Heading into the end game, both in terms of this season and his career, Ryder Hesjedal looks and sounds like a man totally at ease.
He has done for Canadian cycling what Jacques Villeneuve did for auto racing, Mike Weir for golf and Milos Raonic for tennis. Any listing of the Island鈥檚 greatest athletes so far of this century puts Hesjedal right up there with the likes of Simon Whitfield, Steve Nash, Jamie Benn and Ryan Cochrane.
Overall, it鈥檚 a happy homecoming that begins today with the eponymous Ryder Hesjedal鈥檚 Tour de Victoria mass participation ride, followed by other 鈥渉ome games鈥� that include the upcoming Tour of Alberta and pro Grand Prix races in Quebec.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the fifth running of the Tour de Victoria and it鈥檚 great to see so many more people cycling now in general. That gets me excited. That growth of cycling [in sa国际传媒] has been one of the highlights of my career,鈥� Hesjedal said.
The well-publicized lowlight was that many were badly let down with the revelation that the first Canadian to win a Grand Tour event, the 2012 Giro d鈥橧talia after placing fifth in the 2010 Tour de France, admitted in 2013 he wasn鈥檛 immune to the widespread practice in pro cycling in the past of using banned performance enhancing methods. At the time, Hesjedal said he 鈥渃hose the wrong path.鈥�
Asked to comment further about that past, Hesjedal responded: 鈥淚 want to keep it about the ride [Tour de Victoria]. There will be opportunity to talk about other stuff later.鈥�
Hesjedal this year completed the brutal back-to-back Giro-Tour de France double, something only the most physically and mentally relentless cyclists attempt.
鈥淚t was an ambitious program and new ground for me, but I was happy with how the season turned out,鈥� said Hesjedal, who was fifth in the Giro and 40th in the Tour.
Hesjedal鈥檚 legs still have pump. But he is 34 and at that age, you play everything as it comes.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e always looking at everything,鈥� he said.
Despite age encroaching, a fourth consecutive Olympics appearance at Rio 2016 could prove tempting if Hesjedal鈥檚 pro schedule lets him.
鈥淩io is a course suited to a rider like myself,鈥� he acknowledged.
But that鈥檚 for next year鈥檚 planning. Today is about being back to his roots, back to the simple joy of riding with 1,500 riders who have been inspired by the man named Ryder. The Tour de Victoria is non-competitive with distances of 45, 85 and 140 kilometres, but that doesn鈥檛 mean some participants don鈥檛 push hard. Will Hesjedal?
鈥淚t鈥檚 all about feeling out the day and, most importantly, meeting the people and taking it all in,鈥� he said, sounding very much like a Ryder comfortable again in his hometown and among its riders.
