll do whatever I like and certainly won't waste my time honoring your request.


Post your name and photo, Slug.

Lafreniere, came from a bullshite assiciation that is not even a sport. Now she is already in a bind and its look like the Nationla Road Champoionships are at jeopardy.

We were told Steve Lacelle left everything in great shape after his only 18 months. He quit just as I expected he would.

Now, LaFreniere comes in and she has NEVER orgaazed a sports event in her life and she has to figure out how to hold the National Road Championships.

Keep telling yourself everything is OK, Dorothy and I'll watch this sport crash in flames thanks to Bill Kinash and his stupidity of hiring people with ZERO CYCLING EXPERIENCE to run the sport for the country.

It make no sense, it never made sense. She will fail as did Lacelle.

Just wait and watch.

Kinash's choice as so bad one could argue he is purposel destroying the sport. How else to explain his stupidity?

I'll do whatever I like and certainly won't waste my time honoring your request.

Post your name and photo, Slug.
I can see why no one comments on any of your posts. As for the name calling, to me and others, grow up.

No one comments because the CCA's decision and position are indefensible.


Go ahead, you tell us how, after Steve Lacelle said the CCA needs somebody like Ken Read, a pro in his sport with a high profile, we end up with Lorraine Lafreniere a complete novice with no sports background. Go ahead defend that chioce and I'll throw it in your face in 18 months or less when she quits or is fired.

I found this photo of a couple of Canadian Cycling Assocation board members deliberating an important decision:


http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/theoffice/images/yourgallery/brownnose.jpg

So, Lorraine, how are things going?

Any new sponsors?

Any new events?

Any new teams?

Any mainstream media coverage?


How much more will the CCA lose this year? Will revenue fall below $1,000,000?

You're going to look like crap because this failure is all on you now, baby!

The only reason she probably got the job is because she is attractive. That isn't surprising since she comes from Public Relations. Often you will find attractive women in Public Relations who have little clue what they are doing and have gotten by on their looks. They are told what to say and it gets by. Scratch the thin veneer and there is no substance.



Let's keep in mind prior to being hired to run the sport of cycling in Canada Lorraine had ZERO CYCLING experience. In fact, we do not know if she had ever seen a cycling race.

She has no experience actually organizing any sporting events at all.



She appears to have no competitive background herself.



She came from running the Coaches' Association which is not a sport but more of a trade union.

I see very little to reason to think she will do anything right. So far she has not. In fact she has been an embarassment posting those silly Canbike hints for kids on bike safety. We look like idiots to the competitive world. They must be laughing at us around the world.



Since she took over four or five people have had to be fired and revenues went from $2.7 million to $1.7 million. She was hired and it was claimed she had good working relationship with Sport Canada. Sport Canada still pulled the plug on about $1 million in CCA financing because the results are no longer there internationally.



I think you will see Lafrenière resign before November 2007.



The CCA will be set back another year. We will lose almost a decade under Bill Kinash and his legacy of hiring people from outside the sport to ruin it. Kinash has doen for Canadian what he did for Saskatchewan cycling: sent it back to the dark ages.

So, Lorraine, how are things going?
I'm pretty sure she doesn't read this forum.

Any new sponsors?
Better question would that is it possible to keep old ones as cycling is more likely to provide bad publicity at the moment.

Any new events?
Tour de PEI? Isn't that the only bigger new event?

Any new teams?
Does CCA have something to do with this?

Any mainstream media coverage?
Mainstream media covers sports that mainstream public is interested in.

You're going to look like crap because this failure is all on you now, baby!
Please elaborate. What has failed?

EDIT: I'd rather have someone from business world to run sports organization than some ex-athlete. Ex-athletes are good for day to day practical stuff.

You are very wrong. She does read it as do many other in cycling and in the media. I know because they emails me about it.

Actually keeping the old CCA sponsors is not a good thing. Louis Garneau has short-changed the CCA for decades. That's why many athletes representing Canada end up paying for their national teams kit. That is a disgrace.

Gord Singleton, former World Record Holder, World Champ asked for a jersey to represent Canada at the World Master Track Championships and they said no. That is a disgrace.



