CCA implodes!!!!

Fausto Coppied

----- Original Message -----
From: edatarzouian.com
To: 'llafreniere@coach.ca',lestomlinson@aol.com,listerfarrar@telus.net,lou is.barbeau@fqsc.net,wpom@telus.net,Louisevelo@cs.com,s,curtnet@aol.com ,,coach@canadiancycling.com,JChristie@globeandmail.ca,rstarkman@thesta r.ca,GParley@thestar.ca,rwadden@nationalpost.com,pierre.foglia@lapress e.ca,pierre_hamel@velo.qc.ca,sports@lapresse.ca,sports@thecitizen.canw est.com, bjew@7dogs.com,wscanlan@thecitizen....tabicycle.ab.ca
Sent: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 06:56:49 -0500
Subject: Lorraine, what's the plan?

Ms. Lorraine Lafreniere, Director General,
Canadian Cycling Association,

Ottawa, ON



Dear Lorraine,

We are all curious to hear what the plan is to revive our Association? How do you plan to reverse the downward spiral of corporate sponsorship?

It won't be easy given all the staff you just lost and with you knowing next to nothing about the sport yourself. Good thing Brett Stewart is there to give you a hand. He must be pleased to be doing most of your work, since he was passed over at least twice for your job. Now he has to do the work of Kim Sebrango in marketing as well, who should never have been hired in the first place, just like you and Steve Lacelle before you (anybody remember how Steve's MBA was going to ensure sound business procedures!!!).

How long, Lorraine, do you think Bill Kinash will be able to continue to destroy the sport of cycling in Canada? Is he consciously out to ruin it or is he really so stupid that he cannot learn from his many mistakes and just keeps repeating them? BTW, you would be one of those mistakes. It is hard to believe things could get worse but they will, won?t they?

Tell, us, Lorraine, of your plans to market the sport.

How will you re-introduce road races to Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta? Do not bother in Saskatchewan, as they never had any in the first place. Where's the Canada Cup Series? Has it collapsed again? How will you revive it? Do the overall points winners still receiving no prizes for their efforts? Are you really counting on BMX to fix things!!!! Will the UCI continue to step all over the country? How will you attract coaches? You lost three in the last year, right? Or was it more? Do you even know?

Let us know what you plan to do, Lorraine, we are all anxious to hear.



Best regards,



Ed A.

Fausto Coppied

Wow, three weeks and nothing from Van De Wille....

Come on Paddy, we all know you are reading. Hell, you're reading BCVOICE for that matter. Do you think I should run for Mayor as soem people are asking?

Come tell us what great hires the CCA made. Tell us of the success of Kim Sebrango.

Tell us how Lorraine Lafreniere is going to save the sport she knows nothing about....

29-03.-2007, 09:48 AM Re: Sebrango cycling lessons
Where's Patrick Van de Wille ?

Come on the forum, Patrick, and tell me everything I have been saying was wrong!

Come tell us what a great job Bill Kinash has done.

Come and tell us what a great job Steve Lacelle did. Ooops, Lacelle is gone.

Come tell us how Michael Adams has set the finances straight. Ooops, he's gone and the CCA lost a million bucks.

Come and tell us about all those system and procedures that were to set things right.

Come and tell us that Kim Sebrango was the right woman for the job. Ooops, she's gone, too.

Come and ask Florence Bourg to write us a press release. Ooops, she's gone.

How long do you think creampuff Lorriane Lafreniere will last before she bails?

I had given her 18 months. It has been five. I don't think she will make it to August.

Let's hope she doesn't quit before June and the national championships.

Poor, poor Brett Stewart.....but on the other hand, he has just sat there and watch this all happen without lifting a finger. He's now part of the problem. Lister Farrar, too, for that matter.

Fausto Coppied

Subject: Another cycling gaffe



The Canadian Cycling Association is a farce. The organization is now a pathetic shambles.



This guy below posting on www.canadiancyclist.com is correct.



Try using the link they provide for the Road National, their most important event, it doesn’t work.



Who to blame for this?



This guy, he is the face of shame of Canadian cycling


:Bill Kinash of Regina, buffoon, former CCA President and current Board Member-at-Large.



Leave the sport Kinash, you have ruined it. Let us rebuild if it is still possible after you’re five years of destruction.

Fausto Coppied

Poke it to see if it is dead



Somebody better go check to see if there is any life at the Canadian Cycling Association offices in Ottawa. Go poke them to see if they are alive.



In one month there has been one post on their web site, a reminder to sign up for track nationals.



That’s it.



