“There’s been no dedicated Canada Cup for road racing in decades – so we decided to do something about it”

This was the idea when the Global Relay Bridge The Gap Fund started the Canadian Cup in 2022. This week BTG released the 2023 Canadian Cup final standings. Despite some hiccups in keeping the standings up to date as the season progressed, it’s exciting to see trends emerging from year to year.

BTG uses the Canadian Cup to help spot up and coming riders, the next potential superstars of Canadian Cycling. The eligible winners in each category are awarded a Canadian Cup Champion’s jersey and a $1,000 BTG athlete grant.

After that it’s fun to have a series and see other trends in Canadian bike racing awesomeness. This year every category had an increase in competitive riders:

  • Overall, 655 athletes are ranked, up 28% from 2022
  • More than 200 Junior riders ranked, with junior women up 21% and men up 40%
  • 246 Women and 409 Men (all ages)

The ratio of juniors and women to total riders ranked remained pretty constant from 2022 to 2023.

With two years of rankings BTG is able to compare the top-10 athletes by category and look at some interesting athlete groups:

The Improvers

Riders who made the biggest rise up in the rankings (within a category) from one season to the next. This year, that’s: Nora Linton, Ethan Powell, Holly Simonson and Carson Miles. Among others

The Dependables

Riders demonstrating top-10 ranking consistency (within a category). Congratulations: Anabelle Thomas, Eloise Camire, Matthew Ney, Alexis Bouchard, Sasha Renaud-Tremblay, Laury Milette, Phil Jacob, Warren Muir and Laurent Gervais.

The Newcomers

Juniors hitting the top-10 in their first year or even U17 riders racing-up in the junior category. The ones to watch are: Addison Frank, Larissa Pedersen, Sidney Swierenga, Alex Volstad, Filipe Duarte, Mik Guilbeault and Jayden McMullen (who also just won junior CX Nats).

The Graduates

The juniors who make an impressive transition to from top-10 juniors in 2022 to top-10 in Elite/U23 standings, 2023. Expect more cool things from: Kiara Lylyk, Felix Hamel and Jerome Gauthier. With cycling’s rush for for young talent, this is an interesting group to track.

And the winners, who will receive a $1,000 BTG athlete grant are:

  • Eloise Camire, Qc, Espoir Laval. Jr wmn
  • Holly Simonson, BC, LA Sweat. Elite wmn
  • Matthew Ney, BC, Red Truck Racing. Jr men
  • Carson Miles, On, Toronto Hustle. Elite men

What? But, Alison Jackson is listed first in the women’s ranking? True, however the grant goes to the first athlete eligible according to BTG’s granting criteria, which is:

  • Be Canadian
  • Be a development rider (ie, not already a pro biker)
  • Be under 25 (men), under 29 (women)
  • Not be a TikTok superstar or Paris Roubaix winner

Here’s what AJ had to say about being first, and not getting the grant:

“I’m happy the grant rolls down to the next best rider. I love coming back to Canada to race and I want to see more young riders come up through the ranks into the pro levels like I did.” (Alison Jackson)

Wait, there’s more. It can be fun to see which provinces are producing athletes and how provincial strength shifts and changes year by year. For example, it was surprising to see Ontario with its massive population not higher up in the rankings in 2022.

In terms of general participation and membership, Ontario struggled the most of any province during the pandemic. Lots of factors likely played into both a short term dip, and resurgence. BTG has made some interesting special project investments in Ontario. Most notable being its third successive year supporting Kevin Simm’s junior initiatives – Toronto Hustle, now Ignite.

It’s great to see Ontario challenging Quebec again. Quebec lost 3,564 points in 2023, with most of those going to up and coming Ontario riders. Still, Quebec retains its top spot, including leads in both junior divisions.

And hello Alberta, seem to be building a wave of current and emerging women riders!

Okay, provincial fun aside, it does appear that the Canada Games had a big effect on 2022 rankings and as we move into 2024 and 2025 different trends could emerge. The Canadian Cup has helped BTG spot and work with riders in Saskatchewan, Yukon, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Historically some of Canada’s best riders have come from parts of the country outside the Big-4 (Ab, BC, On, Qc). In the end, the Canadian Cup is as much or more about connecting community as spotting talent.

With that said, the complete rankings are available here:

2023 BTG Canadian Cup Final Rankings, with (some) analysis
BTG Canadian Cup, learn more about the Canadian Cup

How you can help

We are always looking to improve, and we can use more help. You can support the awesome work we do by thanking Global Relay and Shimano for their support. By joing the Fund as a donor. By sending us a note with feedback on how we can improve, or offering to help as an advisor in any of the four key areas we work. Please get in touch → btg.fund@gmail.com