Canadian women far off the pace

[Fausto Coppied]

The Montreal Women’ s Road World Cup was held June 2. What a disaster for Canadian women’s cycling!



Where Canada used to have three or four women in the top ten and two of them vying for the win, now the best they could offer was a 16th place. After that things descend quickly in an abyss: 25th, 29th, 44th 62nd, 66th, 72nd and a full 20 Canadian women who started the race did not finish. No wonder they want transsexuals to represent the country….



How sad…



This is what has become of Canadian cycling thanks to a lack of leadership at the Canadian Cycling Association. This is what occurs when people who know nothing about the sport are put in charge by fools like former CCA President Bill Kinash.



There is no development.



There is no marketing.



Revenue has fallen from $2.7 million to $1.7 million in a year or two. They have lost $1,000,000!



Yet they continue feeding us this ******** about bike safety, lectures and little kids like all is well.



The cycling press buries it head in the sand.



The mainstream press says nothing at all.

 

[Gregor T.]

The Montreal Women’ s Road World Cup was held June 2. What a disaster for Canadian women’s cycling!



Where Canada used to have three or four women in the top ten and two of them vying for the win, now the best they could offer was a 16th place. After that things descend quickly in an abyss: 25th, 29th, 44th 62nd, 66th, 72nd and a full 20 Canadian women who started the race did not finish. No wonder they want transsexuals to represent the country….



How sad…



This is what has become of Canadian cycling thanks to a lack of leadership at the Canadian Cycling Association. This is what occurs when people who know nothing about the sport are put in charge by fools like former CCA President Bill Kinash.



There is no development.



There is no marketing.



Revenue has fallen from $2.7 million to $1.7 million in a year or two. They have lost $1,000,000!



Yet they continue feeding us this ******** about bike safety, lectures and little kids like all is well.



The cycling press buries it head in the sand.



The mainstream press says nothing at all.

Could someone, anyone other Ed/Fausto please tell me why is Ed/Fausto allowed to chastize a person or the CCA with inappropriate & libellous comments and continuosly hijack this forum?

 

[Fausto Coppied]

If it is true it isn't libel.

Do you have a reading comprehension problem Gregor? This was explained to you earlier.



Are we going to fast for you?

You know what is inappropriate? It is you being so irrelevant.

Tell you what, why don’ t you try suing me.

 

[Gregor T.]

If it is true it isn't libel.

Do you have a reading comprehension problem Gregor? This was explained to you earlier.



Are we going to fast for you?

You know what is inappropriate? It is you being so irrelevant.

Tell you what, why don’ t you try suing me.

Hmmmm, let me see, where should I start. I shall try to make this easy for you to inderstand!

1st, I asked for anyone other than you to explain your problem. It's obvious you can't comprehend!

2nd, yes there are some problems at the CCA, whick is one of the reasons I quit a couple of years back after 12 years of service, yet it is very gratifying to see some dividends with the talent from Vancouver Island on the World MTB stage.

3rd, with your journalistic talent why are you not working for the mainstream press?

4th, demographics are constantly changing as the boomers are the largest consumer group. Here is an example, 15 years ago the city I live in had 7 mens fastball teams and now there are only 3.

5th, do you really think anyone would want to work for or with you with such rancor?

6th, I can comment for myself and therefore do not need a lawyer or have to sue anyone.

 

[Fausto Coppied]

I did work in the mainstream press. In fact, if you go back and look, in 1988 I wrote an article for The Globe and Mail on the Canadian National Road Championships in Beauce, QC. I believe that is still to this day the ONLY such report on the Canadian Road Cycling National Championships EVER to be published in The Globe and Mail.

Of course I wrote about 300 or 400 reports on cycling for The Montreal Gazette and dozens of articles for Pedal. I have written for VeloNews and you can still find that stuff on-line. Go look. Google me and VeloNew it will pop right up.


Oh, BTW, I worked for Associated Press in Washington and used to be on the phone with The White house. Is that mainstream enough for you?
You stated, "yes there are some problems at the CCA".



Some problem?????



I'll say!