Tim Hortons pays about $100,000 for all national champions (road, track, mtb & bmx) and the national teams. That is a disgrace.



You are citing one new event only for women I believe and actually there use to be a Tour of PEI that was bigger. Other races have been cancelled. The CCA is unable to provide any support to these wannabe organizers.



The mainstream media covering sports that interest people is bullshit. If the mainstream media writes about cycling people read it. They have in the past, they would again. We use to have front page stories in all major national newspaper, not front page sport stories but even FRONT PAGE NEWS STORIES. Now we have nothing. If they write it people will read it. I just had this discussion with Jim Christie of The Globe and Mail. They are too lazy or too uninformed to bother.



When the last Chief Operating Officer left the CCA he said the sport needed a Ken Read-like person to run it, meaning a high profile and knowledge person FROM THE SPORT, not an outsider. Yet, Lorraine Lafrenière was another outsider hired to run a sport she knows nothing about. She doesn't even have business experience. Steve Lacelle, the former COO, had business experience and he was a failure at the CCA.

Hiring Lorraine Lafreniere, like Steve Lacelle before her and like Kim Sebrango (both of whom quit or were fired), was an insult to the professionals in the sport in Canada. Putting all these people in charge of a sport they know nothing about is ridiculous.


And when I say they know nothing about it, I mean absolutely nothing. It isn't like they had a little experience at a lower level and were not up to the task. No, these people had never seen a cycling race before running the sport for the country.

You are writing here that nothing happens in canadian cycling and everything's shit, bad and miserable. I was thinking about that yesterday when I did a small local crit which was actually a very nice race. What if those course marshalls and other volunteers read your rants how canadian cycling is so bad and everything is made wrong. Maybe those volunteers thought that they helped to organize something good in expense of their time with their families (for example).

I know you don't really appreciate the grassroots that much, but you know, without those people who volunteer to stand in some intersection in the middle of an ass crack in pouring rain and cold or in burning hot sunshine are the ones who make races happen. It's not CCA money or CCA marketing director or CCA president. Don't talk down on the grassroots volunteer workers.

I'm sure you are quick to reply that you newer wrote anything like that but at least to me the message is pretty clear. I suppose you would like to be CCA marketing director so maybe it would be worth trying to write all this criticism in little different way?

Oh...and not too many people in other countries follow canadian cycling that much so that they would be laughing at canadian cycling, many people are busy with their own stuff. And that bike safety thing for kids isn't CCAs idea, other national federations have been doing that before just because it looks good to mainstream public and many others.

Holli,



You really should not assume things you do not know.



I worked with 13 municipalities in southwestern Quebec organizing a grassroots touring ride through the apple county there. We had about 2000 participants, kids to senior citizens and about 100 volunteers.



When I directed the Women’s Road World Cup in Montreal we had about 250 volunteers on the Mount Royal course. I assisted in training them along with my business partner and former teammate Stephane LeBeau.



I’m glad you had a “nice” crit. I like huge crits with 40,000 to 50,000 spectators and about the same prize money, $40,000 or $50,000. I doubt you have ever ridden in one of those, ever seen one of them or even been in same province as one of them. I have.



The best you can recruit volunteers is have big events and pro riders. You will have people lining up to volunteer.



Being small is not all being best.



I appreciate grassroots and understand their importance. I also appreciate and understand they important of top-notch, commercially profitable races. You can have all the grassroots races and volunteers you want, they will never ensure top level riders, results and events.



On the other hand if you have top notch big races and big expensive teams I can guarantee you will have grassroot support.

As for other countries laughing at Canada, you can be sure they are. The Executive Director, Chief Operating Officer or Director General, whatever you want to call the position is often the face of Canadian cycling nationally and internationally. When Lorraine Lafreniere sits down with her counterparts from other countries they ALL will have experience as riders, organizers, managers etc., IN THE SPORT OF CYCLING. After a five-minute conversation with Lafreniere they will realize she doesn't know anything about the sport.

You really should not assume things you do not know.
I just read what you post here.

I’m glad you had a “nice” crit. I like huge crits with 40,000 to 50,000 spectators and about the same prize money, $40,000 or $50,000. I doubt you have ever ridden in one of those, ever seen one of them or even been in same province as one of them. I have.
Haven't done crits like that. However I've done couple of post tour crits in Holland and Denmark which usually have 20 000-30 000 spectators. I'm planning to do one or two of these crits at the end of July again.

