RBC Training Ground 2022 qualifiers are when talent scouts scour the country looking for unpolished athletic gems hiding just out of sight.
Talent scouts from several national governing bodies were on hand, and an Iroquois Ridge student, 17-year-old Kristen Taylor, caught the eye of Tanya Dubnicoff, a Cycling Canada coach.
Dubnicoff says, "Kristen is the youngest athlete from the RBC Training Ground search that we invited to do sport-specific testing."
Kristen had heard about the Training Ground during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. After her father mentioned it again a year later, she signed herself up for testing.
Kristen exudes curious confidence when you ask her about her ambitions and motivation. "Yeah, I feel like, at this stage, I don't really know what I'm capable of in cycling, but if I could make it to the Olympics, that would be amazing."
She says, "I guess I just have a desire to work hard. I just always want to be the hardest working person when I'm there."
Taylor's hard work has paid off, as she will be one of 100 finalists headed to Ottawa on Oct. 22. From there, 30 participants will be picked to receive funding, a place in their respective national associations' development program, and a pathway to the Olympics.
RBC Training Ground provides data collection on a vast swath of the population. Their national sports organizations have selected 1,600 athletes for having Olympic potential.
Kelsey Mitchell will be on hand for the national final; the Tokyo 2020 Cycling Gold Medalist is an alumna of the RBC Training Ground. Like Kristen, she had no cycling experience before attending the event and was only introduced to the sport a few years before her debut.
At these events, athletes are measured for biometric traits like height and wingspan and in feats of strength, speed, power, and endurance. Additionally, competitive sports history is taken into account.
It's the final two items that have likely put Kristen into contention for funding. When asked about her strengths, she responded, "I think endurance is my strongest area."
If you combine that with the time she spent racing mountain bikes competitively at Kelso in Milton before the COVID-19 Pandemic, it doesn't seem so out of the realm that she might need a push in the right direction to reach her potential in track and road cycling.
When pressed about her prior athletic experience, Taylor lays out a diverse range of sports in her past. "I play house league hockey and softball, and at school, I play field hockey. I did a bit of track in grade 8, but I definitely wasn't one of the top runners at our school."
Kristen has dove into cycling head first since being spotted by Cycling Canada.
"I just started on the track in June, and just over the course of a few months, I've now joined a cycling club. I'm cycling five days a week, and I have a training plan from my coach. So it's been pretty neat, pretty exciting."
It's safe to say that Taylor is grateful to RBC Training Ground for opening her eyes to a new passion extolling the merits of her new challenge.
She is thankful for "the opportunity to be able to find a sport that I can kind of do long term, and have a chance at competing at a high level. It's been really neat to get into cycling and see all the opportunities to compete."
RBC will be footing the bill for the athletes' transportation to Ottawa in late October and providing them with accommodations and food. After everything is said and done, the top 30 will be announced at a broadcast event on TSN on Dec. 5.