Geneviève Jeanson
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Geneviève Jeanson (born on August 29, 1981 in Lachine, Quebec) is a former professional bicycle racer from Quebec, Canada. One of the more colorful, charismatic and controversial cyclists, she won the World Junior Road Race and Time Trial championships in 1999 before bursting onto the women's racing scene in 2000 with a win in the category 1 Tour de Snowy, followed later that Spring by a victory in La Flèche Wallonne World Cup race. These results led to her qualifying for the Canadian Olympic team that same year.
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[edit] 2000 Olympic selection
Controversy dogged Jeanson for her entire cycling career and it began early. Leading up to the Olympics in 2000, Jeanson was accused of seeking special treatment in the selection process by requesting an exception to the rules for Olympic selection which had been previously adopted by the Canadian Cycling Association.
For her part, Jeanson based her complaint on the fact that the selection procedure took into account cumulative results for the years 1999 and 2000 and, in her case, since she had been racing at the junior level in 1999, she was unable to achieve results from that year which would count towards Olympic selection.
In the end, an agreement was reached between Jeanson and the Canadian Cycling Federation whereby Jeanson would be enabled to qualify for the Olympic selection race based on her performance in certain pre-selected races. Specifically, she would be required to finish in the top 8 of any two of the five pre-selected races.
This she did by winning the Tour de Snowy stage race and La Flèche Wallonne World Cup. Then, in July of that year, she qualified for the 2000 Olympic team by finishing ahead of the other selection candidates in the Canadian Championships.
[edit] 2000 Olympics
Controversy followed Jeanson to the Olympics. In the latter stages of the road race, her Canadian teammate Lyne Bessette was in a break which gapped the main peloton. Jeanson's detractors maintained that Jeanson, acting on instructions from her equally controversial coach, Andre Aubut, helped chase down the break and thus deny her own teammate an opportunity to win a medal.
In response, Jeanson's defenders maintained that Jeanson had only ridden near the front, as would be expected of a teammate attempting to break up the chase, and only moved forward to close the final small gap when the break had already been effectively absorbed.
[edit] 2001 Racing
In 2001, Jeanson continued her eye-popping victories. At Redlands, she won 4 out of 5 stages, winning the overall GC by nearly 10 minutes, an unprecedented margin. Then, at the Tour of the Gila in early May, she again won 4 out of 5 stages in addition to the GC, this time by the unheard of margin of nearly 15 minutes! On some stages in these events, she broke away early in the race and rode solo the rest of the way for the victory. Then, in early June, she won the Montreal World Cup, lapping most of the field and winning with a margin of more than 7 minutes over the 2nd place finisher.
[edit] Hematocrit (HC) level
In late 2003, while with the Canadian National Team preparing for the World Championships in Hamilton, Ontario, it was announced that Jeanson had recorded a hematocrit level (this is a measure of the number of red blood cells in the blood) in excess of the allowable limit and would therefore be required to abscind from racing for two weeks. This meant that she would be unable to take part in the World Championships that year.
Jeanson explained the finding by reference to an oxygen tent which she used as part of her conditioning and training program. Subsequent doping tests had come back negative (no banned substances detected).
[edit] 2005 Tour de 'Toona
On the 25th of July, 2005, at the Tour de 'Toona stage race in Pennsylvania, Jeanson stated she was subjected to an out of competition (OOC) doping test. According to Jeanson months later, she stated the sample had tested positive for erythropoietin (EPO), a banned substance.
Jeanson denied ever having taken EPO or any banned substance, but nevertheless, in January of 2006, she announced her retirement from cycling.
On November 28, 2006, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced that it had adjudicated the case of Jeanson and that she had accepted a 2-year suspension from professional cycling effective July 25, 2005 (the date her positive sample was taken).
