« When I annonced my retirement in January, I opted to stay quiet abaout what I had experienced over the past few years because I though moving on was the healthier thing to do.

But after everything that has unfolded thist past week (NDLR : Athletes push back after Cycling Canada cancels women’s team pursuit program) with Canadian Women's Team Pursuit, I feel like it is time so speak up.

Back in December I was told through a generic email that I would no longer receive Sport Canada funding for the 2026 season.

As a two-time Olympian, I was disheartened by not only the decision, but how it was communicated to me. No phone call, no in person meeting, just an email that after 13 years I was no long funded.

So I quietly accepted it. I still wanted to go to the LA Olympics, but decided no to fight for a spot within an organization that did not value me.

Just months before losing my funding, I had achieved some of the best testing numbers ever at the Milton velodrome.

I was the only endurance athlete, male or female, to achieve the A standard in both the Individual Pursuit and Kilo last year.

I also currently hold two national records and competed at the 2020 and 2024 Games.

I am in a unique position where I have experienced the women's team pursuit program through both its highest highs and lowest lows.

And I can confidently say this :
The decline of this program has nothing to do with the strenght, talent, or commitment of the riders. It has everything to do with how the program has been managed over the past several years.

This is not about asking for sympathy or trying to get my funding back.

This is about experienced athletes being push aside while younger riders are let carrying the weight of a struggling system, anly to be told that they are not good enough.

If performance was truly thr priority, why remove athletes who still wanted to help rebuild the program?

My heart hurts for the girls who were ready to put the work and deserved the opportunity to fight for something bigger together. I only wish I had been given the opportunity to stand beside them. »

Ariane Bonhomme, Instagram, 9 mai

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