January 23, 2019 (London, ON) – In less than two weeks time, Pan American Games medalist, Ed Veal, will be taking on one of the toughest challenges of his career as he plans on riding the Forest City Velodrome (FCV) for 24 hours to raise money for the facility. The FCV is one of North America’s few indoor velodromes, converted from an old hockey arena. Today, the training center remains largely untouched and requires significant renovations to keep it operational. The thought of one of Ontario’s largest youth cycling hub’s closing its doors was too much for Veal and it inspired him to commit to the challenge.

While most professional cyclists are born on two wheels, Veal’s story is much more unique. He found the sport late and became a ‘rookie’ on the Men’s National Track Endurance team at age 37. From there he claimed several international podiums along with the Canadian Hour record at 48.57Km for Men 40-44.

After an eventful career, the Toronto-native realized that cycling as a sport has brought him so much more than medals or trophies but more importantly lifelong friends, a healthy lifestyle and the opportunity to travel the globe. Veal hopes to carry this message around every lap of the 24-hour challenge and get new cyclists involved in the sport he cherishes.

When he retired from the National Track Program, Veal looked for a new purpose for cycling in his life and started up a series of Great to be Alive Epic rides. He’d hop on Zwift and ride as far as he could manage – 305km, 405km, 505km – simply celebrating his health and youthful motivation. On the eve of the final ride, he posted on Social Media asking for the community to sponsor the ride per km ridden to raise money for a child in need of a pair of glasses. The result was outstanding. By the time the 505km ticked by, Veal had raised over $2,200 – read more here.

The FCV staff noticed his passion for helping a young family and asked him to take part in the 24-hour Track Challenge. Considering the project promoted the benefits of cycling while also saving a treasured facility Veal was immediately on board. “A distance record is an awesome stunt or challenge to draw attention, but the real win is the donations. Raising money with your bike to fund the sport or any worthy cause is the real deal (if I may)… just because,” said Veal.

Veal has also witnessed how these development centers can produce world-class athletes like his former teammate Derek Gee. “I have photos with Derek when he was a junior and we were on the podium flexing, and now Derek is arguably one of Canada’s best riders. If I could somehow be a part of that [system] or give it a boost of energy – that’s winning,” he explained.

These training centers have proven their worth as Gee and the men’s Canadian Team Pursuit squad set a new national record at the World Cup in New Zealand along with a medal – double silver as the women’s Team Pursuit squad also landed on the podium.

“At the FCV you have youth programs such as Velokids or Team Attack that focus primarily on introducing kids to the sport and growing cycling’s foundation. Canada’s up-and-coming riders would be at a huge loss without the FCV to house these initiatives,” Veal continued.

So what about the actual challenge? Riding 24-hours on the shortest velodrome in the world, 138m, will be brutal because of the high g-force and steep banks. Veal got out for a few extended practice sessions and instantly noticed how difficult it was going to be. “You’re out there for an hour and a half and you feel your hands, neck and shoulders. It’s exponentially harder,” he told Pedal.

And what about his strategy? Veal will be keeping his cards close to his chest heading into the event but does have a team on the ground to help make decisions as he approaches the halfway mark and beyond. “My brother and a couple close teammates, they’re going to be there and later in the ride when I can’t make decisions for myself, they’re going to have to be the ones thinking on the ground, making sure I am looking after myself and being safe,” added the current world record holder.

Other Canadians have taken on exciting 24 Hour challenges as well. In 2017 Cory Wallace from B.C. won the WEMBO World Solo 24 in Italy here and Meaghan Hackenin from Saskatoon recently won the 24-Hour World Time Trial 2018 Championship in the Women’s 30-39 division riding 733.8 km in California here.

The February 2 will begin an exciting 24 hours for the Forest City Velodrome. Come out, watch, cheer and hop on the track and ride alongside Veal. The FCV is offering riders the chance to complete their own challenge and fundraise for a good cause with 1 hour, 100km and 300km+ options. If you want to get involved or donate, check out the GoFundMe link at the bottom of the page or the Link to the event for more details.

GoFundMe here
Website Link here
Real Deal 24-Hour Track Attack here.