Text by Tour de Beauce

ST-JEAN-DE-LA-LANDE – Latvian cyclist Tom Skujins (Hincapie Sportswear) remains in the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification after the third step, an individual time trial race at the Tour de Beauce. He finished 16 seconds behind the stage winner, German Stefan Schumacher (Christina Watches-KUMA) who negotiated the 20 km course in 25m44s.

Romanian Serghei Ţvetcov (Jelly Belly) finished second with a time of 25m54s, a second better than the Canadian Ryan Roth (Silber Pro Cycling).

Among Quebecers, the best performance belongs to Rémi Pelletier-Roy (Garneau-Quebecor) in eighth place with a time of 26m14s, or 30 seconds behind the winner.

“We had to use large gears today, said Schumacher. I was identified as one of the favorites this morning, but I wondered if I had the legs to achieve good performance after the difficult stage of Mont Mégantic. I guess it was the same for everyone. During the first few miles I had the wind in the face and then back it was side winds. I looked at my time and with five kilometers left to go I had already registered 20 minutes. Then the descent came and I took advantage of a tailwind and that is where I reached a speed of 65km/h , allowing me to post the best time.”

Canadian Ryan Roth and his athletic director Gord Fraser relished his third place. “It’s very good for us, said Gord Fraser, more than you think. We had a hard day yesterday and this podium will be good for team morale. Our mechanic Dominic Cantin has done a great job on Ryan’s time trial bike because it had not been used for a year. It was his bike from Team SpiderTech.”

Roth has been with the team led by Gord Fraser for just over a week now. “He has earned his place with us, added the athletic director. Ryan is a passionate and he agreed to join an amateur team, Jetfuel, to be able to have competition.”

Ryan Roth has not been lucky in the past two years as the team he rode with were forced to close the books. “I am very happy to join Silber Pro Cycling. I wanted to take part in high caliber competitions like the Tour de Beauce, and the Jetfuel team could not provide that, even though it was very good with me. It was not an easy decision to make. I come with good form and the staff is very knowledgeable. Dominic has done a great job with my bike. I was not afraid to use it because I had good results with it before, and today I felt very comfortable. The wind was very strong and sometimes I had to leave my aerodynamic position to counter the effects of wind. I take great satisfaction from my third place and now we will try to do a good show tomorrow in Quebec.”

Best of Quebecers in the time trials, Rémi Pelletier-Roy was very happy with his time. “I’m doing well in a time trial race, but in a competition like the Tour de Beauce, it is different. With temperature, rain and wind, and after the stage of Mount Mégantic, there are riders who do not always have the motivation to go hard, especially if they are far in the overall. I did not know what to expect but I thought that might as well go 100%, and I managed well my race.”

Saturday the caravan will travel to Quebec for the fourth stage, and the fight will be active to take the possession of the yellow jersey.

RESULTS – STAGE 3 (ITT) – TOUR DE BEAUCE 2014

1. SCHUMACHER, Stefan (CHRISTINA WATCHES – KUMA) 25:44

2. TVETCOV, Serghei (JELLY BELLY P/B MAXXIS) +0:10

3. ROTH, Ryan (SILBER PRO CYCLING TEAM) +0:11

4. ROSSKOPF, Joseph (HINCAPIE SPORTSWEAR DEVELOPMENT CYCLING TEAM) +0:11

5. TERUEL, Eloy (JAMIS HAGENS BERMAN) +0:14

6. KRAGH, Asbjorn (CHRISTINA WATCHES – KUMA) +0:18

7. SMITH, Dion (HINCAPIE SPORTSWEAR DEVELOPMENT CYCLING TEAM) +0:25

8. PELLETIER-ROY, Rémi (GARNEAU-QUEBECOR) +0:30

9. ROE, Timothy (BUDGET FORKLIFTS CYCLING) +0:39

10. CARLSEN, Kirk (JELLY BELLY P/B MAXXIS) +0:40

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION – AFTER STAGE 3 – TOUR DE BEAUCE 2014

