Lafontaine joins Cycling Canada as CEO after year with cross-country skiing body

CANMORE, Alta. – Cycling Canada has named Pierre Lafontaine as its chief executive officer/secretary general.

Lafontaine joins Cycling Canada after spending a year as chief executive officer of Cross Country Ski de Fond Canada.

During his stint as chief executive officer for the governing body of cross-country skiing in Canada, Lafontaine helped develop a shared 10-year vision designed to increase participation in the sport, and ultimately put more Canadian cross-country skiers on the Olympic and Paralympic podium.

He split time between his hometown of Ottawa and the cross-country skiing headquarters in Canmore, Alta.

“I really enjoyed working with the Nordic community across Canada and will miss the people,” Lafontaine said in a statement. “Cross-country skiing is one of the most iconic winter sports in this country. It is an extremely passionate community with an incredible group of athletes representing our country.

“I am extremely grateful for Cross Country Ski de Fond Canada’s openness, and flexibility, to allow me to lead my team from afar, but I personally struggled with being away from both my family and the office in Canmore. I can’t thank the Board enough for their support of this decision – one that is best for me.”

Lafontaine succeeds the retiring Greg Mathieu as CEO of Cycling Canada.

“Pierre is an energetic, passionate and experienced leader who is a known performer in the area of sport development,” said Cycling Canada president John Tolkamp. “He will be counted on to lead our exceptional staff towards realizing the vision of being a leading cycling nation by 2020.”