I appreciate grassroots and understand their importance. I also appreciate and understand they important of top-notch, commercially profitable races. You can have all the grassroots races and volunteers you want, they will never ensure top level riders, results and events.

On the other hand if you have top notch big races and big expensive teams I can guarantee you will have grassroot support.
Small local races serve junior riders -> Some of the juniors will become big pros some day. You said it yourself that only few juniors even make it to national top. So more local races and local small programs for juniors, more "material" there is for future years. CCA's junior programs have been ridiculous before so if some no experience nice lady can change that then it's a good start. By ridiculous I mean leaving by far the best junior in Canada out of national team.

Sure massive races bring good publicity but in current market you need to organize nation wide crit series which have races in every bigger city and you need big sponsors to pay that as you won't get 20 000-30 000 specators who are willing to pay 10-15$ for the tickets for every race. Really big names won't come to Canada either if there's no big compensation in form of UCI points or start/price money.

Lots of off topic...

I need to go training now even if I'm not a big top notch pro and I just ride for fun.

What do you know about about "the current market".


When have you ever attended a crit where people paid to watch?

Do you think $20,000 or $30,000 is a lot of money to national sponsors? It is nothing. A national sponsor could have big criteriums in most major metropolitan Canadian cites with $20,000 or $30,000 prize money and the whole thing would cost them less than $500,000. One national ad campaign for a weekend in newspapers cost them less than that.

Have a nice ride.

What do you know about about "the current market".
Cycling doesn't look like the best sport at the moment and definitely isn't too sexy sport. Last years Tour results aren't even ready yet. Plus you need to go big...very big, in whatever you do. Potential sponsors want more and more bang for their buck. These are just couple of things from top of my mind that are happening everywhere in the world, but maybe Canada is an exception.

When have you ever attended a crit where people paid to watch?
See my previous post. Tickets are usually 10-15€ (15-20CAD) each and that's how they cover much of the price money that attracts bigger names.

Do you think $20,000 or $30,000 is a lot of money to national sponsors? It is nothing. A national sponsor could have big criteriums in most major metropolitan Canadian cites with $20,000 or $30,000 prize money and the whole thing would cost them less than $500,000. One national ad campaign for a weekend in newspapers cost them less than that.
No it's not big money for big companies. They just might ask that what they get in return and then that money isn't that little anymore. You need to get good TV coverage, local race organizers and local authorities who want to let you close downtown streets, guaranteed top pro racers in every race, plus you would need to convince potential sponsors to believe that there will be lots of spectators in every race. I'm sure this would work out in BC, Quebec and maybe in Ontario in some cities but for example in Alberta it might be pretty difficult.

If this would be easy or even possible to do, I'm sure someone would have at least tried to get something together. If someone wants to try to do it I'll volunteer to help.

This used to happen EVERY weekend throughtout the summer in Canada from 1989 to 1993. It was called the Canadian Tire Canada Cup and the Canadian Tire National Cycling Series. Hell, even Sean Kelly, one of the winning Euro pro isn the world, used to show up.

One sponsor is all it needs. Just one national sponsor. They shoul be paying $750,000 to $1,000,000 for a nationl series not the embarassing $100,00 or so Tim Horton's now pays. That is an embarassment. The CCA should give it back and wear black jerseys instead, rather than allow the sport to be raped by Tim Hortn's.

BTW there was the Cobbelstone Classic in Winnipeg, Gastown in Vancouver, Queen Park in Toronto, The Elgin Street Crit in Ottawa and two or three races in Montreal. There was evcen a race in downtown Calgary.

If you never knew what you had you have no idea what was lost, do you?

There has never really been any paid attendance at any kind of road races in North America, apart from some seating in grandstands at some start finish lines.

Oh my god, Holli, don't even try. Don't even try. Ed's a loon, is only able to make a living through the grace of relatives, and everything he touches turns to crap. He lies awake at night rereading his 300 newspaper briefs and abusing himself with a cotton Evian team cap. Don't provoke him.