Raphaël Gagné

Biography

Competing nationally since 1999, Raphaël Gagné won the Canadian cadet mountain bike title in 2003 before competing at his first UCI World Junior Championships in 2004 where he helped Canada win gold in the relay event. In 2005 he competed at the Canada Games where he won mountain bike gold and bronze in the road race. He also captured mountain bike bronze at the Junior Pan American Championships. Advancing to the U23 level, Gagné won the national title in 2008 and broke into the top-10 at the UCI World Championships. He defended his national U23 title in 2009, as well as his Canada Games gold medal while serving as Team Quebec’s flag bearer. He began competing as an elite international rider in 2010. Gagné finished seventh at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow before enjoying a career year in 2015. He won gold at the Pan Am Games in Toronto by a margin of 50 seconds.  He then posted his best-ever World Cup result with a sixth place finish in Windham, New York before going on to record his best-ever world championship placement of 18^th, making him the top finisher from outside of Europe. Gagné followed his success by spending the off-season competing in cyclocross as a way of training by racing. He made his Olympic debut at Rio 2016.

Getting to know…

Family: Parents Simon Gagné and Odette Boucher… Sister Olivia… Getting into the Sport: Started mountain biking at age 9… Has dreamed of competing for Canada since he was 6 because he always did a lot of sports and loved competition… Outside Interests: Graduated from Laval University in May 2015 with a Bachelor of Education in Physical Education and Health… Odds and Ends: Nickname: Raph… Always brushes his teeth after the last meal before competing… Favourite motto: “Never give up”…