Canada sends small but solid team to Spain

(Ottawa, ON – September 17, 2014) Cycling Canada will be sending a small but strong team to the 2014 UCI Road World Championships, taking place in Ponferrada, Spain from September 22 to 28.

The number of athletes Canada is allowed to enter in the road races is determined by the UCI qualification process. In addition, based on the national coaches’ assessment of our athletes’ current performance levels, Cycling Canada has opted to not fill all of the available positions.

The philosophy behind this decision is to only nominate athletes to the world championships team who have shown they can contribute to Canada’s performance objectives, as laid out in Cycling Canada’s selection criteria. For elite athletes, this assessment has been made through performances at events on the international calendar. For the junior athletes, Cycling Canada hosted development projects in Belgium prior to the worlds in order to gauge the athletes’ fitness, skill and ability to work as a team.

In addition, several athletes have declined selection to the world championship team due to conflicts with their trade team preparation programs, commitments to the track program or other personal commitments. For example, Svein Tuft has opted out of the road race in order to focus on preparing for the individual time trial and team time trial.

It should be noted that Canada’s U23 athletes did not score enough ranking points to qualify for an entry in the road race, so Cycling Canada is not sending any U23 men to Ponferrada.

In the interests of developing our talent pool for future world championships, Cycling Canada will continue to host road development projects for elite, U23 and junior athletes in 2015. In addition, the close alignment with our track endurance programs will give athletes further opportunities to develop the fitness and skills to shine on the world stage.

 TEAM CANADA – 2014 UCI ROAD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Ponferrada, Spain, Sept. 22-28

ELITE WOMEN

• Joëlle NUMAINVILLE (road race) – 26, Laval QC
• Karol-Ann CANUEL (time trial and road race) – 26, Gatineau QC
• Leah KIRCHMANN (time trial and road race) – 24, Winnipeg MB

ELITE MEN

• Svein TUFT (time trial) – 37, Langley BC
• Christian MEIER (road race) – 29, Langley BC
• Michael WOODS (road race) – 27, Ottawa ON
• Ryan ANDERSON (road race) – 27, West Vancouver BC

ALTERNATE: Guillaume BOIVIN (road race) – 25, Longueuil QC

JUNIOR WOMEN

• Dafné THÉROUX-IZQUIERDO (time trial and road race) – 18, Ste-Thérèse QC
• Laurence DUMAIS (road race) – 17, St-Jérôme QC
• Emeliah HARVIE (road race) – 16, Banff AB
• Sara POIDEVIN (road race) – 18, Canmore AB

JUNIOR MEN

• Pier-André CÔTÉ (time trial and road race) – 17, St-Henri-de-Lévis QC
• Edward WALSH (road race) – 18, Halifax NS
• Jean-Simon D’ANJOU (road race) – 18, Lévis QC
• Derek GEE (road race) – 17, Osgoode ON

Tour of Alberta comes to an end on a rainy day in Edmonton

(Edmonton, AB – September 7, 2014) Daryl Impey of Orica-GreenEDGE is the 2014 Tour of Alberta winner, taking home the yellow jersey by just one second, thanks to a bunch sprint stage win on Sunday.

Over the last six days, cyclists from around the world raced over 700km in southern and central Alberta, starting in Calgary and ending in Edmonton. The race came to an end on Sunday with a 124.3km stage disputed on an 11.3km urban circuit.

On a cold and rainy day, the field dwindled down to a small leading peloton of about 40 riders entering the two final laps. The stage ultimately ended in a bunch sprint that included all major general classification riders. With everyone in the main group allocated the same time, only two riders became eligible to dethrone Tom Dumoulin as the race leader: either Daryl Impey of Orica-GreenEDGE or Ruben Zepuntke of Bissell Development could win the race by taking the stage win. And it happened.

During a furious last three kilometers, fueled by his raging teammates, Daryl Impey perfectly positioned himself for the finish and launched the sprint with about 200m to go. Impey, with Canadian Ryan Anderson of Optum-Kelly Benefits and Ramunas Navardauskas of Garmin-Sharp just behind him, kept the lead in the sprint and crossed the finish line first. With the stage win, Impey benefited from the 10-second time bonus to dislodge Dumoulin as the overall leader, winning the yellow jersey by just one second.

Anderson took the second place in the stage while Navardauskas finished third.

Impey’s journey to the top was greatly due to time bonuses gained throughout the week. Impey, eleventh of the prologue with a 23-second deficit, gained five seconds on Stage 2, three seconds on Stage 3, six seconds on Stage 4, and finally 10 seconds on Stage 5.

Despite losing the yellow jersey on the final day, Tom Dumoulin of Giant-Shimano won the best young rider jersey. The Dutch rider won the prologue in Calgary on Tuesday and led the race through the following four stages only to lose it on the last stage.

Canada’s Ryan Anderson took the red jersey as the top Canadian on the first stage in Lethbridge, thanks to a third place in the sprint, and kept the jersey throughout the rest of the race. With two stage podiums, Anderson finished in fifth place of the overall standing, 11 seconds behind the winning time of Daryl Impey.

Among the Canadian National Team, Hugo Houle was the top rider, finishing the race in 22nd place of the general classification. Houle finished 14th on Saturday and 17th on the last stage.

Team director Gord Fraser is happy with the outcome for the Cycling Canada Tour of Alberta project. “For the Canadian Team, it was a great week for the development of our young riders. Hugo Houle got some much-needed race time to prepare for the finish of the season. Garrett McCloed continues to improve and has narrowed the gap to being a top professional. Ben Perry got a taste of elite level racing, and our U23 National Champ held himself well in the company.  Jean-Sebastien Perron continues to battle and provide good help to his teammates.  He has piloted some Para tandems this year and hopefully he continues to help Canada gain medals in this important discipline. Stuart Wight is a savvy rider and is also progressing at a nice rate.  For Adam, Jordan and Cody, they will take home with them great lessons and hopefully apply them to their training and racing going forward in the future.”

“We’d sincerely like to thank race organizers Medalist Sports, the Province of Alberta and ATB Financial for supporting the event as well as the staff and volunteers who made it a safe race for all.  Thanks also to Global Relay for supporting our National Team.  Hopefully, we’ll be back again next year to help our athletes achieve their goals,” added Gord Fraser.

Following the race, Tour of Alberta Executive Director Duane Vienneau announced that the 2015 Tour of Alberta will start in Grande Prairie with the Prologue and Stage 1. The 2015 race will feature six days of racing, including a prologue. Dates have yet to be announced, but will be around the same time timeframe.

2014 TOUR OF ALBERTA

RESULTS – STAGE 5 (Edmonton Urban Circuit)

1. IMPEY Daryl ORICA-GREENEDGE 2:46:22

2. ANDERSON Ryan # OPTUM pb KELLY BENEFIT STRATEGIES (ST)

3. NAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas Team GARMIN-SHARP (ST)

4. VANMARCKE Sep BELKIN Pro Cycling (ST)

5. REIJNEN Kiel UNITEDHEALTHCARE Pro Cycling (ST)

6. VAN DER LIJKE Nicky * BELKIN Pro Cycling (ST)

7. TVETCOV Serghei JELLY BELLY pb MAXXIS (ST)

8. SUMMERHILL Daniel UNITEDHEALTHCARE Pro Cycling (ST)

9. SMITH Dion * HINCAPIE SPORTSWEAR DEVELOPMENT (ST)

10. HOWARD Leigh ORICA-GREENEDGE OGE (ST)

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17. HOULE Hugo * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team (ST)

24. MCLEOD Garrett # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team (ST)

70. PERRY Benjamin * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team + 5:56

DNF. CHEYNE Jordan * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team

DNF. PERRON Jean-Sebastian # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team

DNF. WIGHT Stuart * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team

RESULTS – FINAL GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

1. IMPEY Daryl ORICA-GREENEDGE 16:07:56

2. DUMOULIN Tom * Team GIANT-SHIMANO +0:01

3. ZEPUNTKE Ruben * BISSELL DEVELOPMENT +0:09

4. NAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas Team GARMIN-SHARP +0:10

5. ANDERSON Ryan # OPTUM pb KELLY BENEFIT STRATEGIES +0:11

6. TVETCOV Serghei JELLY BELLY pb MAXXIS +0:15

7. HOWARD Leigh ORICA-GREENEDGE +0:16

8. SUMMERHILL Daniel UNITEDHEALTHCARE Pro Cycling +0:19

9. VANMARCKE Sep BELKIN Pro Cycling +0:31

10. ORAM James * BISSELL DEVELOPMENT +0:31

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22. HOULE Hugo * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team +1:37

27. MCLEOD Garrett # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team +2:44

65. PERRY Benjamin * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team +14:15

JERSEYS WINNERS

Yellow Jersey (Race Winner): IMPEY Daryl (ORICA-GreenEDGE)

Green Jersey (Top Sprinter): NAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas (Team GARMIN-SHARP)

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 (Stage Most Aggressive Rider): KRUIJSWIJK Steven (BELKIN Pro Cycling)

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)

First road race of Tour of Alberta features fast speeds and rain as Canada’s Ryan Anderson sprints to third

(Ottawa, ON – September 2, 2014) Rain downpours and cold weather was on the agenda for the second day of racing at the 2014 Tour of Alberta, Stage 1, presented in Lethbridge, Alberta. The weather was atypical for Lethbridge, one the warmest and sun-filled city in Canada. In addition to the weather, a steep and challenging 15% grade climb was a main feature of the 23-km circuit.

The group of 118 cyclists started the 143-km race on a very aggressive note right from the sound of the gun, completing the first lap of six with an average speed of 45 km/h. In the first 23-kilometers of racing, a large group with all the GC contenders, showed a small 15-seconds lead over the main peloton, with a third group lagging behind.

On the second lap, Hugo Houle was a victim of an unfortunate mechanical issue with his electronic shifter and had to dispense valuable energies to regain the peloton. At the top of the first King of the Mountain, the three groups merged together, while three riders – Matthew Hayman (Orica-GreenEDGE), Robin Carpenter (Hincapie Sportswear), and Nathan van Hooydonck (Bissel Pro Cycling) attacked to gain the time bonuses at the sprint to launch the third lap. The attack was unanswered by the peloton, content with its composition, and the three riders took off along at the front.

The race remained controlled by Giant-Shimano, who started Stage 1 with Tom Dumoulin as the race leader, doing lots of the work at the front of the peloton to keep the time gap within reach. For the third and fourth laps, the three leaders remained comfortable at the front, reaching a maximum gap of 4:40.

A chase group emerged in the final kilometres of the fifth lap, slowly gaining time on the leading group. The three-men break soon became a two-men break, with Van Hooydonck retrieving.

In the final of six laps, the now regrouped peloton emerged and captured the exhausted breakaway. The duo held tight and continued to display tremendous efforts, keeping the gap at over a minute until the 12-km to-go mark, but the peloton proved too strong for the break. The gap melted quickly in the last 10 kilometers of racing, and the leaders were caught with 6-km left in the grueling stage, setting up a sprint for the finish.

After a few unsuccessful attacks, the sprinters emerged at the front of the peloton, and Ruben Zepuntke of Team Bissell Pro Cycling crossed the finish line only inches ahead of the Ramunas Navardauskas of Team Garmin Sharp and Canadian Ryan Anderson (Vancouver, BC) of Team Optum-Kelly Benefits Strategies.

“With the cold weather today, I personally went through different phases. At first I was feeling very well on the first lap, then I got really cold after the second lap. My teammates rallied behind me and did a great job to bring me some clothing. I started to warm up and feel better,” said Anderson, at the stage press conference. “With regards to the finish, my teammate Eric Young and I were both to be there and see how it went, and try to build the race from there. I’ve tried to adapt to the finish the best I could. There were some good guys up there, so I am still happy with the result.”

In the General Classification, Tom Dumoulin of Team Giant-Shimano keeps the yellow jersey for Stage 2 thanks to the hard work of his teammates and also leads the Best Young Rider standings. Dumoulin is showing a six second lead over Ruben Zepuntke, who will wear the green jersey Thursday as the top sprinter with 15 points. Robin Carpenter of Team Hincapie Sportswear captured the King of the Mountain jersey with 22 points, tied with Matthew Hayman and Simon Yates of Orica-GreenEDGE.

Canada’s Ryan Anderson takes possession of the Red Jersey as the Top Canadian, ranked in seventh place thanks to his third place finish in today’s stage, 19 seconds behind the race leader.

For the national team, it was a difficult day. Gord Fraser, the team director, expects a better outcome tomorrow: “We had some tough conditions today, and we are disappointed to miss the front split.  We look forward to better weather tomorrow.”

Garrett McLeod of Wolfville, NS was the top Canadian National Team member today, taking the 39th place of the stage.  Hugo Houle of Ste-Perpétue, QC is now the highest ranked member of the Canadian National Team of the overall standings, in 42nd position.

The Most Aggressive Jersey was awarded to Matthew Hayman, a leader in the main breakaway of the day. Hayman will wear the blue jersey in Thursday’s stage.

The six stages of the Tour of Alberta can be seen live in Canada on Sportsnet. Check local listings for full broadcast details.

Starting at 12:10pm Mountain Time, Stage 3 will be a 143.5km point-to-point race from Innisfail to Red Deer, passing through picturesque Sylvan Lake. Strong cross winds from Innisfail to Sylvan Lake could play a significant role in the outcome of the race.

2014 TOUR OF ALBERTA

RESULTS – STAGE 2 – CIRCUIT (Lethbridge, AB)

1. ZEPUNTKE Ruben * BISSELL DEVELOPMENT 3.18:10

2. NAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas Team GARMIN-SHARP (ST)

3. ANDERSON Ryan # OPTUM pb KELLY BENEFIT STRATEGIES (ST)

4. SMITH Dion * HINCAPIE SPORTSWEAR DEVELOPMENT (ST)

5. KING Benjamin Team GARMIN-SHARP (ST)

6. SUMMERHILL Daniel UNITEDHEALTHCARE Pro Cycling (ST)

7. MAGNER Tyler * HINCAPIE SPORTSWEAR DEVELOPMENT (ST)

8. WEGMANN Fabian Team GARMIN-SHARP (ST)

9. ORAM James * BISSELL DEVELOPMENT (ST)

10. VANMARCKE Sep BELKIN Pro Cycling (ST)

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39. MCLEOD Garrett # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team 3:18:51

49. HOULE Hugo * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team 3:18:51

54. PERRY Benjamin * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team 3:18:51

57. WIGHT Stuart * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team 3:19:16

84. PERRON Jean-Sebastian CANADIAN NATIONAL Team 3:24:05

93. CHEYNE Jordan * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team 3:26:51

100. DE VOS Adam * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team 3:26:51

DNF. CANNING Cody # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team

RESULTS – GENERAL CLASSIFICATION (AFTER STAGE 2)

1. DUMOULIN Tom * Team GIANT-SHIMANO 3.24:09

2. ZEPUNTKE Ruben * BISSELL DEVELOPMENT +0:06

3. TVETCOV Serghei JELLY BELLY pb MAXXIS +0:14

4. DANIELSON Thomas Team GARMIN-SHARP +0:17

5. VILLELLA Davide * CANNONDALE +0:18

6. SUMMERHILL Daniel UNITEDHEALTHCARE Pro Cycling +0:18

7. ANDERSON Ryan # OPTUM pb KELLY BENEFIT STRATEGIES +0:19

8. ROSSKOPF Joseph HINCAPIE SPORTSWEAR DEVELOPMENT +0:22

9. MEIER Christian # ORICA-GREENEDGE +0:23

10. IMPEY Daryl ORICA-GREENEDGE OGE +0:23

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42. HOULE Hugo * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team +1:20

47. MCLEOD Garrett # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team +1:26

51. PERRY Benjamin * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team +1:42

60. WIGHT Stuart * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team +2:14

89. PERRON Jean-Sebastian # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team +7:28

95. CHEYNE Jordan * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team +9:15

98. DE VOS Adam * # CANADIAN NATIONAL Team +9:30

JERSEYS (AFTER STAGE 2)

• Yellow Jersey (Race Leader): DUMOULIN Tom * Team GIANT-SHIMANO 3.24:09
• Green Jersey (Top Sprinter): ZEPUNTKE Ruben * BISSELL DEVELOPMENT
• Polka Dot Jersey (Best Climber): CARPENTER Robin * HINCAPIE SPORTSWEAR DEVELOPMENT
• White Jersey (Best Young): DUMOULIN Tom * Team GIANT-SHIMANO 3.24:09
• Red Jersey (Top Canadian): 7. ANDERSON Ryan # OPTUM pb KELLY BENEFIT STRATEGIES +0:19
• Blue Jersey (Most Aggressive Rider): HAYMAN Mathew ORICA-GREENEDGE