DORIAN GEIGER
Sports Editor

The Tour de France — the crown jewel of the cycling world — usually isn’t associated with prostitution but U of S student Matt Martyniuk might have something to say about that.

When most people think about the Tour de France, super human athlete Lance Armstrong and long, winding roads through the French countryside might come to mind. For Martyniuk — who spent six months cycling on an amateur team in France last winter — one of his most vivid memories from the trip involves his teammates’ deviant roadside antics while waiting to catch a glimpse of the Tour de France circuit.

Martyniuk’s fellow cyclers apparently thought engaging in some promiscuous activity with transient highway prostitutes would add to the Tour de France experience.

“So as we’re sitting by the side of the road everyone passing can tell prostitution is going on there. The entire Tour de France team cars and team buses and every single Tour de France rider and big name of the sport is sitting there — slow as traffic could be — passing our vehicle. I wasn’t involved in the transaction by any means,” added Martyniuk nervously.

Likely one of the quirkiest experiences Martyniuk witnessed in his French cycling trek, this cycler’s surreal trip and athletic background go far deeper than his fellow teammates’ interest in roadside prostitution. A top-notch speed skater since a young age, Martyniuk got into cycling as a form of off-season training in the summer but fell in love with the sport and eventually made the transition from a pair of skates to a bicycle.

Prior to his French cycling ambitions, Martyniuk was ranked third in Saskatchewan two years running, first in category two in 2006 and later in category three in 2007. A total of five categories exist in ranking Canadian cyclers — category one comprises the elite and pro-continental cyclists and category five is made up of cyclists just getting into the sport. Martyniuk was also ranked in the top 50 in Canada in 2006 and has established himself as one the best individual time trial cyclists in Saskatchewan.

In 2007 Martyniuk put university on hold and migrated to the milder climate of Victoria for the purpose of training and cycling all year long. However, Martyniuk’s stint in Victoria didn’t turn out the way he anticipated and the gloomy, rainy weather eventually chased him back to Saskatchewan where the idea of taking his skill international presented itself to him.

Feeling discouraged and unsure if he wanted to continue the sport he had passionately pursued in past years, Martyniuk took the advice of a friend who had raced in France for the cycling team Sprinters Club de Nice. Martyniuk got connected with the team via email and after sending the organization his impressive cycling results, was invited to join the cycling club overseas.

“I flew out there in January, got picked up at the airport by the (team director) and we raced off in his team car on the narrow French roads. Eventually my French got better. I continually got faster and was able to race all over the Côte D’azur region and Italy too. It was an incredible experience all in all — the cultural experience and developing myself as an athlete and person. I lucked out with a really great team in France and for the most part everyone was really welcoming,” recounted Martyniuk.

When Martyniuk says “for the most part,” he means that not everyone overseas was supportive of his cycling endeavour. Contrary to the team’s name, Club de Nice, he emphasized that not all of his French teammates were so nice.

“We had a mixed bunch. There were a lot of people who were really keen because we were English and they wanted to learn the language. But there was the other end of people — because we had come so far we had certain advantages and they didn’t like that. Just jealousy kind of thing, they would get pissed off and tell other people.”

However, Martynuik narrowed down the majority of this cultural-athletic animosity to Club de Nice’s team president.

“The club president was — can I say an asshole?” said the soft-spoken Martyniuk.

“He would often come up to you and he would point at your legs and say ‘no good.’ At the start of an event when you’re standing at the start line ready to race — trying to get yourself all motivated — he would come up and tell you you’re going to have a bad race.”

Still slightly unsure why the team president chose to single him out, the only explanation Martyniuk could think of was his status as one of the team’s youngest riders and the fact that he was one of only three Canadian riders on the team.

Martyniuk also believed such treatment was part of a hit and miss trend targeting North American riders who competitively cycle overseas.

Despite the hurdles Martyniuk had to jump to gain respect in France, it wasn’t long before the cyclist from Moose Jaw put Canada on the map in the cycling circles of a foreign country.

Posting promising results in numerous races, Martynuik was also able to race against the stage seven winner of the Tour de France, Brice Feillu, one of France’s brightest cycling prospects.

- -
photo: Matt Martyniuk