December 15, 2014 – This past summer saw a Canadian don the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) rainbow jersey at the Amateur World Cycling Championships as Toronto’s Bruce Bird won the 157km Men’s 45-49 road race, joining a select few Canadians in any cycling discipline to accomplish this feat. The event took place in Ljubljana, Slovenia at the end of August.

The Championships featured approximately 1,500 participants, and Bird’s field was more than 140 deep. Italy and home nation Slovenia were favoured. A mid-race move by Marco Baloh (SLO) was the defining moment, and Bird got on his wheel at the right time. The rest of the Slovenian team slowed the peloton down and the race was on.

Baloh knew the roads and led down the descent after the key climb. In the two-man sprint, Bird had the extra kick to cross the line first and claim the rainbow jersey. When interviewed about it, the smile on his face told much more than any race report.

Joining Bird at these Championships were Andre Lamarche, Shelly McKee, Zeina Loutfi and Stephane Demers, along with others. Loutfi earned a second medal for Canada, placing third in the Women’s 35-39 TT.

In order to compete at the Championships, all participants had to qualify at one of the UCI World Cycling Tour (UWCT) races. Only the top 25% earn a spot, and with only a dozen events on the calendar, the competition is fierce.

There is no Canadian event, so Bird and the small contingent of Canucks all had to qualify at the Tour of Winston-Salem in North Carolina – the only one qualifier in North America for 2014 and something that Bird would like to see change.

Once he decided he was interested in competing at the World Championships, he contacted Belgian Erwin Vervecken, a key member of the sports-marketing firm Golazo and part of the UCI organization responsible for the UWCT, about launching a Canadian event.

Bird’s experience as both a competitor and race organizer position him well for this challenge, and while all of the details haven’t been finalized, interested road racers will want to tailor their training to peak in late May 22-24, 2015 in the Blue Mountain area of Collingwood, where the Canadian events are slated take place. Then they’ll want to focus on the UWCT Worlds in Denmark.

According to Bird he has a 3-year option and he’s optimistic that he’ll be keen exercise it. He’s also working on a closed course for the TT and believes he’ll have confirmation shortly.

Bird has strong opinions on what it takes to make an event of this calibre work, and he has a well-thought-out plan. In an interview with Vervecken, a former cyclocross world champion, he acknowledged the challenges of organizing a top event, adding that Bird is “…working very hard on that; I’m sure we’ll have a great event there.
He’s the right man at the right place.”

Vervecken explained the UCI’s interest in combining gran fondos with the Masters World Championships to create the UWCT, with select events making up the qualifiers. For 2015, the qualifiers are being expanded to 14, with the expected addition of Canada, Dubai, the United Kingdom and Germany, followed by the championships in Denmark.

He made a point of singling out Bird for his success at the 2014 Worlds, along with his efforts to bring the UWCT to Canada. Stay tuned for the official announcement in December, which will include sponsorship and registration details, plus the website link.

Vervecken concluded by telling us that, while he’s raced in the U.S.A., he has never been to Canada, and is looking forward to coming here next May.

Read Bird’s full race report here.