Let's begin to enumerate them if we can:

1. They lost $1,000,000 in revenue in a year falling for $2.7 million to $1.7 million a 37 percent loss.

2. Their last Chief Operating Officer quit.

3. The Director General before that was fired.

4. They have had 5 chief executives in six years.

5. Their Financial Administrator quit and has not been replaced.

6. Their marketing Director quit or was fired. She has not been replaced.

7. Three coaches in a year were either fired or quit.

8. Canada has plummeted in all international rankings.

9. There are no new races.

10. There are no new sponsors.

11. All of this took place after we were lied to and told things were in place for growth and finances were sound.

12. The current Director General, Lorraine Lafreniere, like the last Director General, knows absolutely about the sport she is supposed to manage. We cannot even be sure she had ever seen a bike race before running the sport for the country (absolute stupidity in my opinion to hire such a person and the CCA has done it twice in 18 months.)

There are so many more but I'm going home for a ride.


The sport of cycling is swilling around the toilet bowl and about to go down the drain, al due to mismanagement at the top, mainly Bill Kinash and now, it appears, Pierre Blanchard.



"Some problems". I'll say!!!!!!!

 

[Gregor T.]

I did work in the mainstream press. In fact, if you go back and look, in 1988 I wrote an article for The Globe and Mail on the Canadian National Road Championships in Beauce, QC. I believe that is still to this day the ONLY such report on the Canadian Road Cycling National Championships EVER to be published in The Globe and Mail.

Of course I wrote about 300 or 400 reports on cycling for The Montreal Gazette and dozens of articles for Pedal. I have written for VeloNews and you can still find that stuff on-line. Go look. Google me and VeloNew it will pop right up.


Oh, BTW, I worked for Associated Press in Washington and used to be on the phone with The White house. Is that mainstream enough for you?
You stated, "yes there are some problems at the CCA".




Some problem?????



I'll say!



Let's begin to enumerate them if we can:

1. They lost $1,000,000 in revenue in a year falling for $2.7 million to $1.7 million a 37 percent loss.

2. Their last Chief Operating Officer quit.

3. The Director General before that was fired.

4. They have had 5 chief executives in six years.

5. Their Financial Administrator quit and has not been replaced.

6. Their marketing Director quit or was fired. She has not been replaced.

7. Three coaches in a year were either fired or quit.

8. Canada has plummeted in all international rankings.

9. There are no new races.

10. There are no new sponsors.

11. All of this took place after we were lied to and told things were in place for growth and finances were sound.

12. The current Director General, Lorraine Lafreniere, like the last Director General, knows absolutely about the sport she is supposed to manage. We cannot even be sure she had ever seen a bike race before running the sport for the country (absolute stupidity in my opinion to hire such a person and the CCA has done it twice in 18 months.)

There are so many more but I'm going home for a ride.


The sport of cycling is swilling around the toilet bowl and about to go down the drain, al due to mismanagement at the top, mainly Bill Kinash and now, it appears, Pierre Blanchard.



"Some problems". I'll say!!!!!!!

Why are you not in the mainstream press any more or in contact with the White House any more?

You wrote an article back in 1988 for the Globe and Mail, why do continue to blame Bill Kinash or the CCA for nothing since?

Bill Kinash is only one vote on the board of directors, who volunteers his time to it.

Yet you continue to hijack this forum with the same old issues over and over again. I truly recommend you seek some professional help.

 

[Fausto Coppied]

I actually left journalism to go back into cycling. I was still racing at the time.


Why I blame Kinash is simple. He was on the selection committee for every hire since 2003. He selected people with zero cycling experience almost every time.

In 2003 his first year as President he completely lost control of the world road championships the most important cycling event in Canada in the last 30 years. He decidee not to hire a marketing director duirng trhe 2003 Worlds. It was his call, it was not up for a vote. He did not even bother to attend the Canadian National Championships in Hamilton on the worlds course to see how things were progressing. It was total neglect.

He botched firing Hutsebaut, nobody else did.

He ignored Lori Ann Meuzner after her godl medal for two months.

Kinash is such a fool he even told a Canadian Press reporter in an interview that got national coverage that he and the CCA he no plan to market her gold medal! I mean, is the guy brain dead to offer such a stupid comment?

In fact, Kinash mistakes have been so stupid, so obvious and he has repeated them numeorus times I think he may even be out to purposely kill the sport. There is almost no other explanation for the absurdity of his actions.

 

[Gregor T.]

I actually left journalism to go back into cycling. I was still racing at the time.


