June 23, 2010 (Banff, AB) – At the 2009 Canadian National Time Trial Championships, Julie Beveridge raced her way to the win in the U23 women’s category, clocking 29:58 on the 20km course. Her superb winning time was second to Elite women’s winner Tara Whitten. We caught up with Beveridge at the Banff Bike Fest, one week prior to 2010 Road Nationals, to talk about the upcoming Nationals, the rest of the season, and about Vienne-Futuroscope, the French team she now rides for. Beveridge’s team mate, Karol-Ann Canuel, dropped by briefly and told us about a surprising language barrier.

Tell us about Vienne-Futuroscope
Julie Beveridge: We’re a French women’s UCI team. Futuroscope is a type of amusment park that they have in France, sort of like Disneyland, but with an educational focus, and Vienne is the region in France where the team is based.

Has it been easy for you and Karol-Ann to integrate with the team as the only non-French riders?
JB: Yes – it’s been great! I’ve never met a better group of women, and I am using my French a lot!

Karol-Ann – being French Canadian, do you think that helped with your integration?
KAC: (laughs) Actually, they can’t always understand my accent – sometimes Julie actually has to translate for me!

What are some of the differences between racing here versus racing in France?
JB: Racing over there is flat-out all the time, right from the line. Here, races often start out a bit easier and then really get going a bit later on. And, there are big climbs there, around 17km, which is a bit of a shocker (laughs) – even for someone like me who really likes to climb!

KAC: Same for me! (Karol-Ann had to leave at this point)

Do you have a specific role on the team?
JB: We have the French National Champion, Christel Ferrier-Bruneau, on the team, and she’s usually our GC rider. We’re all typically working to keep her in or get her into the leader’s jersey, especially in stage races with a lot of climbing. We also have Pascal Jeuland, who is the current world champion on the track in the scratch race, so we work to set her up for field sprints on flatter days.

Has your training changed substantially since moving to France?
JB: My training hasn’t changed drastically, though I was able to ride more over the winter – I was in France from February until last week, and it’s milder there. Being a Calgary girl, I’m not usually able to be on my bike over the winter, so it was great to be able to ride in February!

What are your goals for Nationals?
JB: It would be nice to be able to bring both jerseys back to the team, but we’ll see what happens – the course is relatively flat, which isn’t good for me.

Will you be racing in Canada after Nationals?
JB: No, unfortunately not. Most likely I’ll be racing at the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic in Massachusetts at the beginning of July, and then heading back to Europe.

What’s the season highlight for you so far?
JB: I was happy with my results at a pair of UCI races in Luxemburg over the first weekend in May. I was 8th in the Grand Prix Elsy Jacobs, and 13th the next day at the Grand Prix Mameranus.

Is there a big race coming up that you’re focusing on?
JB: Once I’m back to France, I’ll be looking forward to the Tour Du Limousin.

Thanks Julie – good luck at Nationals and in the rest of your season!
JB: Thanks!