BENJAMIN PERRY GOES IN THE BREAK DURING WINDY STAGE THREE
Perry counter-attacks, rides solo for more than 10km
(Edmonton, AB – September 5, 2014) Canadian National Team member Benjamin Perry of St-Catharines, ON initiated a breakaway during the 153-km stage between Wetaskiwin and Edmonton-Garrison, and rode solo for more than 10km during this windy stage.
Coming into the finish line on a runway at the CFB Edmonton-Garrison active military base, the stage ended up with a last moment launch off the front of the race of three riders, with Sep Vanmarcke (Belkin Pro Cycling) taking the win. Ramunas Navardauskas (Garmin-Sharp) sprinted to the second place, while Leigh Howard (Orica-GreenEDGE) was third. The winning move of the day came with two laps to go in the finishing circuit of 5.8km.
The third stage saw the peloton tackle some strong winds throughout the day. Race leader Tom Dumoulin’s team, Giant-Shimano kept up the pace and would quickly closed in every early breakaway attempt from the peloton.
Perry, the U23 Canadian Champion, managed to take off solo for 10 kilometers of racing, with Matteo Dal-Cin (Ottawa, ON) of Silber Pro Cycling soon joining him. The Canadian duo rode together and created a gap of over a minute. Eventually, the two were caught by two chasing riders, and then shortly after the whole peloton.
“I was looking just to get in the breakaway and get some exposure. I was in a group of about 15 guys, and then Giant-Shimano came back and chased us. I counter-attacked the move and spent about 10km all by myself,” said Perry, who is racing his career first professional race. “Matteo [Dal-Cin] joined me, and then two more guys caught up. The four of us worked together, but then we hit a strong crosswinds section, ideal for the WorldTour guys to chase us down which totally destroyed our lead.”
The crosswinds “were hard” admitted Perry. “It didn’t feel overly windy. When guys ride as fast as they do, they put the whole peloton in the gutter. You can’t do anything about it.”
“The four days have been good. It’s not very much different than racing in Belgium. The pros are just a lot more ruthless about letting you win. The attacks come much harder here,” said Perry, of his first professional race.
Tom Dumoulin remains the race leader and will wear the yellow jersey for the third consecutive stage. He now has a lead of eight seconds in the overall standings. In honour of the Military appreciation day, Dumoulin will race tomorrow in a special camo edition of the jersey.
Canada’s Ryan Anderson of Spruce Grove, AB (Optum-Kelly Benefits Strategies) remains the top Canadian, still sitting in seventh position of the overall standings.
For his effort in the breakaway, Dal-Cin of Canadian-based continental team Silber Pro Cycling received the most aggressive jersey.
Stage four, the longest stage of the week, will feature 163.5 km of racing, from Edmonton to Strathcona County.
2014 TOUR OF ALBERTA
RESULTS – STAGE 3 (Wetaskiwin to Edmonton-Garrison)
1. VANMARCKE Sep BELKIN Pro Cycling 3:12:11
2. NAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas Team GARMIN-SHARP (ST)
3. HOWARD Leigh ORICA-GREENEDGE (ST)
4. KRUOPIS Aidis ORICA-GREENEDGE +0:11
5. VON HOFF Steele Team GARMIN-SHARP +0:11
6. SUMMERHILL Daniel UNITEDHEALTHCARE Pro Cycling +0:11
7. TVETCOV Serghei JELLY BELLY pb MAXXIS +0:11
8. ZEPUNTKE Ruben * BISSELL DEVELOPMENT +0:11
9. VAN DER LIJKE Nicky * BELKIN Pro Cycling +0:11
10. BROCHNER Nicolai * BISSELL DEVELOPMENT +0:11
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38. HOULE Hugo * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team +0:27
59. MCLEOD Garrett # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team +1:28
79. DE VOS Adam * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team +6:47
93. CHEYNE Jordan * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team +6:47
94. PERRY Benjamin * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team +6:47
103. WIGHT Stuart * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team +6:47
112. PERRON Jean-Sebastien CANADIAN NATIONAL Team +14:56
RESULTS – GENERAL CLASSIFICATION (AFTER STAGE 3)
1. DUMOULIN Tom * Team GIANT-SHIMANO 9:38:45
2. ZEPUNTKE Ruben * BISSELL DEVELOPMENT +0:08
3. NAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas Team GARMIN-SHARP +0:13
4. TVETCOV Serghei JELLY BELLY pb MAXXIS +0:14
5. HOWARD Leigh ORICA-GREENEDGE +0:15
6. IMPEY Daryl ORICA-GREENEDGE +0:15
7. ANDERSON Ryan # OPTUM pb KELLY BENEFIT STRATEGIES +0:16
8. SUMMERHILL Daniel UNITEDHEALTHCARE Pro Cycling +0:18
9. ORAM James * BISSELL DEVELOPMENT +0:23
10. WEENING Pieter ORICA-GREENEDGE +0:26
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34. HOULE Hugo * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team +1:36
44. MCLEOD Garrett # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team +2:43
68. PERRY Benjamin * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team +8:18
75. WIGHT Stuart * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team +9:30
95. CHEYNE Jordan * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team +15:51
100. DE VOS Adam * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team +16:46
136. PERRON Jean-Sebastian # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team +22:53
JERSEYS (AFTER STAGE 3)
- Yellow Jersey (Race Leader): DUMOULIN Tom (Team GIANT-SHIMANO)
- Green Jersey (Top Sprinter): ZEPUNTKE Ruben (BISSELL DEVELOPMENT)
- Polka Dot Jersey (Best Climber): YATES Simon (ORICA-GREENEDGE)
- White Jersey (Best Young): DUMOULIN Tom (Team GIANT-SHIMANO)
- Red Jersey (Top Canadian): ANDERSON Ryan (OPTUM pb KELLY BENEFIT STRATEGIES)
- Blue Jersey (Most Aggressive Rider): DAL-CIN Matteo (Team SILBER PRO CYCLING)
