Just hours after Kyle Murphy crossed the finish line in Knoxville, Pier-André Coté made it a day to remember for Human Powered Health by powering to Canadian Pro Road race victory in Edmonton and pulling on the maple leaf jersey which had a particularly poignant meaning.
“It is incredible. It is so hard to put this feeling into words,” Coté said afterwards. “I worked really hard for that one and I had targeted it a while ago.”
On a remarkable afternoon for the team, the 25-year-old won the bike race by bridging a gap to the early breakaway with four laps to race, before following a move with 500 meters to go and then outsprinting compatriot Guillaume Boivin (Israel – Premier Tech) in the two-up sprint for the line.
The result is particularly important to Coté and his family as he explained afterwards.
“My mom has been fighting cancer for a while now, and when things got worst and I had to come back home early around a month ago,” the newly minted 2022 champion said. “I immediately set my mind on this race to try and win it for her. It makes it even more special, on top of the fact that it was truly on my bucket list of things I wanted to achieve in my cycling career,” he added.
The team had smaller operations in Edmonton compared to their Southern neighbors but in Coté, Adam de Vos, Nickolas Zukowsky and team director Eric Wohlberg, there was a plethora of tactical firepowers to deploy.
“Adam and Zuke were a big part of this victory,” Coté said. “The fight for the break took a while and all the favorites were involved. By following and cancelling a lot of dangerous moves, Adam and Zuke took a lot of weight off my shoulders. I could never have done it alone,” he concluded.
Commenting on ‘Super Sunday’, Coté concluded, “I’m thrilled! I just hope I get to do a race with Kyle soon so we can rock these emblematic jerseys in Europe.”
Over to you Pactimo.
Photos from Michael Bowley
Canadian Pro Road National Championships Results
1 COTÉ Pier-André – Human Powered Health 3:38:50
2 BOIVIN Guillaume – Israel – Premier Tech ”
3 PERRY Benjamin – WiV SunGod 0:09
4 MILES Carson – Premier Tech U23 Cycling Project 0:27
5 BURTNIK Evan – X Speed United Continental 0:31
6 ZUKOWSKY Nickolas – Human Powered Health ”
7 RIVARD Nicolas – Premier Tech U23 Cycling Project ”
8 FOLEY Michael – Toronto Hustle ”
9 DAL-CIN Matteo – Toronto Hustle ”
10 PICKRELL Riley – Israel Cycling Academy ”
