Eleventh place in the road race at the World Championships might not make the headlines, but for Joëlle Numainville, the result was an important one. Here’s why. In the 2013 edition of the Tour of Gila, Numainville crashed out of the race. It took seven months for a concussion to be diagnosed, an injury which forced her to have time off the bike and set her back months in her progression. 

This season she joined the Bigla Pro Cycling Team that would see her living in Europe and focused on getting back to full fitness. “This year was the first time I was back at 100%. It took about a year and a half to recover from the concussion,”  the 27 year old said.

The Spring classics started off slow for Numainville. Though she finished in the top twenty in both Tour of Flanders and Le Samyn, she wasn’t satisfied with the results but took positives out of her performance.

“I came from a little far back with the concussion during the spring classics so my level wasn’t where I wanted it to be but I have taken huge steps forward by the end of the year. I want to keep the momentum going and I am ahead of where I was this time last year. It’s a big step forward.”

Thus eleventh in the world championships was another sign for the Canadian national champion that she’s progressing. “I think I did a good race at worlds and it gave me motivation. I’ve been improving month after month and I think I will take another step up next year. It’s great to finish the year off on a high. It’s the most important race of the year.”

Numainville has been in Canada during the off season, completing a Masters degree in finance. “I’ve been studying and writing exams during the off season. I use that time to get a lot of my schoolwork done. For me education is super important and it helps me be more balanced. I’m passionate about economics and finance and I can see myself doing that after cycling.”

From 2016, the Bigla Pro Cycling Team will be known as Cervélo Bigla Pro Cycling. The Canadian brand will up its level of involvement with the team, a move that makes Numainville happy, especially while wearing the jersey as the national champion.  

“I love the bike. It’s great to have a good bike. I’m just really happy to have good equipment because it’s a big deal. When you get a good bike you know it’s all you need and you don’t have to worry about the equipment, you just have to focus on your fitness.”