Four years after last winning the elite women’s road race title, Maggie Coles-Lyster is back in the maple leaf jersey.
It’s been a winding road back to this point, with the Maple Ridge, B.C. racer’s last four years being a bit of a roller coaster. The most recent setback included Illiac Artery surgery. The comeback from that kicked off with a bang in Australia. This national title adds to a spring full of impressive results from the Human Powered Health racer.
Saturday also saw junior men’s and paracycling events take to the road at 2026 Canadian road championships.
Elite and under-23 women
Coles-Lyster retook the elite women’s title in a bunch sprint finish, narrowly beating out Alex Volstad (EF-Education Oatly) and Olivia Baril (Movistar) on the line.
“It’s amazing. It’s been four years since I last won this. After the last year, with my Illiac Artery surgery, it’s been a really fun comeback,” Coles-Lyster told Cycling Canada after the race. “I’m really happy with where I am and to be able to wear the maple leaf this year.”
Behind Coles-Lyster, Alex Volstad finished second with Olivia Baril taking third to complete the elite women’s podium.
“I’m pretty stoked about the U23 title, it’s nice to defend,” said Alex Volstad. Finishing second in the elite women’s race behind Coles-Lyster, Volstad admits she had more than the U23 win on her mind . “I wanted the elite win by Maggie earned it. She’s such a good rider, she timed it perfectly and got me at the line, so I can’t complain.”
Clémence Cousineau finishes second and Dylan Baker third in the under-23 race.
Junior Men / U17 Men
A group of two split off early. The main group looked to wait just a bit too long to start chasing in earnest. Albert Brouillette crosses the line sole. A second lone rider holds on for second. The bunch sprint left contesting the bronze medal just meters behind.
Keaton Schisler of Cycling BC finishes four seconds back. Simon Gaudreault takes the sprint for third, seven seconds behind Brouillette in the junior men’s race
In the under-17 men’s category, which started with the junior field, Jon Mercier (Quebec) takes the win with a top 10 among the juniors. Joshua Tyers (Ontario) second and Isaac Larose (Quebec) third.
Paracycling
Saturdays racing started with the paracycling events. With a big group of riders from across the country, there are a number of championships earned across categories in this race.
Camille Rene takes the women’s handbike 3-4 win, while Joseph Vachon takes the men’s handbike 3 title. In the men’s handbike 1-2, Maartin Duif is the top rider. In the MC4-5 category, Luke Senfner takes a commanding win. The MC3 category was the most closely contested of the para events, with Alexandre Hayward of Velo NB taking the win on the same time as Michael Sametz of Team Alberta. Louis-Albert Corriveau Jolin of Equipe du Quebec takes the MT2 category while Mathieu Croteau Daigle earns the MB1 title.
Full results for all categories from all three days of racing at 2026 Canadian Road Championships are online now.