Free Cyclopedia by William Fotheringham Page A

dominant sport. Nevertheless, for much of cycling’s history, it was arguably more robust in many parts of Canada, particularly Quebec, than it was in the United States.
    TRACK in particular dominated cycling’s early history in Canada. The biggest draw at SIX-DAY races was William Peden. Known as Torchy for his red hair, Peden won 38 six-days between 1929 and 1948, including 10 in 1932 alone.
    Like many leading Canadian riders, Peden’s bikes came from the Canadian Cycle and Motor Co., or CCM as it was better known. Canada’s five largest bicycle makers merged operations to form CCM in 1899 when the initial bicycle boom waned. Although the company struggled initially, high import tariffs eventually enabled it to dominate the Canadian market. In 1950, for example, 130,413 bicycles were made in Canada, mostly by CCM, while just 29,354 bicycles were imported.
    After World War II, time trialling and road racing developed in many parts of Canada largely thanks to a wave of immigrants from Britain and Italy. But cycling never regained the mass popularity it enjoyed during the height of the six-day era.
    As is often the case with Canadian matters, the predominately French-speaking province of Quebec remained an exception. Racing there experienced much less of a decline between the end of the war and the second great bicycle boom of the 1970s. From the mid-1950s through the 1960s, Yvon Guillou organized the Tour du Saint Laurent, a stage race that attracted a variety of European amateur teams. It was briefly succeeded by a pro stage race, the Tour de la Nouvelle France, in the 1970s, which again featured European teams and prominent riders.
    Since the 1980s, Serge Arsenault has continued to bring
pro racing to Quebec primarily with one-day races on a taxing circuit in downtown Montreal, a city that hosted the world championships in 1899 and 1974.
    Perhaps surprisingly, however, the best known Canadian cyclists have not been from Quebec. Both STEVE BAUER, Canada’s most successful road rider, and Gord Singleton, the first Canadian world champion (KEIRIN, 1982), come from near Niagara Falls. Bauer was initially coached by Colin Hearth, who also guided Singleton on the track.
    Jocelyn Lovell was as irascible as he was successful, winning four gold medals in track events at the COMMONWEALTH GAMES in the 1970s. During a training ride in 1983, however, he was hit by a truck; the accident left him a quadriplegic.
    Canadians have also been prominent in MOUNTAIN BIKING, most notably British Columbia’s Alison Sydor, a three-time world champion in cross country and the winner of 17 World Cup races.
    Clara Hughes found cycling fame in an unusual, and very Canadian, way. After winning, among many other titles, bronze medals in the road race and time trial at the 1996 Olympics, she switched back to speed skating, her first sport. She subsequently won gold, silver, and bronze Olympic medals on ice, making her the first Canadian to win medals at both the summer and winter games.

    CAPE TOWN Site of the biggest competitive bike ride in the world: the Argus Pick’n’Pay Tour, which has about 40,000 participants. It usually takes place on the second Saturday in March and covers a 109-kilometer course starting and finishing in Cape Town, South Africa. Celebrity participants have included MIGUEL INDURAIN, GREG LEMOND, the Rugby World Cup-winning Springbok captain François
Pienaar, and EDDY MERCKX. The course record was set by South African Robbie Hunter in 2008 with 2 hours 27 minutes.
    The Cape Argus was the first event outside Europe to be part of the UCI’s Golden Bike series (see CYCLOSPORTIVES to read about the others). It is the centerpiece of a week of cycle events on the Cape including a mountain-bike challenge, a five-day professional stage race, and children’s events.
    The event has its roots in late 1978 when cycle activists staged a mass ride as part of a campaign for cycle paths in Cape Town. By