1. SKUJINS, Tom (HINCAPIE SPORTSWEAR DEVELOPMENT CYCLING) 10:01:44

2. TVETCOV, Serghei (JELLY BELLY P/B MAXXIS) +1:17

3. KRAGH, Asbjorn (CHRISTINA WATCHES – KUMA) +1:30

4. BRITTON, Rob (SMARTSTOP) +1:43

5. SCHUMACHER, Stefan (CHRISTINA WATCHES – KUMA) +1:47

6. SMITH, Dion (HINCAPIE SPORTSWEAR DEVELOPMENT CYCLING) +1:52

7. ROE, Timothy (BUDGET FORKLIFTS CYCLING) +1:53

8. CARLSEN, Kirk (JELLY BELLY P/B MAXXIS) +2:02

9. JONES, Carter (OPTUM P/B KELLY BENEFIT STRATEGIES) +2:14

10. BENEDETTI, Luca (AMORE VITA-SELLE SMP) +2:20

LUCA BENEDETTI WINS OPENING STAGE AT TOUR DE BEAUCE

By Tour de Beauce

SAINTE-JUSTINE – Italian Luca Benedetti, winner of the polka dot jersey at the Grand Prix de Saguenay last week, won Wednesday the first stage of the Tour de Beauce in Sainte-Justine.

 
The Amore & Vita rider edged at the sprint Eric Young (Optum-Kelly Benefits), winner of two stages at the Grand prix cycliste du Saguenay, Asbjorn Kragh (Christina Watches) jersey for the best young keeper in Saguenay, Charles Planet (Novo Nordisk) and Jure Kocjan (Smartstop), winner of the Grand Prix du Saguenay.
 
The race started out with a bang with a breakaway after just five kilometers and a teammate of Benedetti, Leonardo Pinizotto, was there. The group of five riders included Rémi Pelletier-Roy (Garneau-Quebecor). After the first of four loops of 50 km of road racing, the break comprised of 10 riders had a lead of almost 12 minutes on the peloton.
 
As the peloton worked to narrow the gap, team Optum did a lot of work. “We would have liked the other teams to help us,” said Young. “The team rode hard to catch up on the breakaway. Hats off to our riders who have done a great job. This is a big week for us and we are preparing for tomorrow’s Mégantic stage. Our goal is to bring Carter Jones atop the standings.”
 
For Luca Benedetti, the scenario of the race was perfect. “This stage was designed for me,” he indicated through his manager Phil Cortes. “We had a rider in the break (Pinizotto) and we organized to help. Then in turn he tried to help us by slowing down the tempo. It’s just my sixth professional race and I did not expect to win. I am very happy with this victory. I dedicate it to my team, to our sponsors whose Faninni family and my athletic director Phil because he comes from Canada.”
 
As an amateur, the Italian won 11 races last year and four this year. “We had to look for a long time,” says Phil Cortes. “His amateur record speaks, but we did not want to rush to invite him to join us especially since his wife gave birth to a child in March.”
 
Rémi Pelletier-Roy did feature the colors of the Garneau-Quebecor jersey for most of the race part of the breakaway. “It was a tough day at the office and it was expected with one less stage this year at the Tour de Beauce. We did very well in the Saguenay and wanted to continue here. We wanted to have someone in the break. On the last lap, we gambled that if we slowed the pace, the pack would also decrease its speed. That was not the case. Then there were breaks in our group. I am convinced that had we had stayed everyone together, we would have reached the finish line ahead of the peloton. For the following days we will see how everything unfolds. There are seven guys in the team so we can share the workload. I’m happy for the team and for me. That makes me 22 days of racing in 28 days. I’m trying to recover. »
 
The second stage will be spectacular with the departure of the municipality of Lac-Mégantic, where many will present for the first time after the disastrous train derailment. The finish line is at the top of Mount St. Joseph, adjacent to Mont Mégantic.

Credit to Grand Prix Cycliste de Saguenay

(Chicoutimi, QC – June 8, 2014) The organizers of the first Grand Prix Cycliste de Saguenay are delighted with the success event, which marked a major shift this year.
 
The race sanctionned 2.2 by the International Cycling Union (UCI) was once a race of the U23 Nations Cup, and the transition between the two types of event was successful, with more than 125 riders from 18 teams from seven countries taking the start of the four day race on Thursday.
 
“We are extremely pleased with the success of this first edition of the Grand Prix Cycliste de Saguenay,” commented Steve Potvin, Chairman of the Board of Directors. “All operations were completed without a hitch, and we had the pleasure to witness racing of the highest caliber, with a standout peloton.”
 
