At just 17 years old, Sidney Swierenga is quickly emerging as one of Canada’s brightest young talents in road cycling. With breakthrough podium finishes at the Redlands Bicycle Classic and Tour of the Gila, she’s not only the youngest rider to ever achieve such results, but she’s now the top-ranked junior woman in the world. A product of Canada’s thriving youth development scene and a standout on the Vancouver-based TaG Cycling team, Swierenga’s rapid rise has drawn comparisons to legends like Mara Abbott. PEZ sat down with her to talk about her dominant 2024 season, her passion for racing, and what’s next for this rising star in women’s cycling.
Sidney Swierenga is one of Canada’s best road racing prospects in years, and she has proven it so far this season. In April, I had the privilege of directing Sidney and several other young Canadian talents on the Vancouver-based TaG racing team for the Redlands Bicycle Classic and the Tour of the Gila. At just 17 years old, Sidney became the youngest rider ever to score an overall podium at both races. The next youngest rider to accomplish that feat? Two-time Giro winner Mara Abbott.
I caught up with Sidney just after she became the number one-ranked junior in the world on the road. Since our talk, she became a double U23 Provincial Champion in BC, winning the Elite road race by over 15 minutes! We talked about her incredible run of results, racing in North America, and the winning mindset that has gotten her this far.
Based on an interview from the episode Sidney Swierenga Takes on the World on the Criterium Nation Podcast available on Spotify and Apple Music link:https://open.spotify.com/show/0t4mIgpR9VTpWU7rr1gQ2m?si=hL9hxciDRaS6NL4k8VDctA
You’ve had a wild month. You were second overall and Best Young Rider at Redlands, did the same at Tour of the Gila, won a major Nations Cup in France…and you were just ranked the number one junior woman in the world for road racing. What has that been like?
Sydney: Well, Redlands is my favourite race, so that was a lot of fun. Then we went to Silver City (NM) to do altitude acclimation with my Dad and my teammate Clemence. You and the rest of the TaG team showed up, and we raced Gila. The whole trip in the US was great.
I like racing without the pressure you get in Europe. The wide roads and smaller pelotons are less stressful than racing against 160 junior girls racing for contracts over here. I also like racing against really strong and experienced riders like Lauren Stephens. I know she’s probably going to beat me, but I like it when it’s hard to win. I like the challenge.
But you are winning in those frenetic European junior races, too. Like the Tour de Gevaudan?
Sydney: A lot of those races, like in Belgium, aren’t suited to me. But it’s good to practice racing on a road as wide as a sidewalk. Hopefully, I’m getting better.
I won the second stage (mountain top finish) in Gevaudan and the overall. Even though I got a twenty-second time penalty and a fine for feeding in the wrong spot! I don’t think I should have to pay that fine (laughs).
How did this cycling journey start for you? When did you realize you might be pretty good at this racing thing?
Sydney: I started cycling when I was really young. My dad got me into it. I would just ride with him. Ever since I could ride a bike, I would just go with my dad. It was not a competitive thing at all. I was too young to want to race. Maybe some people would have wanted to race, but when I was seven, I wasn’t really thinking about it. I was just thinking about going with my dad and having fun.
I started running. I don’t really know why, but I just started running and I liked it. And I was running a lot. I got pretty good because I was training as much as a full professional runner would. Maybe not as much as a marathon runner, but I was consistently doing half-marathon distances on my own (21.1km). Not really as training, just going out and doing it.
Doing all that, I got really good really fast, but I don’t think it was maintainable. Then COVID happened, and then all the races got canceled. So, I just started doing more cycling, and then I just kind of stopped running because I liked cycling more. Sometimes I still run, but obviously not as much as I ride.
It’s okay to brag a little. What were your best 5km and 10km running times? Keeping in mind you ran these before you graduated middle school!
Sydney: Well, I can’t remember exactly, I think my 5k was 16:50. It was, I think it was sub 17. But my 5k was not my strength. My strength was my 10k. In my best race, I did 36:02, which is 36 flat basically.
And I was really proud of myself because there was 10k race was near my house, and it was kind of a proper one. There were real pros there, and I got to start in the elite corral because I had qualified with that 36:02. I had my name on the bib and everything. It felt like a big deal (at 13 years old), and I even got to go to the special breakfast afterward. I just thought: “I’ve made it”. I just had a great time.
I’ve met a lot of athletes in the sport who have that almost crazy, innate drive to work and train hard, like you did from a young age. But often they struggle in high-level racing because they can’t let themselves rest.
They are always tired and never develop the punch you need in road racing versus something steady like a marathon. But you’ve obviously adapted very well. Was it challenging to make that adjustment?
Sydney: I struggled at first. All that running…it wasn’t healthy. I loved it, but it wasn’t sustainable. But I’m better now because (in cycling) I don’t really have that mindset anymore. Im just motivated to be the best I can and if I’m “cooked” all the time I’m not going to be able to go out and do the power that I want to do. It’s better to take a rest day and hit the power for the hard intervals the next day. If I can’t do the power for my workouts and in the races, I’m not going to be happy, so I’m motivated to rest and feel as good as I can.
You must be thinking about some big goals in the next five years. Are you thinking about the 2026 Montreal World Championships? The 2028 Olympics? What is the one race you want to win in your career?
Sydney: In my career? I’d really like to win a mountain stage of the Tour one day. That’s my dream race.
I would be really impressed with myself if I managed to make it on the Canadian Worlds team for next year as a first-year U23! There are so many good Canadian U23s and Elites…it will be tough.
The Olympics too, if I’m selected for one of the two spots Canada gets as a U23…you can ask me about my goals again then (laughs). It might be a little far-fetched, it’s not a dream yet but three years is a long time. We will see.
Thanks Sidney. Hopefully, we can have you back when you win that Tour stage.
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