EDITOR'S NOTE: This article originally appeared on Milton Today July 13.
Michael Foley sat among the spectators as his newly-opened hometown velodrome was christened with the Milton International Challenge.
One thing quickly became clear. He didn’t belong there.
“I recognized some of the juniors doing it and I was like ‘I should be down there, I don’t want to be in the stands’,” recalled the then 16-year-old, of his 2015 introduction to track cycling. “I figured out how to get down there.”
That’s an awfully modest summation of what came next.
Armed with an ultra-competitive nature and first-rate training ground in his own backyard, Foley took the sport by storm – quickly finding himself a mainstay on the national podium.
Appearances and success on the international stage soon followed, and the gifted cyclist now finds himself as a soon-to-be two-time Olympian.
With a much different role this time around, he heads to Paris as the lone holdover of Canada’s men’s endurance track team from Tokyo – his 2020 Olympic peers either retiring or making a full-time shift to road racing.
“Last time I was the baby and then in a day after the last Olympics I became the old guy,” said the 25-year-old Miltonian, referring to the mass exodus of both athletes and coaches following the last Summer Games.
Feeling he still had more to give on the track, Foley now serves as the seasoned bridge for a young Canadian men’s team still experiencing the usual high-stakes growing pains.
“I felt a bit of responsibility to stick around and share the knowledge I had,” said the University of Victoria bio-medical student, who’ll once again be competing in the team pursuit and madison – having helped Canada to fifth (with national record of 3:46.324) and 12th (DNF) respectively in those events in Tokyo. “(With all the coaches and other riders gone), it didn’t feel fair to leave them (new guys) to figure it all out by themselves.”
Looking back on the past decade, Foley admits he didn’t really see the big picture rapidly unfolding before him.
“Now I can see it all moved pretty fast,” he said. “At the time I was just head down and doing my thing. I think if the velodrome wasn’t built in Milton my life would look quite a bit different today. It definitely changed my life.”
No conversation with the local track cycling standout would be complete without a shout out to former Olympian and Tour de France great Steve Bauer – whose tutelage Foley fell under during those early days in the Milton Cycling Academy.
“He was so good at motivating me,” said Foley. “He always kept it about the right things.”
Currently at the Tour de France, Bauer said Foley's skills and athleticism were undeniable from the onset and that he looks forward to his protege's latest Olympic appearance with great anticipation.
"I took it upon myself to provide him my support through those early years I coached at the velodrome and followed his progress. I'm certainly excited to see him racing against the best in the world," said Bauer.
The Paris-bound cyclist also offers a great deal of credit to Tokyo teammates Derek Gee and Adam Jamieson – who collectively offered a calming presence and sharp analytical outlook.
“Adam was such a no stone left unturned guy. He was the alternate for Tokyo, but even though a lot of the time he wasn’t in the efforts he had some of the most useful feedback.”
Foley hopes to pass along those lessons to his young peers as he heads into the final push before Paris.
“I think it’ll just be a bit easier this time. I have a better idea what to expect. I think I was lucky with Tokyo because it was my first Olympics and there were no fans, so it really just felt like training,” said Foley, an accomplished road cyclist as well who last month raced to victory in the 160-km Stage 2 of the Tour de Beauce in Quebec. “So I’ve been able to get a lot of the Olympic stuff out of the way for the first time. So when it’s all just a bit more, I’ve got that stuff out of the way. Hopefully my teammates can lean on that a little bit.
“We’re at a really similar place in the lead in (to Olympics), and at least from a physical standpoint I’m able to contribute a lot more to the team than I was in Tokyo. I’d like to think the best is yet to come.”