Mistissini, Que., team to tackle 1,000-km Grand défi cycling challenge

Five athletes from Mistissini are gearing up to ride 1,000 kilometres this summer as part of Quebec’s Grand défi cycling challenge, but first they need to raise $13,500 to support the ride.

The team — Devine Loon, Nathan Rabbitskin, Gabriel Rabbitskin, Laurie Mathieu, and Caroline Girard — is made up of seasoned endurance athletes. Their backgrounds span swimming, cycling, running, and triathlons, with some having completed Ironman triathlons and other major fitness challenges.

Le Grand défi Pierre Lavoie is a major health and sports initiative in Québec that encourages people — especially young people — to live more active, healthy lifestyles.

It was created by Pierre Lavoie, a Québec athlete who lost two children to a rare genetic disease. He launched the cycling challenge to raise money to support research and healthier living.

“That money goes to different projects that Le Grand défi Pierre Lavoie has for supporting schools for their activities like giving snowshoes, basketballs or whatnot,” said Gabriel Rabbitskin.

This year's challenge will take place from June 11 to 14 in the Saint-Jean-Sur-Rechelieu region of Quebec. Before then, the Mistissini team will need to raise the $13,500 registration fee, most of which will go toward Grand défi school scholarships and research grants of their choosing.

Raising money isn't the team's only goal. They also hope to inspire Cree to be more physically active, said Caroline Girard, a nurse who’s been living in Mistissini for over 10 years.

“One of our biggest goals by participating is to create role models from the community for the community,” Girard said.

Leading by example matters even more in communities where proper infrastructure isn’t always available, said team member Devine Loon.

“Mistissini does not have a cycling path. We don't have ideal conditions for road biking,” Loon said.

Every summer, Mistissini hosts a weekly cycling challenge along Rue Principale, the community’s only road in and out. Youth riders pedal 16 kilometres to the beach and back, while adults take on the longer 32-kilometre route to Perch River and back — sharing the road with passing cars.

For Loon, sharing the road is a true testament of how Cree adapt to hard conditions.

“We can't limit ourselves because of what we have in Mistissini. We have to improvise so we can set bigger goals for ourselves. So that's how I looked at it,” Loon said.

Her teammate, Gabriel Rabbitskin, manages the community pool and swimming programs. When he’s not in the pool or the lake, he’s peddling on his bike, training for the challenge.