July 11, 2007 – Earlier last week in a CCA release about the 2007 Tim Hortons Road Nationals it was reported that this would be the first time that the U23 field would have their own race as a separate event from the elite men’s race.

However some racers will remember that in 2003 the espoirs not only had a separate race, they had a separate race course.

For logistical purposes the venues and races for the 2003 National Road Race Championships were split between the Hamilton 2003 course where the world Championships would be held and the Effingham road course that traditionally hosts the Niagara Classic.

While all categories raced on the 2003 World’s time trial course only the elite men and women competed on the Worlds road courses. We contacted the CCA’s High Performance Director, Kris Westwood, who concurred with our findings.

For logistical reasons the rest of the categories also raced on the Effingham course. The 2003 espoir race was won by recent Pan Am men’s RR gold medallist, Martin Gilbert, who was in a three-man breakaway with Cory Jay (PEI) and Murray Carter (Man), while the junior men’s race was won by Raphael Tremblay who recently announced he was taking a step back from the sport.

The 2003 road nationals were also unique in that foreign riders were allowed to compete. The elite men’s event was thus won by Australia’s Nathan O’Neill, while Dominique Perras won the Canadian title as the top Canuck in third, and Genevieve Jeanson won the women’s elite race. As well that year, in the elite categories only, riders had to enter in teams of six rather than individually, which meant Michael Barry raced for Team Ontario (he was with US Postal then).