Tributes to Quebec community leader and event organiser, Chantal Lachance are being made by the mountain bike community in Quebec, Canada and from around the world. As co-founder of Gestev, along with Patrice Drouin, Lachance was a driving force behind Mont-Sainte-Anne’s historic and long-running World Cup event. Gestev also organized three mountain bike world championships at MSA.
Those efforts saw the business partners inducted into the Canadian Cycling Hall of Fame in 2021. Gestev’s work was far broader than the mountain bike community. The pair organized many high profile events across cross-country skiing, freestyle skiing and the Red Bull Crashed Ice event.
Drouin shared his own tribute to his longtime business partner and friend on Facebook.
“Rest in peace, my partner and friend of more than 40 years. There is so much to say about our bond, our shared vision of the events industry, and the great family we built together under the name Gestev. You leave a tremendous void. I will never forget you.”
Lachance and Drouin formed Gestev together in 1991. While the company was started around the Mountain Bike World Cup, it grew to create events across many sports and festivals. Lachance left Gestev in 2019. Mont-Sainte-Anne was the longest, continuously running World Cup venue in all of mountain biking, hosting events for 30 years.
Showing Lachance’s impact beyond Quebec and Canada, U.S. downhill racer and Hall of Famer Leigh Donovan shared her memory of the Gestev co-founder: “Her smile, her courage, her energy,” Donovan said, “she will forever live in my heart.”
Posts marking Lachance’s passing quickly gained hundreds of comments expressing their sympathy. CBC reports that formore Quebec City mayor Régis Labeaume said of Gestev, “In my view, they are the greatest creators of international events in the history of Quebec City.”
Gestev also marked the passing of one of its co-founders, recalling Lachance as “A great woman who charted her own course, pushed boundaries, and brought to life events on a grand scale, here in Quebec and elsewhere. Her boldness, passion, and determination opened doors and left an indelible mark on our industry.” Gestev added “Today, we lose more than just a builder. We lose a woman who contributed to shaping our family, our culture, and an essential part of who we are. Her legacy will continue to live on in the projects she gave birth to, in the people she inspired, and in the countless memories she leaves behind. ”