Why Canada does not have more elite cyclists

[palmerq]

I think Canada is no less dangerous than most places, but is too damn cold to have a serious cycling tradition. Climate is everything.

the area around vancouver is not that cold at all even in winter, which is probably why most of the canadian cyclists that I have heard of come from there.... But having outdoor velodromes in edmonton and calgary does not seem like a good plan :S

 

[jordan5000]

And just how useful are outdoor velodromes in Calgary and Edmonton ?

How many months of the year are they closed due to conditions ?


Still a side issue.

The UK will have three top class velodromes shortly (Manchester, Glasgow and London), plus plenty of others indoors and outside.

Two top quality (east/west) and a smaller indoor one per province is what I would thing of as being a decent infrastructure for Canada.

British cycling is THE example of just how good funding can help an olympic sport.

In Edmonton they'd still probably be usable from April-September and maybe April-October in Calgary.

 

[GWAR79]

USA has no interest in cycling as a sport. Ask for any cyclist besides Lance Armstrong and you will get blank stares. I've only ever met two people in real life who knew anything about cycling here. I don't ever see it changing either. Having cycling races ending before noon is never going to capture any interest.

I live in Utah and can name 6 people within 4 blocks of me who know dozens of pro cyclists by name and who could name a hearty list GTs, classics, and stage races...

I think you need to get out and make more friends man

Oh, and only one of them is a LA fan

 

[Random Direction]

The cool kids here play hockey and snowboard. The rest do things like play soccer, run, swim and ski. Then the hockey players get old and pretend to cycle. Me, I ran and paddled, and eventually (somewhat) learned to ride a bike decently. Still slower than hell on two wheels. The money flows to hockey, not to 'amateur' sports.

As for roads, Victoria, B.C. (where I live) is excellent for long and short rides and can ride all year round - especially for the 3 days when in snows in winter. Can easily do a ride with 10 10% grades within 20 km. Only problem is that there is nothing flat.

 

[42x16ss]

Comes down to one thing, everyone's kid is the next Wayne Gretzky. Nothing gets me going more than the hockey mentality in this country. My kid goes to a school where the competitive hockey playing kids get credits for there sport and the non-hockey kids get nothing.
I have seen many kids who would/could be really great at other sports but their parents won't let them play because "My little Billy is going to the NHL oneday!!"

Truly f@%&ng pathetic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sounds like my old high school, just swap swimming for hockey!