Greetings to all of our IGNITE Junior Cycling Supporters, Sponsors and friends,
It’s hard to believe that September is here! July and August saw the team racing both domestically and internationally, and it has been busy…
Following a successful showing at Road Nationals where Albert Brouillette earned the Champions jersey in the Road Race, the team competed at the Coupe de l’Avenir with guest DS Scott Laliberte and the Junior Tour of Ireland with DS Mark Sittlington. Some team members attended the ionic Tour L’Abitibi, either as guest riders or representing Team Canada. Additional races included Les Mardis Cyclistes, Ontario Summer Games, and the Ontario Provincial Championships.
Here at home, we had some amazing podium finishes, including:
1st: Time Trial Ontario Summer Games: Ben Glover
1st: Road Race Ontario Summer Games: Ben Glover
1st: Circuit Race Ontario Summer Games: Jaiden Lodha
2nd: Road Race Ontario Provincial Championships: Nevin Warner
1st: GC Coupe de l’Avenir: Evan Moore
2nd: GC Coupe de l’Avenir: Antoine Desjardins
3rd: GC Tour de L’Abitibi: Heron Land-Gillis (guest riding for KW Liftow)
Most Valuable Rider Tour de l’Abitibi: Jared Rauwerda (for his demonstration of exceptional teamwork, relentless attacking and aggressive racing)
IGNITE alumnus Carter deVeer won the overall GC at Tour de l’Abitibi, continuing to gain experience and collect accolades as he now represents team Cannibal B Victorious in Europe.
Our exceptional performances in Canada highlight the need for continued exposure to European racing if riders are to become competitive on the world stage. IGNITE Junior Cycling is committed to providing these development opportunities.
Over in Europe…
The Junior Tour of Ireland was a little disappointing in terms of results, but the learning opportunities were plentiful. We actually had a local Irish fan reach out to team management with a compliment: “…your entire team were young gentlemen. It was a pleasure to see them around the hotel. They deserve great credit”. This is exactly what IGNITE Junior Cycling is all about: the holistic development of young men on and off the bike. As our mechanic Ray Warner says, “It’s awesome to be fast, but more awesome to be fast and a great human”.
From August 20 to 23, IGNITE repeated early success at the Vuelta Ribera del Duero in Spain under DS Gord Fraser. In 2025, Gabriel Tilli won Stage 1, and the boys kicked off the 2026 in similar fashion: Jake McLean earned gold on Stage 1 – this year a time trial race. With an early start time and the weather on his side, Jake actually swept ALL of the jerseys on stage 1! At the end of 4 stages, both Ben Glover and Jaiden Lodha managed top 20 finishes in the Young Rider GC.
After the gruelling race in Spain, the team finished out the season in Belgium at the Triptyque Ardennais Juniors from August 28-30. Our young riders Albert Brouillette, Jadien Lodha and Ben Glover finished 4th, 6th and 10th in the Youth GC respectively, while Jake McLean had a huge solo break from the gun in Stage 2 that unfortunately didn’t hold.
Jake McLean was the sole IGNITE competitor at the Green Mountain Stage Race in Vermont on Labour Day Weekend. He had some great races, culminating in an overall 10th place in the GC.
The boys then returned home to Canada, tired and proud of their efforts. This season they have grown individually and together as a team, learned, improved, and developed life skills and resilience. Now they return to school and transition into other cycling disciplines including track and cyclocross, and indoor training. We say goodbye to our graduating athletes Jake McLean, Jared Rauwerda, Elliott Perreault, and Heron Land-Gillis and wish them all the best.
That’s a wrap for the main team events of the fourth season of IGNITE Junior Cycling. Please stay tuned for the World Road Cycling Championships in Montreal this September 20-27. IGNITE’s own Albert Brouillette will be representing Canada in the Junior Men category and supporter Michael Leonard will be lining up for the Elite Men’s race. It’s bound to be a week of amazing racing. Hope to see you there!