David Veilleux is a Canadian former professional cyclist, who competed as a professional between 2011 and 2013. He is best known for his victories in the Italian semi-classic Tre Valli Varesine in 2012 and winning a stage of the 2013 Critérium du Dauphiné.
Professional career
In 2011, he took his first win under the Europcar banner, the 1.2 classified La Roue Tourangelle. He broke away in the final 30 kilometers with Anthony Delaplace from the squad. The pair cooperated well together to resist to the peloton's charge and Veilleux beat Delaplace to the sprint, while the bunch reached the finish line only 5 seconds after them. In the spring of 2012, Veilleux was part of a long breakaway in the monumentParis-Roubaix which was composed of about a dozen units. They broke away at kilometer 70 and were joined well after the Forest of Arenberg, some later. Leading to the Tour de France, it was announced that Veilleux was under consideration to participate in the race, but in the end he was not chosen, which drew considerable press coverage in his country. In August 2012, Veilleux met success on the Mi-Août Bretonne, which is classified as a 2.2 race by the UCI. He won the opening stage after leaving his eight breakaway companions and riding the last on his own. He and his team successfully defended his leader's jersey for the remaining three stages and he pocketed the general classification victory by 57 seconds on his nearest competitor. In the same month, Veilleux took a great step forward in his career as he won the Tre Valli Varesine, an Italian semi-classic. Veilleux was part of a ten men escape group, and dropped them with to go, winning solo. In 2013, Veilleux won the first stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné after being the sole survivor of an early breakaway on the undulating stage. He held on to the leader's jersey until the fourth stage time trial. Shortly after the Dauphiné, Veilleux was confirmed by as a participant for the Tour de France, therefore becoming the first Québec-born rider in history to participate in the event. In the meantime, Veilleux won the overall classification of the 2.2 race Boucles de la Mayenne. On 11 September 2013, he announced his retirement from professional cycling, saying he wanted to continue his studies in mechanical engineering at Laval University and to start a family.
