Photo Epic: At Home in Quebec with Commencal Muc-Off's Newest Member Tristan Lemire

Born and raised in the traffic cone capital of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Tristan Lemire is not one to be affiliated with a concrete jungle. He is very much okay with being in the woods all day, further from the street lights and traffic. That's what he's best known for. His interest in the sport kicked off with a visit the water park in Bromont, QC, which is adjacent to their trail network and chairlift. Tristan, at the age of six, asked his dad if he could give mountain biking there a try and hasn't left the scene ever since. He was enrolled in Dirtcamp mountain bike camp in Bromont at the age of 8 and quickly made his way up through the group levels. Naturally, racing his bike came next. He's banked countless podium finishes and not to mention wins in categories way above his age. Impressive feat for someone who was half the size and nearly half the age of some of his competitors. He's ridden for a fair share of supporters over the years and made a name for himself while doing so. He'll be entering his first Junior year in 2021 with none other than the Commencal / Muc-Off team to keep him on the ball. There are definitely big shoes to fill right off the bat. Luckily, he seems to have the whole speed thing all figured out.

The kid's got all the tools in his back yard to continue to push the envelope of what's possible for him to achieve. At this rate, the sky is definitely the limit. Access to bigger mountains may be a little harder to come by while living in Eastern Canada, but he and many other that surround him make the absolute most of what is offered. It's a formula that is surely working. Tristan's adopted home town of Bromont has been the hub for the gravity fed sport for many years and even hosted numerous World Cups up until not too long ago. It's a classic spot when thinking of where to ride in Quebec. Other trail centres are following suit with a proper push in developing and growing their networks. Just a few hours east in Lac Beauport, Sentier du Moulin is now considered the top place to ride without chair access in the area. It's easy to see that La Belle Province is the choice this side of the Rockies. For a young athlete, this is a very good thing.

I'm Tristan Lemire and I'm 16 years old. I was born and raised in Montreal, so definitely in an urban environment. I also went to school in the city up to recently. Since the Covid outbreak, I now spend most of my time in Bromont, Quebec closer to the mountains and the trails.—Tristan Lemire

Four coat hangers heavily weighted by the sheer number of awards collected so far.

My first race was in September 2013, so I was barely 8 years old at that point. It was a local race in Bromont. Since I was the only young kid that wanted to compete, they allowed me in the open category. I didn’t finish last, but it was definitely close! My first official race was in the Eastern States Cup finals held at Mountain Creek, NY at the end of October 2015. I was only 11 but I was able to compete in the 14 year old category. I showed up, finished second in seeding, and went on to win the race by 0.4 of a second. This was the first time I could compare myself to other kids my age.—Tristan

It's not always about getting on the saddle. There is lots of work to put in between rides to able to compete at the international level. The focus has now shifted to rehabbing his shoulder area.

Go time on the magic carpet.

Beyond the continuous support of my parents, my first real sponsorship deal came in 2016, the summer I turned 12. I joined a real race team for the first time that was ran through well known mountain bike shop here in Quebec called Sports aux Puces. I remember signing my contract on the hood of my dad’s car!—Tristan

Green room in Bromont. If you know, you know.

When I was 13, I was approached by Mathieu Dupelle from Kona Gravity, who invited me to join the Kona family. I rode with them for the following 2 years and had a very strong results in my first year, winning every race I competed in, including Crankworx Canadian Open and Air DH, US Open, Canadian Nationals, and Quebec Championships. For most races, I signed up in higher age categories or had special permission to race with the older kids. I also picked up a Monster Army sponsorship during year two. Those were two extremely productive years with Kona that gave me excellent exposure and valuable experience going forward.—Tristan

I began receiving some amazing offers, among them, one from a hugely successful team, one that would give me the best opportunity to get to where I want to be - Commencal / Muc-Off. This was my dream team. It was intimidating at first, but Myriam, Amaury, Rémi, Thibaut, Gaetan, Tib and the whole Riding Addiction family have made me feel at home from day one. The team offered me the opportunity to ride and train throughout the winter in Europe and some early 2020 racing before the world shut down.—Tristan

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, I was looking forward to one last good season before joining the World Cup. My plan was to enjoy this last summer here in Bromont, race in Canada and the US, and join the team in Europe for a few races. Instead, I found myself riding a lot without any clear objectives, making it hard to measure any progress. To cap things off, I crashed badly on a casual ride and broke my collarbone, resulting in surgery and a couple of months off the trails.—Tristan

Bromont is the spot to smash downhill laps and train for racing while here at Sentier du Moulin, the enduro bike fun comes second to none.

Freshly open trails and early morning light as the network near Quebec awakens.

The adrenaline and the thrill of pushing the limits is what keeps me motivated to jump on my bike. It's just plain and simply fun for me - there is nothing I’d rather be doing than riding and racing. You know what they say, a bad day on a bike is better than a good day anywhere else!—Tristan

My first big season is coming up soon. I'll be racing Junior in 2021. My goal for then is to feel that I gave it my best shot and maximized my chances of winning but also to enjoy the journey. I am willing to put in the time, effort, and dedication it takes to be successful, and I can’t wait to get out there and race!—Tristan

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Interviews Getting To Know Commencal Muc Off Tristan Lemire

Author Info:

andy9
Member since Jul 12, 2006
82 articles

17 Comments

14 1

patpero FL (Sep 5, 2020 at 5:11)

Can’t wait seeing you racing with the big boyz.

Alexnor78 (Sep 5, 2020 at 6:38)

Bravo! Fier que cette belle scène produise d’aussi solides ripers. Ride on Tristan!

lastminutetech (Sep 5, 2020 at 10:35)

This is amazing. All the best Tristan in your mtb career. Rubber side down!

louif23 (Sep 5, 2020 at 17:55)

Bravo Tristan! vraiment inspirant de voir une jeune de chez nous dans les ligues majeures du DH!! #rubbersidedown

joelaguit (Sep 5, 2020 at 6:51)

Bravo!

dolmen (Sep 5, 2020 at 6:52)

Lâche pas! Great to see a local ripper with so much potential!

SentiersduMoulin (Sep 5, 2020 at 8:24)

✌

smallmonkey (Sep 5, 2020 at 11:24)

Awsome! Great seeing a rider from bromont

rustyglaze5 (Sep 5, 2020 at 11:50)

Just realised i rode with him at taz most of the winter on the jump lines, never knew lol just shredded sick gj

Timo82 (Sep 6, 2020 at 0:52)

Yes sir!! Content pour toi et fier de voir un ptit gars d'ici se rendre aussi loin! Amuse toi bien, c'est ca le plus important!

OliChando (Sep 5, 2020 at 8:03)

adrenalineracer FL (Sep 5, 2020 at 19:16)

I’m so pumped to see what Tristan can do on the World Stage

imbiker (Sep 6, 2020 at 1:24)

One of our best kept secrets, Canada's best trails are to the east.

mtbmaniatv FL (Sep 6, 2020 at 5:37)

Fun riding with ya last year at Whistler!

awitt FL (Sep 5, 2020 at 17:51)

This is fantastic

ridgelinetrails (Sep 5, 2020 at 22:22)

That Golden hour shot!

sickmansick FL (Sep 8, 2020 at 11:30)

Hell yeah Tristan!