Designer & bike rider in British Columbia, Canada

Lachine Machines

Lachine is a suburb on the island of Montreal and also the largest weekly bicycle club race I’ve ever seen.

But I should watch my terminology while I’m here. As a number of participants adamantly impressed upon me, Tuesday night Lachine is NOT a club race. It’s a full-blown, no-holds-bar, anaerobic pain-fest of the highest degree for a road race in Canada.

Nick Rowe, Espoirs Laval, leads through corner four.

“It’s such a big deal,” says Alistair Howard, captain of the local Espoirs Laval racing team, and an old friend of mine I’m staying with during my visit to Montreal.

“There’s no money on the line,” says Alistair, but “the only thing bigger than winning a Lachine is winning Nationals.”

After watching these guys finish Lachine in one hour, 54 seconds, I do not deny such claims in the least. Lachine is 31 laps and 49 km on a flat, four-corner course around a park in the suburbs. There’s a sprint for points every five laps. It’s faster and more competitive than most races I ever did in British Columbia; harder than most I’ve done anywhere. There’s usually over 100 riders. And it’s every Tuesday night, inbetween “real” races on the weekend.

Riders in the top standings for the Lachine series get called to the line first. There’s even a don-the-jersey ceremony for the overall leader, 2nd and 3rd place, top Master (over 30) and top junior (under 18).

You know how the Tour de France has different jerseys for different leaders in the race? Like, the best hill climber (polka dot jersey), best sprinter (green) and the overall leader (yellow)? They do that at Lachine, too, based on points accumulated throughout the summer series. So before every race the top riders (best junior, fastest, etc.) are called to the start line in order to don their special jersey for the event and the admiration of the crowd.

With the best view of corner one, these fans were also the first in line to view the podium after the finish.
First place Éric Boily, Volkswagen-Trek (Winner, four stages Abitibi 2005, 19 years old); Second place David Veilleux, Louis Garneau Optik (National Espoir Road Champ, 2006, 19 years old); Third place Daniel Bélisle, Cinelume-Cycle Performance

And the fans—a mix of girlfriends, residents on their front steps and geriatrics on wheels of their own—really do admire the riders. It’s the weekly entertainment around here. A row of bleachers lines the finish along with a concession stand, announcers stage, podium. There are podium girls!


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4 Responses to “Lachine Machines”

  1. Dylan Avatar

    Uhhhhmmm.
    Really awesome. I wish my dad would have taken me to see these (if he knew about them) when I was living in St. Lazare PQ.
    Also, my mum says to let you know that her and my dad grew up in Lachine. (I was born in Point Claire, Lakeshore General Hospital).
    (now you and the internet probably know too much about my personal past)

  2. Jason Avatar
    Jason

    Hey Jeff, have you ever considered journalism?
    Cool article!

  3. Jeff Werner Avatar

    Good eye, Jason: I was going for the reporter-style writing in this article. Have I considered journalism? Funny you should ask: I did a minor in the stuff at UVic and was a student reporter for a couple of years.

  4. DANIEL BELISLE Avatar
    DANIEL BELISLE

    DUDE, COOL ARTICLE,
    i WAS JUST LOOKING FOR PICS OF MYSELF FOR SPONSORS,THANKS TO YOU i FOUND A NICE ONE. mAY i USE IT
    iM THE GUY ON THE PODIUM DRESSED IN WHITE

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