Bike racer Maggie Coles-Lyster has been having a whirlwind 2016, and this month it will take her to the Middle East.
She has travelled extensively across Canada and to Europe, won multiple national championships, and took a bronze medal at the World Junior Track Championships in Switzerland in July.
The adventure continues for this 17-year-old from Maple Ridge, as she has been selected to compete at the World Junior Road Championships in Doha, Qatar on Oct. 14.
She competes in three cycling disciplines – cyclocross, track and road. Her goal for the 2016 season was to qualify for Team Canada and to race at the World Championships in all three of these disciplines.
In January, she travelled to Belgium to compete at the World Cyclocross Championships. In July, she headed to Switzerland to race at the World Junior Track Championships, and now she is off to Qatar. Coles-Lyster is the only Canadian to have accomplished this goal.
“It is a dream come true,” she said. “I love racing my bike, and the challenge of competing in cyclocross, track and road keep things exciting.
Coles-Lyster is at a training camp in Belgium with Team Canada, where she will also compete in three races before she departs for Qatar on Oct. 7 to prepare for her race a week later.
The race course in Qatar suits her aggressive style, and Coles-Lyster believes that if she is in good position at the end of the race for the sprint finish that she has a great chance for a podium.