DÉFI RBC au profit de Centraide

Le 26 novembre prochain, je ferai partie d'une équipe d’athlètes qui tentera de battre le record au Défi RBC au profit de Centraide : gravir à la course les 1 000 marches menant au 41e étage de la tour de la Place Ville Marie en moins de 2 minutes 41 secondes!

Notre équipe sera formée de:

o Lex Albrecht (cyclisme. 7x Championne Québécoise, 3x athlete des Championnats du monde) 
o Caroline Ouellette (hockey sur glace, médaillée d’or aux Jeux olympiques de Sotchi en '14)
o Marc-Antoine Gagnon (ski acrobatique, 5e au classement mondial en '13)
o Pierre Alexandre Rousseau (ski acrobatique, 5e aux Jeux olympiques de Vancouver en '10).
o Marie-Claude Molnar (paracyclisme, médaillée de bronze aux Jeux de Londres en '12).
o Caroline Calvé (surf des neiges, 6e aux Jeux olympiques de Sotchi en '14) 
o Hugues Fournel (kayak, 7e aux Jeux olympiques de Londres en '12)

Le Défi RBC au profit de Centraide est organisée par RBC, en collaboration avec Place Ville Marie.  Près de 500 coureurs sont attendus, principalement des employés de RBC et aussi d’autres entreprises.  Chaque équipe comptera 10 personnes pour un total de 500 participants! Chaque participant monte à la course 3 ou 4 étages, ce qui représente une centaine de marches chacun.

Les fonds recueillis proviennent des dons des participants et des commandites d’entreprises. Ils seront versés en totalité à la campagne Centraide 2014.  Le montant récolté en 2014 sera dévoilé lors du Défi du 26 novembre prochain. En 2013, 180 000 $ ont été récoltés, soit 47 000 $ de plus que l’année précédente.  Depuis sa création il y a 17 ans, le Défi RBC a permis de récolter 932 000 $ au profit de la campagne Centraide.

#LEXvsLARAQUE

#LEXvsLARAQUE ended up being even more "exciting" than we bargained for.

Snow was falling, the air was cold, but the anticipation and excitement of #LEXvsLARAQUE was energizing!  Georges blasted off of the start line with a huge effort.  I followed, hoping that he wouldn't hold his pace for too long.  Otherwise, the climb was going to be a lot more painful than I had planned for.  To my surprise, several hundred meters later where false-flat section began, and where Georges should have had the greatest advantage, he had already fallen behind.

Helping Georges with his cleats & pedals (I can't win against a guy who cannot manage to clip in!) Photo : Guy Maguire (#LEXvsLARAQUE)

Approaching the finish line for my first victory celebration #LEXvs LARAQUE. Photo: Guy Maguire

I won fair and square in the cold and snowy race up the Mont Royal.  The gap was so big that I decided to go back down and finish George's final few hundred meters with him ... so I could win twice.  I pulled out some good sportsmanship spirit and encouraged Georges.  Then, punched it over the finish line ahead of him, again. 

Photo : Guy Maguire

George's huge effort left him totally exhausted, so much that he wasn't responding to anybody once he crossed the finish line.  After a couple of minutes, I was quite scared and flagged down an ambulance.  (I wanted to beat him, not kill him!)

Photo : Guy Maguire

Photo : Guy Maguire

Photo : Guy Maguire

Photo : Guy Maguire

CBC Montréal was at the race (along with around 100 other spectators), and filmed this report :
http://www.cbc.ca/news/george-laraque-loses-bike-race-1.2837627

Thank GOODNESS, Georges was okay.  He got out of the hospital about as fast as he blasted off of the start line of our race.  We laughed about it all over lunch at Crudessence.

.@GeorgesLaraque pensait pouvoir battre @Lex_Albrecht. Il s’est plutôt retrouvé à l’hôpital… http://t.co/kDDJxzBufk pic.twitter.com/OdHKyglJsL
— Yahoo Quebec (@YahooQuebec) November 17, 2014

Lex Albrecht vs. Georges Laraque

It's ON! Are you in the Montréal area?  Come out to see a true battle go down this weekend. 

