Kirsti Lay

Biography

Kirsti Lay began her elite athletic career in long track speed skating, competing at three ISU World Junior Championships as well as several World Cup events. It was while training at the Olympic Oval in Calgary and seeing Olympians such as Clara Hughes and Cindy Klassen training in their Canada gear that she knew she wanted to wear the maple leaf at a high level. Forced to retire from skating due to injury, she turned to cycling and in three short years has already made an impact. After serving as an alternate to the team pursuit at the 2014 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, she made her World Cup debut that fall and won a silver medal in her very first team pursuit start in Guadalajara. She followed that with a bronze in London before winning bronze at the 2015 UCI Track Cycling World Championships with Allison Beveridge, Jasmin Glaesser and Steph Roorda. At the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto, Lay won team pursuit gold with Beveridge, Glaesser and Laura Brown. During the 2015-16 World Cup season, Lay helped Canada win one gold and one silver before capturing world championship silver in London with Beveridge, Glaesser and Georgia Simmerling. In her Olympic debut at Rio 2016, Lay was part of Canada’s bronze medal in the team pursuit, setting a national record alongside Allison Beveridge, Jasmin Glaesser, Georgia Simmerling and Laura Brown. Lay has also enjoyed some success on the road, claiming the Queen of the Mountain title at the 2015 Tour of California.

Getting to know…

Family: Parents Brad and Marlene Lay… Older brother Cameron, younger brother Kristian… Husband Mathieu Giroux is a two-time Olympic speed skater and Vancouver 2010 gold medallist in team pursuit… Getting into the Sport: Started cycling at age 24 after an injury forced her to retire from speed skating… She still loved sport and had the drive to compete so it was a silver lining to find that opportunity in cycling… Outside Interests: Graduated from the University of Calgary in spring 2014 with an Honours Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting… Enjoys cooking and baking for the team at training camps, relaxing at the beach, surfing, and running… Ambassador for Fast and Female… Odds and Ends: Always travels with her Kindle reader… Tries to go out and eat local food as soon as her race is over… Has ‘good luck brownies’ that she eats the night before leaving for a race… Nickname: Kirst… Favourite quote: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go>” – Deuteronomy 31:6…