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An Etobicoke cyclist won the overall provincial title in his age category as well as the George Terry Trophy at the Tour of University Heights at the Ontario Youth Cup series on Sept. 27 near York University.

Ian Campbell, 15, didn't let a summer-long educational exchange to Europe interfere with his training.

The Etobicoke Collegiate student didn't want to miss out on key bike races in the Ontario Youth Cup series while he was away.

"I spent the first two weeks on vacation with my parents in France and rode a lot there," Campbell said, adding he followed elements of the course used by this year's Tour de France competitors. "When I got to my host family in Tubingen, Germany, they were great about letting me ride and helped me a lot."

Campbell joined Tubingen's bike club and competed in mountain time trials and fast long-distance rides.

He also had an opportunity to improve his conditioning on challenging mountain roads of the Austrian Alps with altitudes of more than 2,000 metres.

For additional training, Campbell rode a solo 245-kilometre roundtrip to the Swiss border.

At the meet last weekend, Campbell won both the time trial and road race at the Youth Cup final.

Campbell also competes in the Canadian Biathlon. He holds the title of the 2007 National Junior Cadet Biathlon.

He hopes to qualify for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games.