Top Cyclists Will Be Discovered

National-level coach has no doubt he'll turn Nanaimo talent into elite riders
Krista Charke , The Daily NewsPublished: Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Junior cyclists in Nanaimo have a rare opportunity to learn from the best.
Dan Proulx, a national elite cycling coach, has moved to Parksville and he's all geared up to get kids to spin their wheels.

Proulx has no doubt he'll be able to turn at least one Nanaimo rider into a junior world championship contender within four years.

"The best thing about cycling is that it rewards someone who puts in the effort. Effort matters more than talent in this sport," said Proulx, who is starting up the Harbour City Flyers Junior Cycling Club in Nanaimo on April 15.

Proulx speaks from experience. During his 15-year coaching career he has moulded dozens of junior novice cyclist into Canadian and world champions as well as Olympic hopefuls.
His long resume of accomplished riders includes Calgary's track cyclist Ryan McKenzie, who is currently racing at the World Championships in Manchester, England.

McKenzie was 13 and had no cycling experience when he joined Proulx's cycling stable 11 years ago.Now 24 years old, McKenzie is just a sliver away from qualifying for the Olympic Games.
Victoria's Catherine Pendrel and Alex Wrubleski, who are both competing for a spot on Team Canada, are also products of Proulx's expertise.

"I've never coached a junior group where at least one kid didn't make it to worlds," said Proulx.
He figures Nanaimo will have a great pool of junior cyclist due to the solid Nanaimo BMX Association program run by Marie Davidson. The agility and bike handling skills developed by the young BMX riders are a huge asset and transferable to other cycling styles like mountain biking, road cycling and track riding.

In partnership with PacificSport, Proulx wants to pool together all the junior cyclists from every club in Nanaimo to help produce one solid junior cycling club that will explore different types of cycling.

"I'd like to connect the dots between all the different clubs and programs and give kids a place where they can pursue cycling," said Proulx.

Nanaimo's Curran Jongsma is looking forward to riding with kids his own age.
Jongsma, 11, has been racing for two years, but usually finds the person in the saddle next to him four times his senior."There's not a lot of kids who race," said Jongsma, who has been the youngest rider to compete in the Vancouver Island Cross on the Rocks cyclocross series for the past two years. Jongsma hopes the new cycling club will spark an interest in other kids his age to learn how to race their bikes instead of just riding them for fun.

Proulx said Jongsma is a perfect example of a young cyclist with the potential to be a great cyclist if given the right opportunities.

"Cycling isn't taken as seriously here as it is in other countries. In Europe, cycling is like hockey is here," said Proulx.

"The hardest nut to crack will be to get parents to see cycling differently."

The Harbour City Flyers is open to youth, 11-16 years old, with any level of experience and any type of bike.

For more information go to www.nanaimojuniorcycling.com.

KCharke@nanaimodailynews.com
250-729-4245