[edit] Palmares
2006
- Under suspension (see above - 2005 Tour de 'Toona)
2005
- UCI Points list - 29th place
- International Tour de Toona - 1st place GC
- Canadian Road Race Championships - 1st place
- Le Tour du Montreal (cat. 1) - 5th place GC
- Montreal (Can) World Cup - 1st place
2004
- UCI Points list - 35th place
- International Tour de Toona - stage victory
- Montreal (Can) World Cup - 1st place
- Redlands Bicycle Classic (cat. 2) - 2nd place GC, 2 stage victories
2003
- UCI Points list - 16th place
- International Tour de Toona - 2nd place GC, 2 stage victories
- World Time Trial Championships - 5th place
- Le Tour du Montreal (cat. 1) - 5th place GC, stage victory
- Montreal (Can) World Cup - 1st place
2002
- UCI Points list - 27th place
- Canadian Time Trial Championships - 1st place
- Women's Challenge (cat. 1) - 2nd place GC, Points jersey, Mountains jersey, stage victory
- Le Tour du Montréal (cat. 2) - 7th place GC, stage victory
- Montréal (Can) World Cup - 3rd place
- Tour of the Gila - 1st place GC, 4 stage victories
- Sea Otter Classic - 6th place GC, stage victory
- Redlands Bicycle Classic - 2nd place GC, Mountains jersey, stage victory
- Valley of the Sun Stage Race - 1st place GC, stage victory
2001
- UCI Points List - 24th place
- GP Féminin International du Canada (2.9.2)
- Stage 3 (Richford to Lac Brome) - 2nd place
- Tour de 'Toona
- Final General Classification - 1st place
- Stage 1 (Time Trial) - 1st place
- Stage 2 - 3rd place
- Stage 4 (Martinsburg Circuit Race) - 2nd place
- Stage 5 (Jaffa Mosque Road Race) - 1st place
- Stage 6 - 2nd place
- Canadian Championships
- Time Trial - 2nd place
- Road Race - 3rd place
- Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic
- Final General Classification - 2nd place
- Stage 1 (Time Trial) - 2nd place
- Stage 2 (Circuit Race) - 1st place
- Stage 3 (Road Race) - 1st place
- Stage 4 (Criterium) - 3rd place
- Montréal (Can) World Cup - 1st place
- Tour of the Gila
- Final general classification - 1st place
- Stage 1 (Tyrone Time Trial, 15.7 miles) - 1st place
- Stage 2 (Silver City to Mogollan Road Race) - 1st place
- Stage 3 (Inner Loop Road Race) - 1st place
- Stage 4 (Downtown Silver City Criterium) - 5th place
- Stage 5 (Gila Monster Road Race) - 1st place
- Redlands Bicycle Classic (2.9.2)
- Final general classification - 1st place
- Mountains classification - 1st place
- Stage 1 (Mt. Rubidoux Time Trial - 5 km) - 1st place
- Stage 2 (Highland Road Race - 120 km) - 2nd place
- Stage 3 (Sun Time Trial - 17.3 km) - 1st place
- Stage 4 (Saturn Road Race - 130 km) - 1st place
- Stage 6 (Sunset Road Race - 99.5 km) - 1st place
- Valley of the Sun Stage Race
- Final Overall GC - 1st place
- Stage 1 (Trek Time Trial, 12.4 miles) - 1st place
- Stage 2 (Landis Cyclery Road Race) - 1st place
2000
- Olympic Games (Sydney, Aus)
- Road Race - 11th place
- Mt. Washington Hill Climb - 2nd place
- Canadian National Championships
- Time Trial - 2nd place
- La Flèche Wallonne (Bel) World Cup - 1st place
- Tour de Snowy
- Final Overall GC - 1st place
- Won Mountain Jersey
- Stage 3 (Talbingo Time Trial) - 5th place
- Stage 4 (Khancoben to Cabramurra) - 1st place
- Stage 6 (Jindabyne to Thredbo) - 2nd place
1999
- World Junior Cycling Championships
- Road Race - 1st place
- Time Trial - 1st place
- Killington Stage Race - 1st place GC, stage victory
- Mt. Washington Hill Climb - 1st place (course record)
- Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic - 2nd place GC
- Canadian National Championships
- Junior Women Time Trial - 1st place
- Junior Women Road Race - 1st place
1998
- World Junior Time Trial Championships - 3rd place
- Canadian National Championships
- Junior Women Time Trial - 1st place
- Junior Women Road Race - 1st place
- ↑ Article from Toronto Sun regarding 2000 Olympic selection controversy
- ↑ Note: Beginning in 1997, the Union Cycliste Internationale implemented a points listing whereby points were awarded riders based on their performances in racing events. For this purpose, the races were classified into categories. Although the exact system has evolved over the years, the major stage races are generally classified as category 1 (strongest), and category 2. In the listings below, these categories, where known, are given in parentheses. The abbreviation GC stands for General Classification.
[edit] Photo Gallery
 Genevieve Jeanson and Andre Aubut |
