2014 resume - Silber Pro Cycling (Canada)

After a long winter spent at home, I first resume racing in April with the classical Tour of Battenkill where I showed good form finishing in 6th. We then went on with preparation for the Tour of the Gila. The form was ramping up nicely, but on the first stage, I was caught in a massive crash along with 70 other riders that left me with a small bone fracture. Back home, I resume training quickly enough and then started racing again with a provincial stage race. The time off showed to be beneficial and the form was apparently very good allowing me to win the 3 day stage race with only 2 teammates. I then head out to Canadian UCI tours Saguenay and Beauce where I played a support role for the designated sprinter and GC riders. The form was good throughout these two UCI race. Unfortunately, the bad weather in Beauce combined with fatigue leave me with a bad bronchitis infection. Taking as much rest as possible, I started to feel a little better, but my performances at the national championships were definitely not to my expected level, my body not able to produce the same power as weeks before.

Set to race the BC Superweek, I had to start an antibiotic treatment to eliminate the infection. After that, my focus was recovering from illness and preparation for the Tour of Alberta.  I decided to train at altitude in Guatemala and showed up in excellent form at the Tour. However, my body was apparently not fully recovered and I had to start another antibiotic treatment for a sinus infection this time. After some time off, I raced again at the Tobago Cycling Classic, where I took the sprint competition while contributing to the overall win of teammate Winston David. Then, I was invited to join a strong Mexican team to compete at the 54th Vuelta a Guatemala. The form was excellent, but once again, I was subject to another sinus infection after the first day. Anyway, I was mentally strong and came close to win the stage 3 and was a very important element of the team throughout the 8 days where two of my teammates finished 2nd and 4th on the general classification!

Photo: Jean-Michel Lachance during the pursuit at Copa Pista Guatemala - © credit photo  -  Federacion Guatemalteca de ciclismo