No news.



No results.



No events.



No press releases.



No others signs of activity whatsoever.



Here we are into May, well past the opening of the season, and we get nothing from the CCA and Lorraine Lafreniere. This woman is supposed to a public/media relations person and we have heard NOTHING.





What is your plan, Lorraine?



How are you digging the CCA out of its immense hole?



Is there anything happening at all that riders, coaches, the media and the general public should be aware of?



How much of a mess are you making?



What a monumental mess Bill Kinash and now Pierre Blanchard have created.



What a huge mistake hiring you, Lorraine, again another leader for the sport of cycling with no cycling experience.



Quit Lorraine and take Kinash with you. You are in way over your head.



Or better yet, stick around so you can be the object of ridicule.

Fausto Coppied

How pathetically lame is this, the Canadian Cycling Association, rather than managing gold medal winning athletes and international events or even offering race results and athlete profiles is giving up tips on how to ride our bike on the road!!!!



What an embarrassment.



This is what Bill Kinash and Lorraine Lafrenière have reduced cycling to in Canada.



This is what you get when you hire somebody without any cycling experience whatsoever, without any competitive experience at all, without any event organization experience. You get this fluff which is about all a PR person like Lafrenière can cough up.



Lame.



Sad.



Disgrace!



How long before this stops?



Take back you sport.







05.03.07 - Cycling for all – A series of 10 CAN-BIKE cycling tips is launched

May 1, 2007 (Ottawa, ON) – The Canadian Cycling Association (CCA) is pleased to launch a series of ten cycling tips aiming at promoting the CAN-BIKE program across Canada at the beginning the 2007 cycling season.

CAN-BIKE TIP #1

Lane position on any urban street. Practically speaking…

Highway Traffic Acts across Canada tell cyclists to ride as far to the right as is practical. Those words are hard to interpret by the road using public. Some motorists feel cyclists should not be in the line of traffic and some cyclists interpret the law as meaning to ride on the sidewalk – but sidewalk cycling is illegal in most parts of Canada.

What it should mean is to ride far enough out from the curb that you can maintain a straight line and avoid debris, potholes and service covers. Drivers must leave a safety cushion space between their car and the cyclist so there is no chance of collision. This safety cushion is for the cyclist to manoeuvre (this is French, BTW, not English) in while cycling through traffic.

Cyclists are part of traffic and have all the rights and responsibilities that motorists have. Cyclists need room to manoeuvre in traffic and motorists need to provide that room by not crowding cyclists and compromising their safety. When motorists and cyclists are considerate of the space each type of user requires on the roadway, conflict is reduced and everyone is much safer.

ABOUT CAN-BIKE
The CAN-BIKE safe cycling skills program is the standard for bicycle education across Canada. CAN-BIKE Courses teach riding skills, traffic analysis skills, and collision avoidance techniques. They also provide the basics on safe equipment, and a basic bike inspection. Regardless of your experience, CAN-BIKE will make your cycling more effective, and give you a greater sense of confidence and control in traffic. Visit http://www.canbike.net/cca_pages/

With generous support of Transport Canada’s Moving on Sustainable Transportation program.



http://www.canadian-cycling.com/cca/media/news/news_050307a.shtml

Fausto Coppied

More proof:

Montreal-Boston Race Cancelled

Another supposed step forward in Canadian Cycling has fallen on its ass. Since I directed a race for Manibal in 1999 (Women’s Road World Cup) which started his franchise, salvaging it from an early grave, I can tell you Manibal probably went ahead with this knowing he did not have his financing in place, hoping it would come through. Also, much of Mr. Manibal’s support comes from the Parti Quebecois separatists and they are having some difficulties at the moment.


Has there been a Canadian report on this? In a real news source, not just Canadian Cyclist whic mentioned it once?

Tell me how things are going so well in cycling in Canda? Do you think the CCA helped in anyway to make this event happen? Of course not. The Director General, Lorriane Lafreniere came from a coaching association and prior to that media relations. SHE HAS NEVER ORGANIZED AN EVENT. HOW CAN SHE PROVIDE ASSISTANCE?

Officials hit the brakes on bike race


By PATRICK MEIGHAN and STEVE BODNAR, Telegraph Staff
pmeighan@nashuatelegraph.com, sbodnar@nashuatelegraph.com

Published: Thursday, May. 10, 2007

NASHUA – A professional, Tour de France-caliber bicycle race that was to begin in Montreal, make a stop in Nashua and finish in Boston has been postponed for a year, race officials announced Wednesday.