The event would not have been possible without the support and contribution of all partners involved, and without the participation of 250 volunteers.
 
Participating teams, they have enjoyed their first experience in Saguenay. Here are some comments:
 
Gord Fraser, Directeur sportif for Team Silber Pro Cycling:
“UCI races in north America, let alone Canada, are a great opportunity to showcase a team like Silber Pro Cycling. We are ecstatic and we appreciate the opportunity to race at a high level against great competition, close to home. For our sponsors such as Argon18, for Silber Investments, this is what it’s all about. This is the reason we exist. It’s to perform at a high-exposure race like this. We are very happy with the inaugural edition, and partnering up with the Tour de Beauce offers two weeks of great racing for teams.”
 
Michael Creed, Directeur sportif of Team SmartStop:
“It’s been great. I didn’t know much about racing here. Overall, it’s tremendous. Of all the races we’ve done this year, it’s one of the best organized. They have been really accommodating. For me, as a first year director, they have gone out of the way to help me with the logistics. The race itself has been really simple, with no transfers and the courses are really dynamic. It’s been really good, and it seems like they have the support of the community. I certainly hope it can continue.”
 
Eric Wohlberg, Directeur Sportif of Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefits:
“I think the event has gone really well. The courses have been really good and the criterium on Saturday was very hard, and went right through the heart of Chicoutimi and a lot of spectators came out. Having twilight criterium is always good for the crowds. With the UCI sanction, we knew that the race would be very attractive to any teams coming up. I want to support Canadian cycling.”
 
Cameron Watts, Directeur Sportif for Team Budget Forklifts, racing for the first time in North America.
“Our experience here was really good. We like the courses. It was the first time our boys were racing in North America and we are on a steep learning course with a slightly different style of racing from what we are used to. The boys have adapted well and we came close to a stage win on Saturday. The courses offered a little bit for everyone. The depth of field and quality of racing here is a lot better than in Australia.”
 
More information on the race can be found at www.grandprixcyclistesaguenay.com
 
Pour plus d’informations:
Guy Napert-Frenette, Communications, Grand Prix cycliste de Saguenay 2014, guynf@performancepr.ca | 403-669-5015

More Canadians than ever to compete in this exciting elimination-format race featuring top speeds

(Quebec City, QC – June 3, 2014) Returning in 2014 for its fourth edition, the very exciting Challenge Sprint Pro event will once again be featured on the calendar of events of the Grand Prix cycliste de Québec. This year, more Canadians will have the chance to race side-by-side with some of the World’s best sprinters.

During the Challenge Sprint Pro, thousands of spectators will gather along the short course to see the best tactical sprinters go head-to-head in an elimination format race with the two fastest sprinters of each heat advancing to the next round.

The event, which is contested on a 1km course on the streets of Old Québec and through the iconic Grande Allée, features one sprinter representing each of the participating teams of the Grand Prix cycliste de Québec, including the Canadian National Team.

Compared to the 2013 edition, a record number of Canadians will be selected to race the Challenge Sprint Pro event. This competition provides our Canadian athletes with a great opportunity to be exposed to WorldTour level riders and enhance their profiles.

Canadian riders will gain access to this star-studded event through top-two performances in the Criterium and Challenge Sprint events at the 2014 Canadian Road Championships in Lac Mégantic. In addition, a discretionary invitation will be issued from Cycling Canada to one rider.

“The event is without a doubt a fan-favorite, and very TV-friendly for the broadcasters. The ambiance is relaxed, and offers a small taste of what cycling is about. Road races ending with a sprint makes for a great atmosphere, and this Sprint Challenge replicates that feeling in every round,” said Mathieu Boucher, Director of Performance Development at Cycling Canada.

In 2013, Canada’s Zach Bell of North Vancouver, BC and local star Rémi Pelletier-Roy of Québec both advanced to the semi-finals. In 2012, Bell had won the Challenge Sprint Pro, racing with now defunct Team SpiderTech powered by C10, nabbing Pelletier-Roy at the finish line.

The Challenge Sprint Pro, sanctioned by Cycling Canada, is scheduled to be held on Thursday, September 11, in Quebec City, the day prior to the UCI World Tour race.

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