ANDERSON LEADS TEAM CANADA ON STAGE 1 AT TOUR DE BEAUCE
(St-Georges, QC – June 15, 2016) Ryan Anderson was the top rider for Team Canada in stage 1 of the Tour de Beauce on Wednesday, in 19th place. Anderson finished in the main group, one minute and 16 seconds behind Mikhel Raim of Estonia, who was part of a race-long breakaway that stayed clear to the finish line. Top Canadian rider for the day was Ryan Roth of Silber Pro Cycling, in seventh place with the same time as Anderson.
The 185-kilometre stage featured strong winds and the usual Beauce climbs. Riders headed out 30 kilometres from the town of St-Georges to a 14.7 kilometre circuit for eight laps, before returning to their starting point, for a final 200 metre uphill finish. The circuit was dominated by a 15% climb through the village of St-Odilon.
A break of seven riders formed at the front of the race, reaching a maximum lead of seven minutes before Team Canada led the chase to bring them back, falling short by just over a minute.
“The guys were strong at the front,” said Ryan Anderson (Team Canada), who finished 19th, “but I think that some of the teams just waited a bit too long until they really committed to the chase. Rally [Cycling Team] and Silber committed with us, but the big one that missed out today was [Team] Jelly Belly. At the end they did a lot of work, but not enough to bring it all the way back. It’s my first Tour de Beauce and I would have liked a crack at the first stage, but I think there are more good stages for me to come.”
Raim will go into stage 2 with both the leader’s Yellow jersey and the white Points jersey. U.S. champion Gregory Daniel (Axeon) finished second to Raim, and holds the Red jersey for Best Young Rider, while Chad Beyer (Lupus) leads the Climber’s competition. Team Canada is sixth in the team standings, two minutes and 24 seconds behind the Cycling Academy Team of Raim.
Stage 2, the Queen Stage of Beauce, will likely completely overhaul the standings on Thursday, after finishing on top of the five kilometre climb to Mont Mégantic.
