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Making the toughest race in Canada look … well, not so tough

Canada's Antoine Jolicoeur Desroches and the other two podium finishers break the CanadaMan/Woman course record

Photo by: Kevin Mackinnon
July 4, 2022
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He came into the race as the likely favourite. A few weeks ago Tim Don, who once held claim to the world’s fastest Ironman time (after his 7:40:23 at Ironman Brazil in 2017), pulled out of the Canada Man/ Woman Xtri event, setting up an all-Canadian list of favourites for this year’s race – defending men’s champion Sylvain Lafrance, Jerome Bresson, the winner of the second and third editions of the race, Ironman specialist Antoine Jolicoeur Desroches, and defending Ultraman world champion Jordan Bryden. When Lafrance and Bresson both had to pull out, that left Jolicoeur Desroches and Bryden as the logical men to watch.

In the end there was no duel for the win – Jolicoeur Desroches was so dominant on the day that the only question throughout the day was how much he would set a new course record by. He was going so fast through the course that officials were scrambling to keep up as he kept hitting the various check points over an hour faster than they had anticipated.

Related: Why the Canada Man/Woman is the most epic race you’ve never heard of

And that’s even with a 12 minute stop during the bike when Jolicoeur Desroches was stopped by a train as he was riding into Lac Megantic. Bryden would also break the old course record – Bresson’s 10:59:57 set in 2018 – but would still find himself an hour behind at the finish line set at the observatory at the top of Mont Megantic. Kingston, Ontario’s Nick Cosman put up a spirited effort, getting himself to within a few minutes of Jordan on the run, but would have to settle with third in 10:57:04 – also enjoying the near perfect weather conditions to break the old course record.

There were no pro women signed up for the women’s race. Chambly, Quebec’s Roxanne Letourneau was the first woman across the line in 15:37:57, finishing ahead of local hero Sylvie Roy, who came across the line in 16:01:12. Brazil’s Daniele Crivelaro smiled her way through the day to a third-place overall finish.

You can find full results from today’s race here.

Here’s a recap of the day’s racing in words and pictures:

 

New York’s John Hirsch is a regular at the Canada Man/ Woman event. He would end up finishing 12th in the strong field that arrived for this year’s race.
They’re off. The day starts at 4:30 AM with the sun just coming up.
Antoine Jolicoeur Desroches blasted away from the rest of the men’s field right from the start and never looked back.
Jordan Bryden would swim along with a group of four, but they would end up hitting T2 over six minutes down.
After doing loops for the rescheduled 2021 October race, organizers succumbed to the requests of many athletes who asked that the loops remain …
Which meant the competitors did three loops with an “Australian” exit that included a short run along the beach.
Patricia McKenzie was all smiles as she led the women out of the water with her 1:08:11 swim time. She would eventually finish fifth.
Trains, the tough course that included lots of tractor sightings … nothing stopped Jolicoeur Desroches as he powered away on the bike.

 

Brazil’s Thiago Menuci rode his way to a sixth-place finish.
Joelle Marenger led the women off the bike and would eventually finish seventh.
Patricia McKenzie was second off the bike after leading the swim … she’s still smiling despite the tough course that features more than 2,500 m of climbing.
Jolicoeur Desroches continued his dominance of the race with a speedy 3:42:57 marathon that includes lots of trails and an incredibly tough climb up Mont Megantic.
Roxanne Letourneau ran her way to the win at the Canada Man/Woman Extreme triathlon, finishing in 15:37:57.
Brazil’s Daniele Crivelaro was all smiles, all day long as she cruised to a third-place finish.
What can I say … Jolicoeur Desroches didn’t even appear to be tired as he did interviews at the finish line. (There was lots of time to get a few done!)
Jordan Bryden improved on his previous time at the Canada Man/Woman event (he went 11:21:08 to take third in 2019) and also broke the old course record as he finished second in 10:52:49
Ouch. Nick Cosman took third in 10:57:04 – he managed to run himself to within three minutes of Bryden, but couldn’t get any closer.
The end is in sight … after an extremely tough day, there’s nothing quite like coming out of the trails to see the observatory at the top of Mont Megantic.