What's that saying about "picking on people your own size"?  Georges Laraque is probably 4 times bigger than me, is an adamant proponent of vegan-ism, and has an impressive 13 year NHL career that he finished off with the Montréal Canadiens in the bank.

He is also convinced that he can beat me in a cycling race in Montréal.... Game on. I'm up for the challenge.

Georges Laraque VS Lex Albrecht. Sunday November 16 2014, come and watch the battle go down! 
photo source: http://www.rds.ca/1.480303

Photo credit : Brian Hodes

Georges and I are going to see who's truly the fastest this Sunday November 16.  We'll be racing from the base of Mont Royal's Camilien Houde climb.  Who do you think will win?  Let us know on Twitter (@Lex_Albrecht and @GeorgesLaraque) using hashtag #LEXvsLARAQUE


 Where : Camilien Houde.
   Start : Just after the final set of lights at the base of Camillien Houde
   Finish : Crest of Camillien Houde (marked by a while line across the road).
 When : Sunday, November 16, 2014. 10 am. (show up early, around 9:30-9:45!)

I don't know what I've gotten myself into, but I'm determined, and I could use all of the support you can give!  Come share your energy, cheer for your favourite and watch the battle go down - Let us know that you'll be there with an RSVP on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lex-Albrecht/137026036359510?ref=bookmarks

Professional cyclist Lex Albrecht.  Photo : N. Paquet. Kipphoto.ca

Excited to Ride for Optum Pro Cycling p/b Kelly Benefits Strategies in 2015

I'm excited to announce that I've signed a new contract for 2015, with American trade team, Optum Pro Cycling presented by Kelly Benefits Strategies.  I rode for Optum in 2012, my first year of professional cycling and I'm excited to return as a more experienced, and stronger rider.  I'm eager to contribute to the team's exceptionally talented and strong roster :

Lex Albrecht (CAN)
Annie Ewart (CAN)
Jasmin Glaesser (CAN)
Janel Holcomb (USA)
Ariane Horbach (USA)
Maura Kinsella (USA)
Leah Kirchmann (CAN)
Ally Stacher (USA)
Alison Tetrick (USA)
Brianna Walle (USA)

Optum will compete on the professional circuit in the US and Canada, as well as in Europe - where they had considerable success the past 2 seasons since their European program was launched.  Being a member of a trade team with a European program was a very important element that I was seeking for 2015, and I feel fortunate to have the chance to be a part of Optum Pro Cycling presented by Kelly Benefits Strategies in part for this reason.  Optum has an excellent group of respectable, knowledgeable and motivated people running the team, as well as a knack for creating rosters with super good chemistry - which makes all the difference during race season.  The strong group of sponsors and supporters behind the team also helps make Optum the highly reputable and successful team that it is, and I'm so glad to say that I'll be a part of it next year.

January 2012 : kicking off my first professional season with Optum Pro Cycling.  I'm so excited to be returning for 2015!

 I will continue to be based in Montréal, Québec, and train at the PowerWatts Premier Studio in Montréal. 


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With two of my TWENTY16 teammates, Greta and Abby. What an awesome season!

I am  grateful to have had the chance to ride with TWENTY16 Pro Cycling for 2014.  The opportunities they provided during 2014 were second to none, and the moral and material support that they gave to me and all of their athletes was always top-notch.  During the highest parts of the season, and the lowest.  Thank you for your consistant support and patience when I needed it (early season concussion and late season illness). I am proud to have been a part of a program that has played an essential role in winning Olympic medals and World Championship titles.  It was an emotionally difficult decision to have chosen to step away for 2015, but I continue to have the utmost respect for the program, sponsors, riders, and especially the management and staff of TWENTY16.  Thank you for an exceptional year...I feel like it changed me as a bike rider and as an individual for good, and for the better! 

Photo: B. Hodes.  TWENTY16 Pro Cycling, 2014