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No time for resting: Team expresscopy.com's Joëlle Numainville
by
Bruno Paradis
—
last modified
27-06-2007 21:52
Contributors:
meewi
Montreal, June 27th- "I'd do it again". Those three words were heard a number of times in our interview with Joëlle Numainville during one of her all-too-rare moments of free time. Her plate has been pretty full since January of this year, as she undertook to combine her life as a student with her life as a pro cyclist with Teamexpresscopy.com. So far the racing season, her second with the pros, has meant many, many miles on the bike, in cars and on planes.
Regarding life on the road, she points out that "with
the two training camps, one in Arizona and one in Florida, the U.S.
races this Spring, the Tour de l'Aude and now the Tour of Prince Edward
Island, I've seen very little of my parents. Fortunately, since they
live in Laval, I've had to opportunity to get together with them while
at the Montreal World Cup and the Tour du Grand Montréal.'' Apart from the traveling, there's also the very high level of competition at the races she has been riding. "At Redlands, I didn't have too many miles in my legs. It was very tough, particularly as I didn't have any hill training. I
finished pretty far down on G.C., but I'd do it again, definitely. I suffered, but not for nothing!'' On her European experience: "The
Tour de l'Aude was sort of the same story; it wasn't the first time I
had raced there, but the racing is so different there. I think the
whole team needed to adjust because of the really long hills and the
much harder racing, as compared to, say, the Tour du Grand Montréal. I
prefer shorter hills, even if they are steeper. For instance, I know
that many of the girls had problems with the hill at the
Mont-St-Hilaire stage (Tour du Grand Montréal), but for me, it was
fine, any hill up to about 1.5 kilometers is ok with me''. On
the subject of her racing program, Joëlle offered some explanation as
to how some unforseen events came about. At first, there was no
assurance she would ride the Montreal World Cup nor the Montreal Tour.
She had fought a valiant fight at Tour de l'Aude, but had not finished
there and seemed ready for a good rest. Not so, she says. "In
France, I picked up a virus that slowed me down and. (hesitating), the
management thought it best to spare me. But I bounced back quickly. On
arriving in Montreal on Tuesday, I felt good. The race was on Saturday,
with the Tour beginning on Monday, time enough. I wanted to be there
because both races were run near my home, so the team signed me up for
both. It was Thursday when I heard I'd be riding both races. I can't
really explain why, but I felt better and better as the week went on''. Her
76th place on G.C. certainly doesn't do justice to the race she
actually rode. The twelve minutes separating her and winner Oenone Wood
(T-Mobile) on the line are largely the result of her crashing during
the first stage. In the circumstances, better to put the disappointment
and the crash behind her and move on to the Tour of Prince Edward
Island. "The racing was no problem there, but the
twelve-hour drive to the race felt really,really long. For the first
two stages, I had nothing left to give, no legs, nothing. I rode the
Confederation Bridge time-trial with nothing but a wish to get it over
with, period. As time went on, though, things improved for me and while
I blew my sprint, I managed fifth place in the last stage, so that's
good''. We
spoke with Joëlle on Monday 19th, on one of two rest days she allowed
herself on returning from the Tour of P.E.I. Work was set to begin
anew the next day on the Bromont velodrome, a day of intensive
500-meter intervals with her coach Eric Van Den Eynde and the most
active retiree from the womens' pro circuit, Lyne Bessette. Sometimes,
there's cause for concern with developing athletes, that they might be
poorly advised, but that is not at all the case with Ms.Numainville;
she, her team and coach seem to have their priorities in order, though
she plays her cards close to her chest. Wanting to stir things up just
a bit, we asked if she had given any thought at all to the criteria she
had to meet to ride in the Olympics in Beijing next year. On this
point, the final word on the matter was preceded by a laugh and a
Cheshire cat smile: "That's something I don't really want to discuss and I don't want you to bring it up! Even if I were interested in
Beijing, and I'm not saying I am interested, I wouldn't tell you.'' Well,
that having been said, it becomes clear that this is one rider with a
future in politics should she ever decide to go that way after her
cycling career. Joëlle Numainville's next major challenges include the Canadian Road Championship races and the Pan American Games in Brazil.  About Joëlle Numainville and Team expresscopy.comJoëlle Numainville rides for Team expresscopy.com. She is presently preparing to represent Canada at the Pan
American Games to be held in Brazil next month. She has twice been Canadian Junior Road Racing Champion. Team expresscopy.com's racers ride Gallium, Mercury and Krypton bikes by Argon 18.
With one of the strongest women's rosters in North America, the team
holds a UCI Pro Team licence. The eleven women who make up the team
hail from Canada, New Zealand and the USA and will ride in over 100
international races in North America and in Europe.  About Argon 18 and Gervais Rioux With headquarters in
Montreal,
Canada, since it's inception in 1989, Argon 18 has created an enviable
position for itself in the cycling world. All Argon 18 models are designed by ex-Olympian Gervais Rioux and stand out from the rest thanks to
unique designs that combine proven, classic principles and cutting-edge technologies resulting from fundamental research. Distributed in 23 countries, Argon 18 bikes exhibit an optimal balance between comfort,rigidity and light weight. In 2006, Argon 18 won three World Championship titles thanks
to the remarkable talents of Canadian Samantha McGlone (Ironman 70.3)
as well as Danish Torbjorn Sindballe and Bella Comerford from Scotland
(LD Triathlon Championship). |
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