Hailing from Ottawa, Canada, professional cyclist Lucy Hempstead has always believed in facing adversity head-on. Despite facing the challenges associated with eating disorders in high school, Lucy persevered and found her career in road racing.

The global pandemic was a major challenge for most people, including professional athletes. In 2021, Lucy took on Crush Covid: Ride for Mind challenge to raise money for people most vulnerable to the effects of Covid. Taking the challenge one step further, she decided to challenge the Guiness World Record for the longest ride on a stationary trainer in 24 hours by a female. She succeeded – riding 812km – breaking the previous record of 680km.

This year, in addition to continuing her road racing career, Lucy has added gravel racing to her repertoire, with the season already off to a solid start. She placed 4th at the Sea Otter Classic Gravel Race, 4th at the Traka 100, and 4th again at Gravel Locos.

Off the bike, Lucy is a big advocate for Mental Health. She is a recipient of the Bridge the Gap bursary, and the RBC Training Ground development funding from Cycling Canada.