Why I blame Kinash is simple. He was on the selection committee for every hire since 2003. He selected people with zero cycling experience almost every time.

In 2003 his first year as President he completely lost control of the world road championships the most important cycling event in Canada in the last 30 years. He decidee not to hire a marketing director duirng trhe 2003 Worlds. It was his call, it was not up for a vote. He did not even bother to attend the Canadian National Championships in Hamilton on the worlds course to see how things were progressing. It was total neglect.

He botched firing Hutsebaut, nobody else did.

He ignored Lori Ann Meuzner after her godl medal for two months.

Kinash is such a fool he even told a Canadian Press reporter in an interview that got national coverage that he and the CCA he no plan to market her gold medal! I mean, is the guy brain dead to offer such a stupid comment?

In fact, Kinash mistakes have been so stupid, so obvious and he has repeated them numeorus times I think he may even be out to purposely kill the sport. There is almost no other explanation for the absurdity of his actions.

I have no need to discuss any thing with you any more, and hope things work out for you, good luck.

 

[Fausto Coppied]

I can understand how it must be getting very difficult to defend Bill Kinash given this undeniable neglect and stupidity.

I would discuss it with me either if I were you.

 

[holli]

Is it CCA's fault that new generation of canadian women cyclists are not as strong as the previous generation? I'm just assuming that these current riders are quite new, I don't follow womens cycling. Aren't most of them quite young as well?

I had a conversation about this Canadian cycling thing yesterday. The worst issues I heard were sending U23 national team to Redlands, biased selection criteria for national teams and not having any kind of national racing series. Not having a marketing director is pretty small problem when those responsible of "field work" are doing bad job. Lots of problems come from grasroots though not from CCA president even if the president isn't good either (I don't know him personally nor have I attended CCA meetings so I don't really know).

 

[Fausto Coppied]

.

Holli,

You strike me as being new to the scene so I'm going to cut you a little slack.



You may think not having a Marketing Director is not a big deal. You're wrong.

Leaving that position vacant during the most important event in cycling in Canada in 30 years was a huge mistake. As a result of it the CCA walked away from the $15,000,000 investment in the sport by various governments without one major new sponsor. Later hiring a women with no cycling experience at all to attempt to sell the sport, especially one whose record at Soccer Canada and Skate Canada was dismal at best, was another huge mistake.



Now she has left without brining one new sponsor in 18 months and the CCA cannot afford to hire another.



It all comes down to money. The CCA doesn’t have any and they have no idea where or how to find it.



Three top level coaches left the CCA last year.



Development has been almost non-existent. Some at the CCA think these little kids in the Sprockids program can be considered development. It isn't. Very few of those kids wil ever race at an Elite level.



There are no longer enough races in Canada to properly development young road riders anymore. That's why when we send riders to the US they get their doors blown off. MTB does not make very many good road riders either. Sure, there are a couple and there a road riders who have gone to MTB. But focusing on MTB and expecting to development road riders won't happen.





It is all about leadership and there is none at the CCA.



Lorraine Lafrenière has no cycling background whatsoever and apparently no competition background either.



She has no idea what is reasonable to expect form Elite riders.



The whole thing is a disaster.



It will only get worse until professional road riders take back their sport.



Canada has a wealth of experience but all of it is sitting on the sidelines watching the sport disintegrate and they are not getting involved.



Who can blame them, why would they want to listen to somebody like Lorraine Lafrenière telling them what to do who has no knowledge of the sport?

 

[holli]

I agree with you on many points. That 15 million sounds kind of a big money especially when talking about Canadian cycling or 2003. If I've understood right even big cycling countries can only dream about that kind of money. For example Dutch cycling federations budget is less than 4M€ and they use ~1,5M€ in sports activities.

I agree with you that not having a marketing director when marketing is needed to harvest the ripe fruits is stupid. There seems to be so many problems that there must be many other issues than bad marketing and lack of good leadership. If CCA is really a one man show then that is the main problem.

Some coaches leaving CCA might be a good thing. I heard that some CCA coaches have been the problem as some of them are incompetent and/or biased. I have no idea are the bad apples still with CCA or did they leave.

I was kind of planning to get involved with cycling organizations but maybe I'll stick with racing. I would say that the worst problems come from provinces as many good people just get tired of the **** they need to handle and just decide to walk away leaving the not so good people "take care" of things.