Eight Canadians at the Giro d’Italia Women: A Record Never Set Before — And What It Reminded Me About Success

This week, something remarkable happened at the Giro d’Italia Women in Italy.

Not in the women’s Giro.

Not in the men’s Giro.

Not at the Tour de France.

Not at the Vuelta.

Eight Canadian women started the 2026 Giro d’Italia Women — the highest number of Canadian cyclists ever to take the start line of any Grand Tour in the history of the sport.

Men’s or women’s.

Ever.

The previous record? Four Canadian men at the 2012 Giro, the year Ryder Hesjedal won the pink jersey.

Eight Canadian women just doubled it.

Let that land for a moment.

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Why the Giro d’Italia Women Record Matters

For those of us connected to the Canadian cycling development ecosystem, there is another statistic that matters just as much.

Five of those eight athletes were supported at some point in their careers by Bridge the Gap — a Canadian development program dedicated to helping young riders make the leap to professional racing.

I have been the in-house Leadership and Mental Performance Coach for Bridge the Gap for four years.

I have had the privilege of working personally with some of the women racing in Italy this week.

Watching them on one of the biggest stages in the world?

There are no words.

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What Bridge the Gap Actually Does

Development programs like Bridge the Gap don’t just develop cyclists.

They develop people.

They create the conditions for young athletes to learn — not just how to train harder or race smarter — but how to understand themselves.

How to manage pressure.

How to recover from setbacks.

How to build the kind of confidence that holds when everything is on the line.

That work happens long before an athlete ever pins on a race number at a Grand Tour.

And it matters far more than most people realize.

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Success Does Not Mean You Stop Needing Support

Here is something I see every single day in my work as a Mental Performance Coach:

The higher the level, the more important the inner game becomes.

We tend to think that once an athlete reaches the top, they have figured everything out.

That confidence has arrived.

That self-doubt is behind them.

That the mental work is done.

But that is not how it works.

Even the most accomplished athletes — including some of the women racing in Italy this week — face challenges that no amount of training can solve.

Injury recovery. Self-doubt. Fear of failure. Pressure to perform. Expectations from others — and from themselves. Negative self-talk.

These are not signs of weakness.

They are signs of being human.

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What Is Happening Between the Ears

When people think about athletic performance, they focus on the physical.

Training loads. Race results. Nutrition. Equipment. Fitness.

All of that matters.

But so does what is happening in the brain.

One of the frameworks I use with athletes is called the Seven Levels of Effectiveness.

When athletes are operating below the line, they may find themselves caught in fear, frustration, self-doubt, blame, or defensiveness.

These states are completely normal — especially during recovery from injury, after a disappointing result, or in the middle of a difficult season.

The goal is not to eliminate those feelings.

The goal is to become aware of them.

To understand them.

To learn from them.

And then to develop the skills to shift into a more effective performance state.

Above the line, athletes are better able to access curiosity, courage, ownership, resilience, creativity, confidence, and trust.

Not because life suddenly becomes easier.

But because they have built the capacity to respond differently.

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Mental Performance Is Not About Forced Positivity

I want to be clear about something.

Mental performance coaching is not about pretending everything is fine.

It is not about slapping a smile on a hard situation, or forcing yourself to feel confident when you do not.

It is about building self-awareness, emotional regulation, resilience, focus, and the ability to perform under pressure.

It is about developing a relationship with your own brain — one that helps you recognize when you are being pulled below the line, and gives you the tools to find your way back.

The athletes competing at the Giro this week have put in years of physical work to get there.

The mental work is what allows them to access all of that training when it counts most.

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The Skills That Transfer Everywhere

Here is what I find most fascinating about this work.

The same skills that help an athlete return from injury, rebuild confidence after a setback, or stay regulated under pressure?

They are the same skills that help leaders, founders, and teams thrive.

Self-awareness. Emotional regulation. Resilience. The ability to perform when the stakes are high.

These are not just athletic skills.

They are human skills.

And when we develop them — in sport, in leadership, in life — everything changes.

We communicate more effectively. We build stronger relationships. We make better decisions. We recover from setbacks more quickly. We perform more consistently.

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Behind Every Result Is a Human Being

As Canadians celebrate what is happening in Italy this week, I keep coming back to one thought.

Behind every GC standing, every stage result, every white jersey — there is a human being.

A human being who has experienced doubt, injury, fear, and failure on the way to that moment.

Success is not the absence of struggle.

Success is often the result of learning how to work through it.

Congratulations to all eight Canadian athletes competing at the Giro d’Italia Women, and to the coaches, families, organizations, and support systems — including Bridge the Gap — who have been part of their journeys.

It truly takes a village.

And that village matters more than most people realize.

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Because even the most successful people still need support.

And when they receive the right support, they don’t just perform.

They flourish.

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Sheri Jay Leadership & Mental Performance Coach Master your brain. Master your performance.