Erinne Willock (born October 16, 1981 in

Saanich, British Columbia Saanich ( ) is a district municipality on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, within the Greater Victoria area. The population was 117,735 at the 2021 census, making it the most populous municipality in the Capital Regional District and V ...

) is a Canadian professional road cyclist. She represented

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

, and also claimed a silver medal in the women's time trial at the 2006

Pan American Road and Track Championships The Pan American Road and Track Championships are the continental cycling championships for road bicycle racing and track cycling held annually for member nations of the Pan American Cycling Confederation. Riders competing in the Pan American Cy ...

Valencia, Venezuela Valencia () is the capital city of Carabobo State and the third-largest city in Venezuela. The city is an economic hub that contains Venezuela's top industries and manufacturing companies. It is also the largest city in the Valencia-Maracay m ...

. Willock currently races for TIBCO-To-The-Top pro cycling team since she joined in 2011.

Professional career

Born and raised in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...

, Willock introduced to the sport at age fourteen under the guidance and mentoring of her father Martin Willock, who previously raced for Canada in the men's team time trial at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Her uncle

Bernie Willock Bernard Willock is a Canadian businessman and former cyclist. Willock has worked as the President and CEO of Food for the Hungry Canada, and owned La-Z-Boy licensed furniture stores. As a cyclist, Willock won the 1980 Canadian National Road ...

, the 1980 Canadian road champion, was set to represent the same nation at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

before his team joined the US-led boycott. Willock started out in track cycling and mountain biking, until she shifted to road racing in her elite level. She first joined Team Rona Esker in 2003, and has landed top three places at the

Canadian Championships Canadian Championships refers to a number of national-level competition in Canada. It may refer to: * Canadian Championship, a soccer tournament * Canadian Figure Skating Championships * Canadian Professional Figure Skating Championships * Canadi ...

and at the

International Tour de Toona The International Tour de Toona was a stage bicycle race held in Central Pennsylvania in July from 1987 until 2011. The event became the largest pro-am cycling event in North America and had stages spanning Blair, Cambria, Bedford, and Somerset ...

in eastern United States. Willock's career flourished when she rode for the United States' Webcor Builders Cycling Team from 2005 to 2010. Followed by two successful pro seasons, Willock delivered her best results in the entire sporting career with a silver medal in the women's road race at the 2006

, and a top twenty finish at the 2007 UCI World Championships in

Stuttgart, Germany Stuttgart (; Swabian German, Swabian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fe ...

. Continuing her family's Olympic tradition, Willock qualified for the Canadian squad in the women's road race at the

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

by receiving the nation's third and final berth from the UCI World Cup. She successfully completed a grueling race with a thirty-seventh-place effort in 3:33:23, surpassing Australia's

Sara Carrigan Sara Carrigan (born 7 September 1980 in Gunnedah, New South Wales) is a professional cyclist from Australia, who commenced her cycling career in 1996 at the age of fifteen and is currently a member of the Belgian Lotto–Belisol Ladiesteam. ...

by a scanty, two-second gap. In 2009, Willock scored a career-high, seventh place as the top North American cyclist in the 124-km women's road race at the

UCI World Championships The UCI world championships are annual competitions promoted by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to determine world champion cyclists. They are held in several different styles of racing, in a different country each year. Championship winne ...

Mendrisio Mendrisio (; lmo, label= Ticinese, Mendris ) is a municipality in the district of Mendrisio in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. Mendrisio is the seat of the Accademia di Architettura of the university of Italian-speaking Switzerland (U ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Following the end of 2010 season, Willock announced that she would leave Webcor Builders for the TIBCO-To-The-Top pro cycling team under a bi-annual contract. On January 10, 2012, Willock also decided to put her Olympic bid on hold, as she and her husband Tony Zarsadias, a professional road cyclist, were expecting to have their first newborn child shortly before the

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Career highlights

2002 – where she won her very very first race ever anywhere – Hartford, CT criterium riding for then top ranked (and steroid free) USA cycling team – Verizon Wireless presented by Cervelo https://www.bikereg.com/Results/s/15543/hartford-downtown-criterium Pro/1/2/3 Women 1 Erinne Willock Verizon Wireless-Cervelo 49:56 after having come in second only two weeks prior to the multi time (and future Verizon Wireless rider) Laura Van Gilder at the iconic Bear Mountain race just outside NYC https://www.bikereg.com/Results/s/15540/bear-mountain-spring-classic Women 1/2/3 32 Starters 56 Miles 1 Laura Van Gilder Trek Plus 2 Erinne Willock Verizon Wireless and the day before... second again https://www.bikereg.com/Results/s/15539/sterling-classic Women 1/2/3 40m winning time = 1:42:16 42 racers competed 1. Yvonne Ilton Verizon Wireless – Cervelo 2. Erinne Willock Verizon Wireless – Cervelo ;2003 : 2nd Stage 5,

