There was a time when news of an Ontario road racing cycling champion from these parts was virtually guaranteed. That, however, was at least two decades ago – or quite a bit more to get back to the days of David Spears, Peter Sanowar, Eric Wohlberg and Gary Trevisiol.

So as word circulated recently that Alexandre Mailloux took the sprint to the finish, capturing the U19 Men’s provincial title in a race in Cobourg that covered just over a hundred kilometres, the local cycling community took note.

Perhaps even more so in knowing that the 18 year-old first year student at Laurentian University (Earth Sciences) had previously been known primarily in regional mountain bike cycling circles, competing in his first road race in North Bay in 2021 (“for fun”) but never even entering an Ontario Cup (road) race until 2023.

For as much as he would juggle time on the trails and the roads in the early part of this past summer, Mailloux would devote himself to the latter in July, realizing quickly that simply from an athletic standpoint, this fit might be far better.

“My power profile suits more on the road,” Mailloux explained recently. “Mountain biking and road cycling require two different kinds of efforts. Mountain biking is 30 second sprints, short recovery and then all out again. Road biking is like five minutes of power and then longer efforts, maintaining the threshold for maybe 20 minutes or so.”

“My body is better at those efforts.”

That’s all fine and dandy, as long as the graduate of Ecole secondaire Macdonald-Cartier was off on his own, oblivious to the intricacies of road racing strategy. Simply put, there is no replacement for race experience when it comes to carving out those fractions of a second that differentiate the winners from those below them on the podium.

“Doing more races allowed me to learn road strategy: knowing where to position yourself, understanding how the race will play out, with a sprint or a breakaway, and whether I should go with the break or not.”

Apparently, Mailloux has absorbed much in a short period of time.

In capturing gold in 3:05:08.1, the soft-spoken young man edged out a pair of cyclists - Finnley Cureton (Shredders MTB – Durham Region) and Paxton Librande (Ottawa Bicycle Club) – young men who were less than a tenth of a second off his wheels as the trio crossed the finish line.

“At provincials, I had a plan before the race on what to do, learning from past mistakes – and I executed that,” said Mailloux, competing under the Circus Racing banner. “The way the race played out, there were just three of us on the breakaway and I knew that my sprint was better.”

“I just wanted to stay with the group because I knew if it came down to a sprint, I could win. I am very patient with the sprint.”

Making the move to the U23 division next summer, Mailloux is fixated on the road that lies ahead. “I want to race a lot and get more experience, with bigger races in Quebec and maybe nationals as well – and then try and get really good results the year after that at nationals.”