Mayor Bernie Streeter blamed the postponement on disinterest on the part of the city of Boston, where the race was to conclude.

“This announcement is disappointing to say the least,” Streeter said in a written statement released Wednesday.

“As mayor, I am personally offended by the city of Boston’s lack of interest and support. I know our state officials who have worked long and hard on this event also are crushed with this decision,” Streeter said.

Events that the city of Nashua had been planning around the Aug. 11 event will continue as scheduled, city officials said.

Bike race organizers said they scrapped this year’s race because of the difficulty coordinating the race with various U.S. and Canadian governments, according to a statement issued Wednesday afternoon from the Montreal-Boston Tour headquarters in Quebec.

However, race organizers made no specific mention of Boston’s lack of interest in the race as the cause of the postponement.

Putting the race together required organizing officials in Quebec, as well as Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, which proved too much in such a short amount of time, according to race officials.

“We want to thank all our partners, who did not hesitate to give their time and support to this project,” Daniel Manibal, president and executive director of the tour, said in a written statement.

“They understand the importance of putting it off until 2008. They have already accomplished an amazing feat, and we want to assure them of our determination to make the Montreal-Boston Tour a reality, Manibal said.

Back home, some were let down by the news but could understand the need for a delay.

Keith Dobbins, a sales associate at Goodale’s Bike Shop in Nashua, said he was “extremely disappointed” when he learned of the postponement of the race, but agreed that the extra time would help provide a better event.

“It will give better chance for more people to get out there and realize cycling is fun, safe, healthy and a good investment,” Dobbins said in a telephone interview Wednesday evening.

Goodale’s had sponsored some of the bicycling events to be held in the city to coincide with the race.

Bob Hall, owner of Souhegan Cycleworks in Milford, was also looking forward to seeing the Montreal-Boston Tour this summer, until he heard the plans went flat.

Hall knows how difficult it is to put together an elaborate cycling race. In September, he helped organize a cyclo-cross race, where road bikes were used in an off-road competition.

“There’s lots of organizing for a one-day event in a single town, never mind an eight-day event in two countries with people from around the world getting involved,” he said from his Milford store Wednesday night.

Besides for community members, Gov. John Lynch, and his wife, Dr. Susan Lynch, were also big supporters of the race. In a statement released through his press spokesman, Lynch said he and his wife will continue to support bringing the international race through the state.

The second to last leg of the race was to end in Nashua. The final leg was to leave the city and end in Boston. City officials had expected the event, part of the pro bicycle racing tour, to bring thousands of spectators to downtown.

“The international bike race would have been a wonderful opportunity for our city to shine once again. The crowd expected for that day in our city would have, in all likelihood, exceeded the Olympic Torch run down our Main Street in 1996,” Streeter said.

Nashua officials said they will still hold the other events planned for the day, including bike races planned at Holman Stadium sponsored by Goodale’s, along with SummerFun children’s events at Greeley Park and an Energy Fair sponsored by the city’s Green Team.

City officials have been rounding up sponsors and donations to pay for the events and hadn’t planned on using tax dollars to cover any of the costs.

Hall, at Souhegan Cycleworks, said he understands how the postponement of the race can be disheartening, but doesn’t think the feelings will last.

“I think people are probably going to wait. I think any race takes a while to get going,” he said. “I’m pretty sure the cycling community won’t be thrilled that its not happening this year, but they will be patient for the race.”

Patrick Meighan can be reached at 594-6518 or pmeighan@nashuatelegraph.com. Steve Bodnar can be reached at 594-6481 or sbodnar@nashuatelegraph.com

Fausto Coppied

Somebody asked what the CCA had to with the postponement of the Montreal-Boston Race. I exaplained:

OK.

Now I get you.

Allow me to explain.

First, it helps to understand that history with Manibal and the CCA. In the past they detested each other. In fact, Manibal did not even want to see the CCA at his events. I told him he had no choice. That was due to Pierre Hutsebaut and other things.

I'm not sure how Manibal is dealing with the current CCA. Since they know nothing about cycling, he probably doesn’t have much of a problem with them.

Had this Montreal-Boston event been held it would have been THE biggest in the sport in Canada.

As such the CCA SHOULD HAVE HAD A VESTED INTEREST IN SEEING THIS THROUGH. THE CCA SHOULD HAVE BEEN FACILITING THINGS FOR MANIBAL ESPECIALLY AT THE NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL LEVEL. THE CCA IS IN OTTAWA AFTER ALL.

