My 1998 season
By : Evelyne Doré

I go to Granby where I will take part in my first race, the Regional Finals. There are not a lot of entries, so this is the perfect opportunity to get a taste of bike racing. I only got my bike two weeks ago.

The event itself is a 7 km race, but there is a check point at 12 km! That I did not expect! It rains, and it is cold, but I finish the race determined to start the year as fast as possible.

Regional Finals - Laurentides Region: Laval, June 1998. Type: Criterium.

Type of event: Criterium. I am the only competitor from the Laurentides Region, so already I am evidently a Gold medalist! Still, I finish the race in 2nd place out of 5 total competitors.

Alma: 3rd race of the 1998 Espoirs Cup.

I am delighted to be taking part in my first Espoir Cup event. This is exciting! What is more, we are racing in the same venue as the 1999 Quebec Games in which I am hoping to competing.

Stage 1: Hébertville Road Race. The race course is difficult and mountainous. The famous "Velcro Climb" awaits us. Also there is a small wooden bridge which must be crossed and it is raining. It will be necessary to be very careful. On the bridge, the leaders fall. This enables me to finish together with my friend Claudie in 5th and 6th positions.

Stage 2: Time Trial (with a climb). I finish in 6th place.

Stage 3: Stage 3: Criterium. A superb race course which goes up and down climbs and descents, and around bends first one way then another. A very trying course. I finish in 8th place

Laval: 4th race of the 1998 Espoirs Cup.

It is very hot and the course is comparatively flat. A headwind refreshes us, but it makes the task more difficult. I finish in 9th place overall.

Amos: 1998 Espoir Cup Finals.

For this event there are 4 stages. The first stage is a criterium held on the same course used by the Juniors in the Grand Tour de l'Abitibi. Stage 2 is a road race which begins in La Ferme, under the big trees, and ends in the central part of the town. Our mood is fantastic since the race takes place at the same time as the famous Tour de l'Abitibi. Stage 3 is a time trial (CLM). This will be quite an experience: we will start at the top of a small inclined platform!

Here is where I made an acquaintance which would transform my racing experience for the rest of this year: a girl from New Brunswick is here for the race. When her parents heard my name and the city where I am from, they came looking for me in order to find out if we were related

Oh, yes! Julie Bélanger is my cousin, her mother being a cousin of my father. I found out that Julie is a native of Sherbrooke and that her parents are from the Mount Laurier region! Julie is a "minime" category rider by age, but she is racing in the "cadet" category and has already won a time trial medal.

Stage 4 is a criterium. It starts at 8 o'clock in the morning. I am tired, but this is the last race of the year, and I want to do as well as possible. I finish in 8th place overall.