Having previously won the Canadian road race and criterium titles, IPT Academy rider Pier-André Côté completed the hat-trick on Friday when he stormed to victory in his nation’s time trial championships.
The 27-year-old posted a time of 41:09 on the 34-kilometer course in Saint-Prosper, which saw him beat his nearest challenger by 1:49.
Côté has stepped up to race with the Pro team nine times already in 2024, including at Kuurne – Brussels – Kuurne, Tro-Bro Léon and Milano – Torino. At last week’s Baloise Belgium Tour, he finished 10th overall, having also been the team’s highest finisher in the opening day time trial.
He says: “It’s thrilling to win this title, as it’s one step towards IPT winning both the Canadian TT and road race titles. All the riders we have here for the road race on Saturday are really motivated and focused on that. For me, this race is something that has been on my bucket list for years – I’ve been crit champ and road champ, so this completes the set.”
“It was a fairly long TT; the way I saw the race was split into three sections. The first seven-kilometer section was grippy, mostly uphill, and this was where you could really make up some time. I really had to work hard in the middle section, which was on really flat and exposed roads – this was the meat of the time trial! Then, the way back to the finish was fast, but with three lumps I really had to push hard to get over. This section was really different to the rest of the course – these climbs were 60 to 90-second climbs, which, when you’re 40 minutes into an effort, it’s really hard to keep your speed up and get a rhythm.
“But I think I really understood how I was going to win today – I think I navigated all the traps along the course. I did the first part well, kept the engine going without blowing; stayed in the zone for the second part, and then went super hard for the finish. I’m super happy with my ride, I love all the equipment from the team, and I’m super pumped about the road race!”
