Xavier Grenier-Talavera a Junior to Watch For

The powerhouse on Quebec’s  elite circuit, Grenier-Talavera is fresh off the biggest win of his career. He won the North American Junior Championships in Sarasota Florida on March 8, 2014 in a time of 53:58.  “I was planning for a podium performance, but winning was really the best case scenario,” says Grenier-Talavera. Coached by Kyla Rollinson who has been instrumental in developing new talent out of Quebec in recent years, Grenier-Talavera trains with an elite crew. He is a college student in Montreal and has been doing triathlon for 11 years. Prior to that he played soccer and  hockey.

Grenier-Talavera was with the leaders the whole race, coming out of the water five seconds ahead of anyone else. He was part of a small breakaway group to lead-off the bike, but was caught by the main pack after the first lap.

“On the run I just went all out all the time, and it worked” says Grenier-Talavera. He ran a fast time of 15 minutes and 25 seconds. He was passed twice on the run but ran his way back to the front. He finished three seconds ahead of fellow Quebec teammate Jeremy Briand. Rounding out the podium was Mexican athlete Eduardo Israel Lamas Hernandez.

In 2013, Grenier-Talavera won the Canada Summer Games, and represented Canada at the World Junior Championships.

His objective of the season is to perform at the Junior World Championships in Edmonton. This summer, he will be racing in the Pan-American Championships in Dallas and with a division one triathlon team in France.

-Patrick Janukavicius