For such an event, like at the 2003 Road Worlds the CCA should have been in contact with government representatives from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), Canadina Heritage - International Affairs Branch, (of which Sport Canda and therefore the CCA are part of), Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, etc.


THIS IS WHAT THE CCA SHOULD BE DOING, NOT TELLING US ABOUT FRIGGIN’ BELLS!!!!

As I told the Board of Direcotrs when I applied to run the CCA, the CCA should have a mandate to ensure that EACH PROVICNE HAS AT LEAST ONE NATIONAL IF NOT AN INTERNATIONAL SANCTION EVENT IN EVERY DISCIPLINE (that means road, track, mtb & now BMX). If the provinces are unable to do this on their own the CCA Competition Coordinator should be assisting them.

That’s what the CCA should be doing.


But the current and past management at the CCA couldn’t find their asses with both hands.

Lorraine Lafreniere is a talking head, a PR person who issued the statements she was told to issue. She has never organized and event, she only talks about them.

The CCA had another golden opportuity to hold a major international event and they blew it.

I hope this explains things to you.

Of course, if for you the big picture remains bells, then you probably won’t get this. You, like the CCA and most of its Board, are awash in mediocrity.

Fausto Coppied

Do you think the Canadian Cycling Association is somewhat overwhelmed?

Their web site “Events calendar” on their home page lists three events: May 2, May 13 and May19-20.

Here we are in the peak of the season, most of June gone by and the national governing body of the sport cannot even manage to list its own events.

If the CCA cannot be bothered to update its own calendar how does it expect anybody else to take interest?

Instead we get asinine bike “tips” that don’t apply or are meaningless to everyone holding a racing license, the very clientele of the CCA.

What’s a matter, Lorraine? Can’t you keep up the pace? Did you think you were getting into a cushy PR job where you wouldn’t have to do anything for three-quarters of the day? I’ll bet you spend all your free time surfing the web for other jobs, huh!

I had told you to quit before you looked foolish. I guess it is too late for that….

Keep up the poor job.

What will you be cutting next? Who will be fired when you realize that revenues are dropping some more?

Bill Kinash’s mission of killing the sport nation-wide is almost complete.

Fausto Coppied

And you think the CCA doesn't read my posts or email????


A day after I posted this below pointing out their web site was more than a month behind in its calendar, they update the calendar.


Good for you, Lorraine. When I tell you to jump I want you to ask how high and how often.....

So when are you leaving? How foolish do you want to look?

Fausto Coppied

You think it can't get worse and then this:

Fausto Coppied

Australia 6, Canada ZERO!


Sitting here in New York watching the 2007 Tour de France on the Versus cable television channel is proving to be a bittersweet experience.



The TV coverage is excellent, three or four hours a day, first live and then taped replayed at mid-day and in the evening. Some of the stages are shown without any ads for the last hour.



No more scenic fluff spot or unnecessary graphic, just racing, like in Europe.



How has the TV coverage been back in Canada? Probably not so good, huh? Can you imagine what it must have been like to read The Toronto Star back when Ernest Hemmingway was covering the Tour de France for them as a correspondent!



It becomes bittersweet because one of the major sponsors of the show is Cérvelo, the bike manufacturer doing so well in the pro peloton formerly of Quebec, now of Ontario. Cérvelo is a hug success story that most Canadians have probably never heard of.



Today during Stage 8 two or three on six Australians were either forced to quit or didn’t make the time gap. That still gives the Australians three or four more guys in the race than Canada.



How sad for Canadian cycling that Australia can enter six guys in the Tour de France and Canada does not have one rider in the event. They have not had a rider for years. In fact, somebody correct me if I’m wrong, but in all of Canadian cycling history we have had only three riders compete in the Tour de France, two in Yellow, Alex Stieda, Steve Bauer and Gord Fraser. Geoff Brown of Ottawa was in it for years as a mechanic.



How can Australia field so many riders and Canada so few?



I’ll tell you how, because Australia spends far more than Canada does, both from their government and from the private sector and Australia has people in place who know what they are doing.



The Canadian Cycling Association and its past President and current Board Member-at- Large, Bill Kinash are to blame. Canada has people like Lorraine Lafrenière running their cycling program who never saw a bike race before taking over the sport.



How stupid is that?



How does this happen.



What will we do about it?



Prepare to be very disappointed in China for the 2008 Olympics.

kclw

Actually the TV coverage in Canada is exactly the same as what you describe.

It has been that way for the past 7 years.

Fausto Coppied

The CCA loses another position.

Soon Lorraine Lafreniere will sit there alone in Ottawa with noblody left to tell her what' s going one.

