Canuel secures Canadian time trial title

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Karol Ann Canuel, a member of the world champion Team Time Trial squad of Velocio SRAM, came into the women's race at the Canadian Time Trial Championship in Saint-Georges, Quebec, on Thursday as the favourite, and she did not disappoint, taking her first national title with a dominant performance. Optum riders Jasmin Glaesser and defending champion Leah Kirchmann took the remaining two podium spots, but were well back, with Glaesser at 1:17 and Kirchmann at 2:03.

The 30 kilometre course featured multiple long rolling climbs, plus tough, gusting winds that pushed the riders around. Held on a new, unopened highway, riders had a perfect surface to race on.

Canuel showed flashes of her form at the Chrono Gatineau earlier in the month, finishing second to Carmen Small (2016 p/b Sho-Air) by eight seconds, but clearly continues to improve after a serious injury from a crash at the Road World Championships last fall that left her with a broken pelvis.

"This title was a big objective for me this season," explained Canuel, "and I am really thrilled to be Canadian Champion in the Time Trial. My progression really took off when I joined Specialized-Lululemon last year and Velocio-SRAM this season. I believed in my ability to time trial, and I knew I could do well today. It was such a hard course and I had to push right until the end."

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