Tanya Dubnicoff is in bed with IMPACT — literally. The world silver medal sprint cyclist appeared on two IMPACT covers, in 1996 then again in 1999 when photographer Charles Hope captured Dubnicoff in “bed” caressing her priceless LOOK track bike.
“To this day people remember that magazine cover. I still get comments on it,” she says. “Your magazine makes an impact on people.”
In its 25th year of publishing, IMPACT is paying to tribute to great personalities from the magazine’s past.
A native of Winnipeg, Dubnicoff, 46, competed in three Olympic Games and won a silver medal at the 1998 World Championships in the 500 metre time trial.
Since retiring from competition in 2008, Dubnicoff has coached elite cyclists from California to Canada, including two Olympics. She obtained her executive coaching diploma in 2013 from Royal Roads University in Victoria and taught at the University of Alberta. She just started a new role with the Canadian Sport Institute Calgary in charge of cycling’s development athletes.
“We’re giving these kids a wonderful environment to express themselves and develop,” she says. “They might be starting the progression to be a sprint athlete or a mountain bike athlete. What’s most important is they are in a social support network where they can try, they can fail, learn and excel.
“The joy is seeing people develop within themselves.”
