New kit day is the best—but nothing beats it when you’re the world champion. Whether it’s Brandon McNulty, Demi Vollering or Eve Buczkowski, getting to wear the most sought-after jerseys in cycling is a special moment.

In August, the Talbotville, Ont., native won the points race in Belgium—and although she’s definitely a super-talented rider, she was still shocked she took the biggest win of her career.

“I’m still in disbelief,” Buczkowski, 17, said. “I just cannot fathom the thought that I am a world champion.”

Her coach, however, Martin Honsberger, although elated, wasn’t surprised. He knew how strong she was.

“A Canadian winning a world championship in a European-dominated sport is always a very pleasant surprise. But shocking? Not really,” Honsberger said. “We’ve seen how hard she works, and we’ve seen the progression.”

The plan for the points race

The Milton Revolution Racing rider saved her energy and waited for the right moment to sprint. Her chance came when another rider made a move that she had noticed during the qualifying round.

“The strategy was to take easy laps,” she said. “I saw the Swedish girl attempt to take a lap in the qualifier, so when she went in the final I joined in and we worked together to get sprint and lap points.”

And that she did. “From there I sat in and sprinted for double points at the end,” she said.
The plan worked beautifully, with the Canadian taking an emotional win.

Starting racing track early

She started riding the boards at a young age on the very tight and fast Forest City Velodrome. “FCV’s where I started track racing. And just the community that’s been built from FCV really helped. Attack Racing helped. They really bring the community together,” Buczkowski said. “If the FCV wasn’t there, I don’t think I would be a cyclist today.”

Her dad and his group of friends were all coaches or parents of kids on Attack Racing, she said. “

They were always at the velodrome. So my dad’s like, ‘Hey, this is something you can do. You can try it out. I ride my bike, you should ride your bike, so then I have a partner.’ Then we’d go out for ice cream,” Buczkowski said. (Sounds like a great day tbh.)

She was still in disbelief the next day.  “I just cannot fathom the thought that I am a world champion,” she said.

Well, she must believe it now. Because on Tuesday night at Mattamy National Cycling Centre, she was wearing a beautiful rainbow jersey with Milton Revolution Racing colours, made by Giordana.