Good work, Lorraine.

How are those new sponsors coming along?

Any big plans for CanBike tips next year!!!!




Kris Westwood gone...
Geez, who is going to write the CCA bullshit now?

Has Lorriane Lafreniere had time to learn how to do that?

At least she is still there and she will sure be a big help to High Performance!

Maybe somebosy can explain this to me, "The CCA announced today the decision to remove the position of High Performance Director as part of a realignment of the High Performance sector prior to Beijing."
http://www.canadian-cycling.com/cca..._director.shtml

So you are preparing for the Olympics next year and you ELIMINATE the position of High Performance Directors???? WTF does that mean??????

Are we now going to get a Director of Mediocrity? Oh, no, we already have plenty of those don't we....

And so you were warned and you continue to ignore and deny the obvious.

The legacy of Bill Kinash contines. He has just about driven Canadian Cycling completely into the ground.

Fausto Coppied

Do we need more proof Bill Kinash and his pretty flunkie Lorraine Lafreniere have ruined the sport of cycling in Canada???

OK

How about Canada's dismal performance at the Mountain Bike World Championships. No medals for Canada. Get ready, that will be result in Beijing as well

Good thing Lafreniere fired the High Performance Director Kris Westwood, he wasn't needed any more there is no High Performance at the CCA.

As the performance declines so will Sport Canada funding the CCA's only funding. Corporate sponsorship is non-existant thanks to former President and Board Member-at-large Bill Kinash hiring only people who know nothing about the sport like Lafreniere, and Steve Lacelle before her and Kim Sebrango. Great philosophy,"hire only people with no experience in the sport to run the sport.

how long can this continue before the sports media, the riders, the organanzers, the coaches, the teams, the industry DEMAND a change?:




09.08.07 - Mountain bike – world championships - Three Canadians in the top-15

Montreal, September 8, 2007 – Three Canadian riders cracked the top-15 in the women’s cross country race on Saturday at the world mountain bike championships being held at Fort Williams, Scotland.

Quebec’s Marie-Hélène Prémont posted the best result finishing fourth while Catherine Pendrel and Kiara Bisaro, both of B.C., were sixth and 11th respectively.

Irina Kalentieva of Russia won the gold medal completing the four-lap 34.2 kilometre race in one hour and 44 minutes and 08 seconds. Sabine Spitz of Germany was second, 39 seconds behind the winner, and Jingjing Wang of China third 1:42. back.

Prémont, the bronze medallist at last year’s worlds, was 3:16 behind the Russian. Pendrel and Bisaro were respectively 4:11 and 6:23 from the winning time.

‘’It’s my best ever performance at the world championships,’’ said Pendrel, a Kamloops resident. ‘’My goal was a top-10 finish but I was confident I could make the top-five. I was fourth from the middle of the second lap to the start of the fourth lap.’’

Pendrel experienced leg pains on that final lap which dropped her in the standings. She has now competed at four worlds and was 32nd last year.

‘’I’m very pleased with what I’ve accomplished. Fourth would have been great but sixth is good. I’m confident now I can finish in the top-five at the World Cup final next weekend.’’

Canadian men struggle

In the men’s race, Seamus McGrath of Duncan, B.C., was the top Canadian placing 31st. Geoff Kabush and Ricky Federau, also both from B.C., were 50th and 62nd respectively.

Julien Absalon of France successfully defended his world title fending off a charging Ralph Naef of Switzerland. Absalon won by 25 seconds over Naef with Florian Vogel of Switzerland third 54 seconds back.

McGrath was 6:42 behind the winner in the six-lap 51.3 kilometre race.

‘’I’m having an average season. I’ve done better than that. I neared the top-eight at the last Olympics. I had high hopes,’’ said McGrath, ninth in Athens. ‘’My result today is a reflection of my season. I’m now going to focus on next season to be ready for the Beijing Games.’’

‘’I know I can be in the top-10. But based on my results this year I was aiming for a top-15,’’ said McGrath.

McGrath wasn’t able to reach peak condition this season. ‘’I was very ill in March and April. I’m still not fully recovered.’’

Kabush concluded a nightmare week. He suffered a cut on his arm last week in training which required 25 stitches. Then his trip to Scotland was delayed a day when the airplane was damaged due to a fire. Once he landed in Glasgow, the road to Fort Williams was closed and he was forced to make a lengthy detour and only arrived late that night. To make matters worst, the airline lost his training bike and he was forced to borrow one.

With all his bad luck, it seemed a miracle that he completed the first lap in 25th spot.