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An interview with: Sarah Van Dam

FaulknerBrowns sponsored the Canadian endurance rider at the UCI Track Cycling Champions League.

This season at the UCI Track Cycling Champions League, we sponsored Canadian endurance rider Sarah Van Dam; an exciting, emerging talent on two wheels.

Held over five stages in three world-class velodromes, the UCITCL is a global competition of elevated, quick-fire cycling. There’s not much opportunity to take a breath amongst the intense action, which is spread across four race formats: sprint riders in Sprint and Keirin, and endurance riders in Elimination and Scratch. Sarah burst through the early stages of the competition and earned a brilliant victory in the Scratch Race during Round 2, fittingly in Apeldoorn.

As the riders touched down in London to prepare for a final weekend of back-to-back rounds, we caught up with Sarah in Stratford as she sat second overall on the women’s leaderboard, firmly in the mix and with everything to play for at Lee Valley…

Sarah van dam canadian cyclist and paul rigby partner at faulknerbrowns 3x4
Uci track cycling champions league logo on track 3x2

So Sarah, Apeldoorn provided a good weekend for you?

It’s a super fun track to ride. I’ve never been in a velodrome with that type of seating before. One side is so high it feels like a football stadium!

How did you find the track?

When you go to Apeldoorn, you really feel the extremes. Paris is so different in comparison with how abnormally wide it is and how steep the bankings are. A bunch of us had to adjust quickly.

You just got nipped from back-to-back wins!

I know, I made a very silly tactical error. I looked back, saw a gap and this is when I should have gone. Then it was too late, I was swarmed.

Omnisportcentrum apeldoorn uci track cycling champions league 3x2

How do your days look when you’re practising for an event like this?

I like doing some endurance on the road on Mondays and Tuesdays, getting on the track on a Wednesday, then resting Thursday. Pre-race, I like to hop on the rollers for an hour’s spin in the hotel and then focus on the race in the evening. Just being in that environment with all the lights and people, it can be exhausting, and I want to be calm beforehand.

How do you approach riding the road in new cities and where have you ridden in London?

I’m from a very small town, so visiting new cities usually provides very different territory for me. I’m also a rider that doesn’t love stopping when I’m out.

My expectations of road cycling in London were set pretty low by other people. I did a beautiful route out towards Essex though. It was about 98km, had some intervals and it was perfect. There were no potholes either! That’s the first question most people have asked me.

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On your cycling journey, how important has it been to use facilities like velodromes? How have they impacted your pathway?

Track cycling was my entry point into the sport, so going to a velodrome is how I really got into cycling. When I was 11 years old, I’d ride out with my Triple Shot team, we’d have a two-hour session and then we’d ride home. It was just a really nice place to come together. I think they’re so appealing. My parents were happy too as they knew I wasn’t out near traffic. They can provide a much safer environment. You’re also not going to be interrupted.

Sarah van dam canadian cyclist leading pack uci track cycling champions league apeldoorn 3x2

When did you transition from riding bikes for fun?

I’ve been on two wheels since I was two. I have an older brother by three years, so I’ve very much always been of the mindset, ‘I can do anything he can do’. I used to ride a mountain bike to commute to school with my mum and she eventually said, “Okay if you stop riding off curbs, then I’ll get you a road bike,” because I liked going fast.

When I was 11, I joined the Victoria Velodrome Association and then Triple Shot where it was me and six boys. We did cyclo-cross, mountain biking, road, track… there was no specialisation. It was just about having fun on a bike. It’s funny, when you start cycling you don’t realise how much the difference of a bike can make.

I didn’t even want to race, I just wanted to ride my bike, but that quickly changed being in that environment with the boys. I’m a very naturally competitive person and every training session we would do these mock races or mini-intervals and it was always a competition.

What was the trigger to know this was a career path?

Probably less than a year into riding I was like, ‘Okay, I want to race’. Then it was just a pretty natural progression going to Cycling BC (British Columbia) and starting to do camps at Burnaby.

I then started attending Provincials which were the first ‘big’ events for me, then I upgraded to race the Under-17 Nationals. That was when the first realisation hit of, ‘Okay, this is what I really want’.

I attended Junior Worlds on the track over two years. Was I successful? Definitely not. Things have improved now, but I went from racing Nationals straight to World Championships without any international racing experience. So, coming over to Europe where riders are racing constantly; they have Euros, C1s, C2s and we’re coming over with no other experience–that was not successful. It was disheartening, but I’ve been able to use any frustration as motivation going forward.

Sarah van dam canadian cyclist faulknerbrowns sponsorship 3x4

How important have teams and support been in transitioning from riding in North America to racing in Europe?

It’s a difficult path and I’ve been fortunate these past two years racing for DNA. They have brought us over to Europe to race and these opportunities are really what’s fuelled my passion. The racing over here is completely different to North America. We would come over more, but getting invites is hard. It’s a tough journey.

How important is sponsorship and financial support when you’re making that transition from North America to here?

It’s huge. Without the support I’ve had from so many people, I wouldn’t have been able to make the same transition. The connections through my teams like Red Truck and now DNA, then personal sponsors as well; it takes a community for this to happen and if you don’t have that support network, it’s going to be so hard.

Looking at the maybe slight imbalances still between male/female and North American/European racing, how do you think the world’s panning out for you as a female North American racer?

I think being a female in cycling right now is an exciting and promising place. You can see the progression made in just the last couple of years; how there’s more equality and support in women’s racing.

Another thing we’re seeing is careers being extended. You’re seeing women able to race full time as cyclists, not having to have side jobs because the salaries aren’t liveable. You’re seeing support when women want to have families and come back and race.

Sarah van dam canadian cyclist racing in london velodrome 3x2

What’s your next big goal?

I’m going to be racing for Ceratizit-WNT to start 2025. My year is going to be more focused on the road and I’m super excited to have a full race calendar. I’ll be going from maybe 20 race days to 50-60 at a high level. I will be kicking my season off in Australia and we’ll see where it goes from there.

Have you got tactics tonight, or are you just going to whack it at the right moment?

It’s an interesting situation because some people are racing for overall placement, but I just want to race each race as it is and fight for the win.

I’m going to be trying to do something similar to Apeldoorn and hit it off the gun. I’ll maybe look for an opportunity earlier on in the Scratch Race, but I think my best opportunity is getting off the front because of my road fitness. I’ll race the Elimination like last time, keeping near the front. I know I’m strong enough and it’s much safer.

Sarah rode impressively throughout the competition and went on to finish 4th overall in the Women’s Endurance League. She came a very close second in the 4th Round Elimination race to put the pressure on team GB’s Katie Archibald, who went on to secure the UCI Champions League title after winning the final Scratch Race.
Sarah van dam canadian cyclist being congratulated on track 3x2
We look forward to following Sarah’s journey as she takes the next step in her career and embraces a full international race calendar in 2025 with her new team.

Photography: 
©WBD Sports / UCI Track Champions League