Planes, trains and automobiles (and bikes): Juniors stranded on way to world champs following Air Canada strike

A planned trip to the Netherlands for the junior world championships turned into a real-life version of a John Candy and Steve Martin movie, as CP 24 noted. Flights from Montreal were cancelled due to the Air Canada strike, leaving Brody Mann, Alex Fangeat and Eve Buczkowski stranded with teammates and coaches in Bromont, where they were training.

“It’s been a long two days of travel, with almost no sleep,” Buczkowski said from her hotel in the Netherlands, to CP24.

Scrambling to find a solution

As the projected strike date approached, Cycling Canada staff scrambled. “On Friday night, I think, we were sort of in crisis at that point, and we had to start to think outside the box and pivot our plan,” Phil Abbott, director of endurance with Cycling Canada, said.

So what did they do? Just like in Planes, Trains and Automobiles, the team packed their their bikes. Then, they hit the road. “We found two willing drivers and two 15-passenger vans. We grabbed one of our Cycling Canada trailers and we packed it to the gills. I don’t think we could have set another bike box in it. We were quickly on our way down to Boston,” Abbott said.

While CC staff in the Ottawa HQ secured Delta flights capable of transporting 32 bike boxes, families faced their own obstacles. Buczkowski’s mom, Ashley, took an overnight bus from London to New York City and a 24-hour stretch without sleep before boarding a Delta flight to the Netherlands.

By Monday, the team had finally arrived. “I think we’re all relieved today to get to the velodrome and unpack, have all of our equipment and see the velodrome. We will be training Tuesday, getting ready for racing,” Abbott said.

Even amid chaos, Cycling Canada’s juniors are now focused on the competition, ready to race after an epic transatlantic journey worthy of Hollywood. Thankfully, the strike is now over, so there (hopefully) won’t be problems on the way home. The 2025 junior world track championships run from Wednesday to Sunday in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands.