TWO PODIUM SPOTS FOR CANADA AT GPC GATINEAU ROAD RACE

Gatineau, Quebec, June 8, 2018 – Canadian riders took five of the top-10 spots on Thursday at the Grand Prix Cycliste Gatineau road race, with Alison Jackson (Tibco SVB) finishing second and Sara Bergen (Rally Cycling) third in a sprint finish behind Lauren Hall (UnitedHealthcare) of the United States. Team Canada’s Marie-Soleil Blais was sixth and Karol-Ann Canuel seventh.

The 104 kilometre race saw the field of 78 riders climb into the Gatineau Park for two laps before descending back for five laps of a finishing circuit.

The field split on the first major climb, with 16 of the top riders breaking clear of the rest of the field.  The front group included all the major teams, and while the chasing peloton managed to close to within 30 seconds of the leaders, the race came down to the frontrunners.

In the final uphill sprint, Hall went to the front with 150 metres to go and held off the rest of the group to win by a bike length.

Kevin Field, Road Program Manager at Cycling Canada, said “I think it went really well today; this was one of the best editions I have seen. We were hoping it would be a really open race that would take advantage of the Park terrain. We would have liked to have one more rider in the front group, but I am happy with the way it played out, and it was a good day for Team Canada.”