From May 5 to 9, the Quebec Team held its first tests of the season. After several months of training, and with the postponement of the first competitions in Quebec, this was an ideal opportunity for the athletes to assess their level of fitness. On the program: a 750-meter swim, an 8-kilometer road bike time trial and a 3000-meter track race. Some forty athletes from the Quebec Development, Junior and Elite teams took part in the various events.

Swimming and running distances are both part of the performance indicators retained by Triathlon Québec and Triathlon Canada in certain selection policies. To comply with health regulations, the tests were held at two separate locations, in Quebec City and Montreal. Athletes were divided into several sub-groups and started individually.

Swimming

Obviously, the closure of swimming pools in some regions meant that not all athletes were able to compete in this event. Reduced access to facilities and coaches also had an impact on all athletes. Despite this, excellent performances were achieved as six men swam under 8min30 (1’08 “”/100m) and four women under 9min30 (1’14 “”/100m). The reigning provincial champion in the U15 category, Olivier Desjardins of Club Hippocampe, was the fastest in 07’58 “. On the women’s side, Emy Legault clocked 09’02”. The Tri-o-Lacs athlete is off to Europe this week for a series of races on the World Triathlon circuit, including two World Cups.

Bike

In both Quebec City and Montreal, athletes had to complete two four-kilometer loops on very similar, flat courses offering little technical difficulty, but significant wind exposure. This distance was chosen because it is close to that found in the mixed team relay. In addition, relay runners are often required to work individually or with a limited number of athletes. Being able to develop high power for a twelve-minute effort in an aerodynamic position therefore becomes very important. In this event, Michaël Simard(Memphrémagog) and Clara Normand(Tri-o-Lacs) were the fastest, with respective averages of 44.5 and 37.8 km/h for 396 and 265 watts of power.

Running

The 3,000-meter event was run on 400-meter outdoor tracks to ensure maximum standardization, and the athletes benefited from mild weather conditions. With individual starts every ten seconds, each runner had to concentrate on his or her own pace and aim for consistency over the seven and a half laps. Charles Paquet(Rouge et Or de l’Université Laval) impressed with a personal best of 8’13” (2’44/km), who will be taking part in a World Cup in Italy in two weeks’ time. In the women’s category, Kamille Larocque also set a personal best of 10’19” (3’26/km).

May news for Team Québec athletes

On the Elite side, Amélie Kretz will be the first in action, starting Friday evening at the WTCS in Yokohama, Japan. Before that, you can catch up with her in an interview on our Facebook page this Thursday at 7.30pm. Her race will be broadcast live on TriathlonLive on Friday at 9pm. She, Emy Legault and Alexis Lepage will then be at the start of the World Cup in Lisbon. The two athletes should also be lined up together for the relay.
As previously mentioned, Emy Legault and Charles Paquet will be at the start of the Arzachena World Cup in Italy, as will Jérémie Briand.
On the Junior/U23 side, we are currently working on organizing a camp for the end of May to make up for the postponement of the first competitions and revive the group dynamic.