Tour de Toona The International Tour de Toona was a stage bicycle race held in Central Pennsylvania in July from 1987 until 2011. The event became the largest pro-am cycling event in North America and had stages spanning Blair, Cambria, Bedford, and Somerset ...

, United States ;2004 : 3rd Canadian Championships (Road),

Kamloops, British Columbia Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, w ...

(CAN) : 3rd Overall, Tour de Toona, United States :: 3rd Stage 1 :: 3rd Stage 6 ;2005 : 1st Overall, San Dimas Stage Race, United States :: 1st Stage 2 : 2nd Canadian Championships (Road),

(CAN) ;2006 : 1st Overall, Joe Martin Stage Race, United States :: 1st Stage 3 : 2nd

(ITT),

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

(VEN) : 3rd Overall,

Tour of the Gila The Tour of the Gila is a cycling stage race for both men and women located in New Mexico, United States. It is sponsored by the component maker SRAM. The "Gila" began in 1987. Beginning in 2012, the men's Gila has been added to the UCI America ...

, United States :: 2nd Stage 2,

Mogollon, New Mexico Mogollon, also called the Mogollon Historic District, is a former mining town located in the Mogollon Mountains in Catron County, New Mexico, United States. Located east of Glenwood and Alma, it was founded in the 1880s at the bottom of Silver ...

:: 3rd Stage 1,

Tyrone, New Mexico Tyrone is a census-designated place in Grant County, New Mexico, United States. Its population was 637 as of the 2010 census. Demographics Description Tyrone is located northeast of the original town of Tyrone, which was destroyed by mining ...

;2007 : 3rd Stage 5, Tour de l'Ardeche, France : 17th

(Road),

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

(GER) ;2008 : 3rd Overall,

Tour of New Zealand The Women's Tour of New Zealand is a stage race A race stage, leg, or heat is a unit of a race that has been divided in several parts for the reason such as length of the distance to be covered, as in a multi-day event. Usually, such a race co ...

, New Zealand : 37th

(

Road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

(CHN) ;2009 : 3rd Stage 1,

Nature Valley Grand Prix The North Star Grand Prix is a men's and women's road bicycle racing stage race held each June in Minnesota, United States, as part of the North Star Bicycle Festival. An event was added in North Mankato in 2016. The North Star Grand Prix is on ...

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center o ...

: 3rd Stage 1, Joe Martin Stage Race, United States : 7th

(Road),

(SUI) ;2010 : 3rd Overall,

Cascade Cycling Classic The Cascade Cycling Classic was the longest running elite road bicycle racing stage race in the United States (1980–2019), with 2018 being the only year the race was not held. The race took place in the Central Oregon region and was based in Be ...

, United States :: 1st Stage 2 :: 3rd Stage 3 : 8th Overall,

GP Ouest-France The Bretagne Classic, also called Bretagne Classic Ouest–France, is an elite cycling classic held annually in late summer around the Breton village of Plouay in western France. The race was originally named Grand–Prix de Plouay and, from 19 ...

, France : 9th Stage 5,

Holland Ladies Tour The Holland Ladies Tourhttp://www.hollandladiestour.nl/ Official site is a women's elite professional road bicycle racing stage race held annually in September since 1998 in the Netherlands. It's a tour with 6 or 7 stages. For sponsorship reasons ...

Rijssen Rijssen (; nds-nl, Riesn, ) is a city in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It is part of Rijssen-Holten, one of thirteen municipalities in Twente. It has almost 28,000 inhabitants. The economy of Rijssen relies mostly on commerce and construct ...

(NED) ;2011 : 3rd Canadian Championships (Road),

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

(CAN) : 5th Overall, GP Ouest-France, France

Personal life

Willock is the daughter of Martin Willock, who competed at the

. Her uncle

was scheduled to compete at the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

, until Canada joined the boycott of that event.

References

External links

* * *
Canadian Cycling Team Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Willock, Erinne 1981 births Living people Canadian female cyclists Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists for Canada People from the Capital Regional District Sportspeople from British Columbia