Government affairs + communications practitioner. Past vice chair Mental Health Commission, past chair of EORLA, director of Carleton U board of governors
ON THIS DAY IN 1613
June 1st, 1613, Samuel De Champlain almost died in the rapids of the Ottawa River Long Sault near Hawkesbury, On.
Reading from Champlain’s 1613 diary:
“On Saturday, the 1st of June, we passed two other falls; the first half a league long, the second a league, in which we had had much difficulty; for the rapidity of the current is so great that it makes a frightful noise, and produces, as it descends from stage to stage, so white a foam everywhere that the water cannot be seen at all. This fall is strewn with rocks, and contains some islands here and there covered with pines and white cedars.
This was the place where we had a hard time; for, not being able to carry our canoes by land on account of the density of the wood, we had to drag them in the water with ropes, and in drawing mine I came near losing my life, as it crossed into one of the eddies, and if I had not had the good fortune to fall between two rocks the canoe would have dragged me in, inasmuch as I was unable to undo quickly enough the rope which was wound around my hand, and which hurt me severely and came near cutting it off.”
As Champlain pulled himself out of danger, he thanked his companion…
“Later our savage came to help me, but I was out of danger. It is not strange that I was desirous of preserving my canoe, for if it had been lost it would have been necessary to remain, or wait until some savages came that way, a poor hope for those who have nothing to dine on, and who are not accustomed to such hardship. As for our Frenchmen, they did not have any better luck, and several times came near losing their lives; but the Divine Goodness preserved us all. During the remainder of the day we rested, having done enough.”
How the course of Canada’s history could have changed had Champlain been killed that day…
On this day in 1986, Canadian Patrick Morrow became the first person to climb the Seven Summits in the Carstensz-Version ("Messner list"). He completed the climbs between 1977 and 1986 and wrote about it in his book Beyond Everest: Quest for the Seven Summits.
Tadej Pogačar to RSI Sport:
“Kids are so innocent and grateful probably for the rest of their life if show them that you care, if you stop and give them your bottle or autograph, I absolutely don’t have a problem to do it and they look up to me and I also want them to be a good person in the future.”
"I always think of myself as a normal person. When I'm out on the bike, I do normal things, like everybody. Cook yourself dinner, lunch, clean the apartment, do paperwork, go to the supermarket, wash the bike, wash the car, whatever. I consider myself as a normal guy. But then, of course, I'm also kind of grateful that people say that I'm special. But that's just on the bike."
“I don't chase any record. I just want to live in the moment and enjoy what I have now and see where the road goes. If I break some records, I break some records. If not, it doesn't matter. I will not obsess myself over anything."
"The thing that irritates me most is if I cannot show my best version of myself, but it doesn't happen very often. I always push myself to the limit, try my best, so I'm always kind of happy even if I lose. If I show that I give everything, then I'm always satisfied and happy. You can be disappointed, but never really angry."
"It was a good sensation riding against Paul. I was afraid that I would be like, okay, he's on my wheel, I give up or whatever, but he pushed me more, because I think he's a good kid, very mature for his age, and he's really racing with his heart. He gave me a bit more push for the future."
Wout van Aert had his first public appearance today since his Paris-Roubaix win and this is what he said:
“It is the most beautiful moment of my career. Definitely, I hope there will be more successes, but for now, I'm still enjoying it. I felt a relief much greater than after other big successes."
“My Montmartre Champs Élysées win changed everything for me in my mind. Up until then, I was convinced that Pogacar and Van der Poel were impossible to beat. I know many factors came into play that day, I was much fresher than Pogacar, for example, but by beating him, I realized I was still capable of winning against these riders if all the conditions were right."
“You probably saw that viral image from Roubaix of my front wheel being in the air. In one of the big corners at the beginning of the Carrefour de l'Arbre, I remembered that I had punctured a specific stone. That's why I decided to jump over it. But I was not aware of having jumped so high.”
“But in the end, I just do my job and pursue my dream. It's nice to be part of a great team and to play a great sport. I never tried to be a role model. But I take advantage of it. Inspiring children is the best thing."
📷: Leen Van De Sande
“You deserve this so much” 😍
Team Visma | Lease a Bike’s Head of Racing, Grischa Niermann, guides Wout van Aert to victory in a thrilling edition of Paris-Roubaix.
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🇫🇷 #ParisRoubaix
Van Aert: "This means a lot to me. It’s been a goal since 2018, from the first year I raced here. I had lost Michael Goolaerts, my teammate. This finger pointed to the sky is for him. This victory is for him and his family."
#ParisRoubaix
WOUT VAN AERT BAT TADEJ POGACAR POUR REMPORTER PARIS-ROUBAIX ! Le Belge de la Visma-Lease a Bike (31 ans) décroche sa 1re victoire sur #ParisRoubaix en réglant le champion du monde sur le Vélodrome. Le Slovène (27 ans) devra revenir pour compléter sa collection sur les Monuments.
My dear friend Ritchard Brisbin’s remarkable mother Doreen has taken her leave of the world.
A long, and impactful life lived well. Read below. https://t.co/tpdHaPcIzt
THREAD
My takeaways from the epic Milano Sanremo day 🤯
1. I don’t think people understand what Tadej did yesterday.
I saw people saying comments that of course Pogi has won, he is the strongest etc. But what Tadej did yesterday was, for me, one of his biggest performances of his career, if not the biggest.
He crashed at a really high speed and was losing in the peloton going full speed for more than 30 seconds. Even the Hungarian commentators said Pogi might be an alien, but this is too much for him to win from this situation.
And he got back. He was overtaking the peloton on Cipressa like they were juniors and got to the front with McNulty. And attacked and attacked and broke the Cipressa record. INTO THE HEADWIND.
Then dropped MVDP on his best terrain, on 4% short climb, again attacked like 3 times, started then dropping the best descender in the Poggio descent, and beat him in the sprint. Wounded, bruised he still did it. Absolutely insane.
📷: mr. pinko