The Cycling BC Podcast

Cycling BC’s Provincial Head Coach, Joel Harwood, joins us on the podcast to talk about his new role and vision for building community and culture around cycling in BC.

Joel has been coaching mountain biking for close to 20 years in the Sea to Sky corridor and has been part of Cycling BC’s High-Performance program as a regional coach for mountain bike since 2017. Joel has a Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology and Exercise Science from McMaster University, a Bachelor of Education and Teaching from Western University, and most recently completed a Master’s degree in Education from Simon Fraser University in 2021. Joel has been an educator in the Squamish school district for over 15 years teaching science, physical health & education, and outdoor leadership.

Enjoy the episode.

Junior BC Provincial Road Race Champion, Luke Hubner, joins us on the podcast to talk about his big wins on the road and on the track in 2021, going to road nationals, and riding for team Red Truck in 2022. We also delve into his other passions off the bike and explore his artsy side as we talk photography, film and fashion. 

Cycling BC High Performance athlete and 2021 U23 Women's Canadian National Champion in Cross-country Mountain Bike (XC), Emilly Johnston, joins us on the podcast to talk about her cycling journey and shares her big news about signing with the Norco Factory Team for 2022.

In this episode, we had the honour of speaking with professional cyclist, Olympian, and Canadian National Champion, Alison Jackson. Alison discusses the experiences she's had from her incredible season of racing and how it's helping prepare and drive her for the future. Growing up on a farm in rural Alberta, Alison recalls her early days doing all other sports but cycling and how she didn’t really start cycling until she got to BC, participating in local races and in Cycling BC’s Future Champions development camps.

She also discusses how believing in herself and pushing through hard experiences helped her receive her first call-up to the Canadian Olympic squad at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Alison is currently racing in the UCI Women’s World Tour with her team LIV Racing and joins us from her home away from home in Girona, Spain.

On the heels of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games, Team Canada Olympic track cyclist, Jay Lamoureux, joins us on the podcast as he reflects on his first Olympic Games experience, the years of hard work leading up to it, and the community support it took to get him there.

When Cory Ostertag and Angela Chang decided to sign up for the BC Epic 1000 they knew it wasn’t going to be easy but did they know it was going to be this hot? In this episode of the Cycling BC podcast, we talk to Cycling BC staffer Cory Ostertag and recent Cycling BC board member-elect, Angela Chang, about their experience riding the BC Epic 1000. The BC Epic 1000 is a gruelling 1,000+ km self-supported ultra-endurance bikepacking race through south-central BC. They did this race all while temperatures in the province soared to record-breaking highs. Listen to their account of how they planned, managed, finished, and survived the BC Epic 1000 under BC’s extreme heat dome.

In this episode, we speak with Eleri Harris, current president of the MUDDBUNNIES, a mountain bike club for women and the 2020 Cycling BC Community Award recipient for Club of the Year. Eleri tells us more about the club, where they ride, what they’re like, and how the Muddbunnies got her to dig deep into her 'courage bucket' to take her riding to the next level. 

Cycling BC’s 2020 Community Award Winner for Adventure Rider of the Year, Sandra Walter, talks to us about her bikepacking adventures and how 2020 reminded her the value of having a plan B and maybe even a plan C when plan A gets thrown off track. With her race schedule sidelined in 2020, she opted to take the summer to explore many parts of the province by bike. She spent 10 days riding from Penticton to Harrison Hot Springs via Lillooet and the infamous Hurley road. She also hit the BC trail headed in the opposite direction riding from the Okanagan to Fernie, BC. In between her bike adventures she taught Cyclo-cross clinics and also founded the Girls Ride Club, a grassroots initiative to get more young women riding mountain bikes.

Burnaby Velodrome Club president, Hans Loeffelholz, talks about the different programs happening at the Burnaby Velodrome this fall. As president of the Burnaby Velodrome Club, Hans is passionate about getting people to the track and helping them discover the thrill of track cycling or helping those already familiar with the track take their cycling to the next level. Hans is an NCCP Community (trained) and an NCCP Comp-Into (certified) coach. Hans is also an active Masters racer and has won multiple BC Provincial Track Championship titles.

In this episode, we sit down with current Cycling BC board member, race and event organizer extraordinaire, Jon Watkin. Jon is responsible for some of BC’s high-calibre events including the Bear Mountain Bike Festival, the Canadian National Cyclocross Championships coming to BC in 2021/2022, and the recent Burnt Bridge Classic gravel race on Vancouver Island. Jon takes us to school in the area of event organizing and also gives us an update on the status and future of the Jordie Lunn Bike Park being built in the City of Langford. Settle in; class is now in session.

In this episode of the Cycling BC podcast, we speak to Canadian Cycling Hall of Famer and recent BC Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2020 inductee, former pro cyclist, and the first North American to put on the maillot jaune (yellow jersey) of the Tour de France, Alex Stieda. Alex talks to us about his induction to the BC Sports Hall of Fame, his early days cycling in BC, the Tour de France today, and what riders young and old can do to maximize their cycling experience.

In this episode of the Cycling BC podcast, we catch up with Richard Wooles and Riley Pickrell from the UCI World Cycling Centre in Aigle, Switzerland. Richard Wooles is a Road & Track cycling coach who has coached and continues to coach, many Canadian and BC riders at every level. Richard has been the recipient of numerous coaching awards including Sport BC's Coach of the Year and has served as the National Track Cycling Coach for Cycling Canada, leading the Women’s Team Pursuit squad to a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics in London. Richard is also the owner of Peak + Valley Coaching and for the past year and a half, Richard has been leading the Road cycling program at the UCI World Cycling Centre in Switzerland. Riley Pickrell has won multiple provincial and national championships in Road and Track, competed in Road World Championships in 2019 and was Cycling BC’s 2019 Junior Sportsperson of the Year. 

Richard and Riley bring us up to speed on their current situation, how they’ve been staying motivated in the face of adversity, and give us to a tour of the UCI World Cycling Centre, a high-level training and education facility at the UCI's headquarters in Aigle, Switzerland.

Former Canadian National Criterium Champion and acclaimed Head of Coach Development for Cycling BC, Ben Chaddock, takes us back to his early days racing on the collegiate cycling circuit at Whitman College, pulls us through his experience in the pro peloton, and shares his vision for the future of cycling coaching in BC. 

In this episode, we get to know Solveig Stoebe, an independent graphic designer, competitive bike racer, world traveller, and outdoor adventurer. Solveig currently lives in Vancouver and in her short time in Canada, Solveig has become a familiar face on the cycling scene through her involvement as a cycling guide, spin instructor, youth coach, club rider, racer, and women’s winner of the 2017 RBC GranFondo Whistler. It’s been almost one year since Solveig embarked on her longest ride yet, a cross-Canada bike ride from Vancouver to Montreal and we took this opportunity to learn more about Solveig's adventure.

InstaFund La Prima Racing, a women’s UCI Continental Professional Cycling team based in Vancouver discuss their new book ‘First Race’ and share their advice for women looking to get into bike racing. Team Director, Laura Brown, and team co-founder and active racer, Isabella Bertold, talk us through the team's races missed this season due to the Covid-19 pandemic and what women new to the sport can expect to learn as they enter their first bike race. This episode is full of useful tips to help mitigate the anxieties and intimidation that many first-time racers and women face when they get into the world of bike racing. InstaFund La Prima's book 'First Race' is available in print or PDF format and can be ordered through their website at laprimaracing.com