Passing the bar exam is something to celebrate. So is winning a stage at the Giro d'Italia.
Canadian Clara Emond has both on her resume.
The 27-year-old from Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges, Que., rides for the EF-Oatly-Cannondale team along with fellow Canadians Alison Jackson (Vermillion, Alta) and Magdeleine Vallieres (Sherbrooke, Que.). Calgary's Alex Volstad joins in 2025.
Emond had a year to remember in 2024
"A new team and new races," she said. "It was my first time doing the Giro and the (Spanish) Vuelta as well. And some of the biggest one-day races. First time doing the worlds as well, representing Canada. It was a really good year."
Emond turned heads at the Giro in July, winning Stage 4 with a 40-kilometre solo charge. The team had looked to support Kim Cadzow in her general classification challenge but, with the New Zealander feeling unwell, the strategy changed to targeted stage wins.
Emond obliged with an aggressive ride on the hilly 184-km stage from Imola to Urbino.
"I was super-proud and super-surprised," Emond said. "It was above all my expectations for 2024."
There was bad with the good, however.
While she competed in all three Grand Tour events in 2024 — the Spanish Vuelta, Giro d'Italia and Tour de France — she failed to finish the races.
"I had a lot of bad luck," she said.
Emond broke her elbow on Stage 2 of the Vuelta, had to drop out of the Giro in Stage 7 with heatstroke and came down with COVID during the Tour.
It has been a unique journey to the world of elite road racing. Emond grew up ski racing but eventually put it aside to focus on school.
While studying law at Laval University, Emond took up cross-country and then swimming for fun. That led her to triathlon where she met boyfriend Charles Paquet, who finished 13th for Canada at the Paris Olympics.
They began biking together.
Emond was due for her first triathlon in 2020 but the event was cancelled due to the pandemic. A nearby bike race went ahead as planned, however, with Emond taking part.
"It started from there," she said.
Emond and Paquet went on several biking trips, including one to the Canary Islands.
"It's hard not to fall in love with cycling when you go to such beautiful places," she said.
Emond also enjoyed pushing herself to the limit and the racing appealed to her "super-competitive" side.
Emond did her law internship remotely due to COVID, concluding she wasn't ready for the office job that awaited.
A stage win in a local bike race in Charlevoix led to a job offer from the Emotional.fr-Tornatech-GSC Blagnac VS31 team, with races on both Quebec and Canada in 2022.
The next year, she moved to the bigger Arkéa Pro Cycling Team and finished second overall in the Vuelta and 23rd in the Tour in 2023.
The Canadian, now based out of Girona, Spain, excels in the mountains.
"I'm still new to all of it so I don't really know what kind of rider I am yet," she said. "But year, I must say I prefer when it goes up for sure (better) than flat. I like going down as well. The mountains are good for me."
Edmond continues to train with Paquet today.
"He still beats me. But I'm getting closer," she said with a giggle.
She is continuing her law studies and working on her master's degree, although her progress has been slowed by her racing career.
Emond is headed to Mallorca in January for a team camp and several races. Her hope is she will races in two or three Grand Tour races in '25.
EF-Oatly-Cannondale, an American outfit, features 46 riders from 21 countries. Because there is another Clara on the team — German rider Clara Koppenburg — Emond is known by her nickname Chanel to avoid confusion on team radio during the races.
So why Chanel?
"I think I'm a but picky sometimes for hotels. I like my comfort," she said with a laugh.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 16, 2024.
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
