Five Young Cycling Athletes Represented PEI at the 2022 Canada Games
Between August 6th and 21st, five young PEI cycling athletes and four support team members represented Prince Edward Island and Cycling PEI at the Canada Games in Niagara. We are extremely proud of and thankful to our team for their hard work leading up to and during the Games.
Our athletes:
Donovan Howatt (Road and MTB)
Matt Jelley (Road and MTB)
Calum Lea (Road and MTB)
Ryan MacDonald (Road and Triathlon)
Lily Nicholson (Road and MTB)
Our Staff Team:
Mike Connolly (Coach)
Raphael Amiot-Savard (Mechanic)
Lynn Robblee (Manager - Road)
Jen Nicholson (Manager - MTB)
For both the athletes and staff, attending and competing in the Canada Games was an incredible and formative experience. We’ve asked them to share what the Games were like and what they meant to them in their own words - here’s what they told us:
Lily Nicholson (MTB and Road) : “Canada Games was an amazing experience. I got to race against Canada’s top athletes, and it was even cool to be able to race against other girls! There were some tough races but I learned lots from every race. I hope to have a full girls team in 2025!”
Matt Jelley (MTB and Road ): “The Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games was the best Canada Games I've experienced so far! It was an honour to represent PEI in both mountain bike and road events. We had many hurdles to jump over along the way, and faced adversity, individually, at different times; but together, we created an environment where everyone felt supported and we all strived for excellence.
On a personal level, I'm very happy with my race results and I'm looking forward to continuing training, and racing in the future!
I want to send a huge thanks to Raphael, Mike, Jen, and Lynn for their incredible efforts and support. Your efforts and support over the two weeks made my life so easy, and allowed our team to focus on performing at the top of our game.“
Donovan Howatt (MTB and Road): “It was a huge honor to represent PEI in mountain biking this summer at the 2022 Canada Games in Niagara. Ever since I started biking I dreamed about competing at this level. It was an awesome experience to compete and interact with the top junior athletes in Canada. It was also a great opportunity to improve as a biker. Best sweet sixteen I could have asked for!”
Mike Connolly (Coach): “Very proud to have represented Cycling PEI and the Province at the games in Niagara. The team did great and I was proud of how they performed and overcame adversity. From losing a shoe, to battling torrential rain and mud, to crashes and competing with a broken wrist they never quit, earned some good results and gained some valuable experience which will serve them well next games where they will be looking to improve upon the results they achieved this time around.”
Jen Nicholson (Manager - MTB): “I loved it. It was so inspiring to be around all the young athletes and watch them compete in their sports and meet other youth from across the country. I also really enjoyed getting to know our athletes a bit better. It was an experience I am sure they will take with them throughout their lives. I certainly won't forget it!”
Lynn Robblee, Team Manager during the Road Cycling week, writes a detailed synopsis of what she saw during the Games:
“It had been an honour to witness and support such an incredible group of athletes at the Canada Games Road Cycling week in 2022. This group was talented in their field and worked diligently to be competitive with other larger provinces. They worked amazingly together as a team with both their athletes, coaches and managers. Transitions and getting to events seemed to happen so easily with this group of athletes because everyone worked so closely together and just seemed to really enjoy each others company. It truly was an exceptional group.
The work effort put forth by the athletes this year cannot be overlooked. They had a very short time to prepare for this event and met all expectations for training. An amazing comprehensive training package was provided by Mike Connolly which included detailed cycling programs, nutritional guidelines and mental as well as physical support and suggestions. Raphael Amiot-Savard also provided additional help in both preparing all mechanical aspects of the bikes and also providing tips and guidelines on performance. The athletes put the work in despite the short time they had and were competitive in their field.
The athletes performed well in all three events: the road race, time trial and criterium. They exceeded expectations in these events considering they were competing against larger provinces who trained for much longer periods than ours. A notable fact as well is that Lily Nicholson was the only female athlete in this group and she did exceptionally well. She competed in both the mountain and the road cycling weeks which is a first for women in PEI in almost 20 years. Also notable is that Calum Lea was an under age exemption athlete and also did very well and was competitive in his field, despite being only 15. Ryan MacDonald had an even shorter time to prepare for these events as he was training for triathlon as well. He also went further than expected on the road event at respectable speeds. Ryan did exceptionally well in the time trial which is his specialty. Matt Jelley was our most senior and experienced athlete in our group and was the glue that seemed to hold the group together. He provided guidance to our athletes which were all young for their field. He was able to do this for these athletes while still staying organized and doing well in his own events and was also competitive in his field.
The road week had some of the most challenging weather conditions, including torrential rain storms for the majority of the 100km road race. The athletes all persevered in these conditions and it was amazing to watch their strength and determination despite this. The criterium was also one of our more challenging events as other province have focused much time on this discipline where historically our province does not. They still were able to hang onto the pack in this event with respectable speeds. In the time trial it was evident that the majority of the athletes were much older than our athletes and often larger and stronger, capable of explosive speeds needed for this event. Despite our athletes being mostly young in their age categories, and smaller, they did very well in this event.
I was so proud to represent Prince Edward Island and walk along side these athletes at the closing ceremonies in 2022. It truly was one of my most memorable experiences that I will never forget. The strength and perseverance of these athletes reminded me that even if you are the underdog you can come out swinging and on top if you have the will and determination to give it everything you have.”
