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June 15/10 16:32 pm - Tour de Beauce: Stage 1 report, PHOTOS and results


Posted by Editoress on 06/15/10
 

The 25th edition of the Tour de Beauce opened with a record win for Rafael Serrano Fernandez (Heraklio-Murcia), who not only won the stage, but also took the leader's jerseys in all four categories - Yellow, White (Points), Polka Dot (Climber) and Red (Best Young Rider) - a first ever occurrence for Beauce.  Sergiy Grechyn (Amore e Vita) took second place and Charles Dionne (Fly V Australia) nipped fellow Canadian Andrew Pinfold (United Healthcare p/b Maxxis) for third.

 

Photos

 

Serrano

Rafael Serrano Fernandez

 

The 165 kilometre Lac Etchemin stage usually ends with a small breakaway staying clear, but this year it nearly came to a field sprint, as Serrano Fernandez held off a fast-closing group to win by eight seconds.  Although the day was bright and sunny, heavy, gusting winds discouraged breakaways.

This did not stop riders from trying, with Serrano Fernandez figuring in most attacks, spending a total of 125 kilometres off the front.  After a number of attempts, a group of 17 riders formed after the first KoM climb.  Serrano Fernandez was part of an early group that went for the KoM points (won by Serrano Fernandez), and then other riders bridged across in ones and twos, to make up the 17 leaders.

This group had a lot of heavy hitters, and initially looked to be the winning move.  In addition to Serrano Fernandez, the break included Fly V Australia's Ben Day (former Beauce champion), David Tanner and Jay Thomson; BMC's Jeff Louder and John Murphy; United Healthcare's Marc Demaar and Pinfold; former Beauce champion Valeriy Kobzarenko and Michael Creed from Team Type 1; SpiderTech's Francois Parisien, Ryan Roth, Lucas Eusler and David Boily; Grechyn from Amore e Vita; André Tremblay from Québec Provincial and Will Routley (Team Canada).

This group quickly went 90 seconds clear, but never got completely organized, and once the chase began - led by Felt-Holowesko and CKT Champion - it was brought back.  However, it did set the stage for the longest break, which Serrano Fernandez launched his victory from.

Routley and Thomson joined Serrano Fernandez in a new break as the original one was getting absorbed, and the small group was successful in getting away.  With 10 kilometres they were over four minutes up, and went to five-plus minutes before BMC half-heartedly organized a chase to keep the gap manageable.

 

BMC

BMC chases

 

As the wind took its toll, the gap started to drop, but the race then hit a downhill after the third KoM that was unexpectedly covered in loose gravel, causing multiple flats (including Serrano Fernandez) and a very bad crash in the main field.

The section was under construction but, according to organizers, they had checked it the day before and it was hardpacked dirt.  Overnight, it appears that the construction crew put down fresh gravel on the section [the construction on this section was also supposed to be completed before the race began...].

The section took down half a dozen riders, with Team Canada's Matt Bell and BMC's Alexander Kristoff the worst off.  Both lay in the dirt bleeding from head wounds and were rushed to hospital.  Thankfully, the latest word is that the worst off, with a probable concussion, is Bell.  Creed also went down hard, but managed to finish, and was then carted off to hospital.  He is expected to start stage 2.

At the front, the three breakaways took their lead back to five minutes, but the bunch was getting reorganized, with SpiderTech taking a turn on the front.  At 20 kilometres to go the gap was down to two minutes, and five kilometres later just over a minute.

 

break

Routley, Thomson and Serrano Fernandez

 

Serrano Fernandez attacked his two companions at 14 kilometres to go on one of the constant climbs that make up Beauce.  Initially, Routley tried to chase, but didn't have the legs, and he and Thomson were scooped up by the peloton.

"When the break went, it was right after the other one came back, so it seemed like a good time," explained Routley.  "But when there were only three of us, I started to wonder a bit if it had been the right idea...  But we were working well together, and the gap went up pretty quick and stayed there.  When [Serrano Fernandez] went, we tried to get back up to him, but couldn't quite make it."

Serrano Fernandez continued to dangle some 30 seconds in front of the chase, and the field splintered on the last significant climb, with less than five kilometres remaining.  38 riders stayed in the chase as the race swept back into Beauce, but it was eight seconds too late, as Serrano Fernandez took an extremely impressive win.

"We thought that Canada would be flat," commented Serrano Fernandez, "but it is not!  This was a hard race, and I did not know if I could stay away.  But we came to Canada to win."

Dionne was surprised and pleased to be on the podium.  "At the start of the stage my legs were not so good, so I did not think that I would be there at the end.  But as the race went on I started to feel better, and in the final kilometres I had very strong support from my team mates Ben Day and David Tanner.  We were surprised that he [Serrano Fernandez] was able to stay away.  I went quite far out on this downhill finish, 500 metres, but one guy was able to catch me at the line [Grechyn]."

Race Notes

- While Serrano Fernandez would be happy with any jersey, "the [yellow] one is the most important one, and we will try to defend it."

 

- Regarding the riders who crashed in the gravel:  Matt Bell was transferred to hospital and has been diagnosed with a severe concussion.  He also has some facial contusions, but with some rest will be okay.  Alexander Kristoff has some cuts on his face that required stitches

 

- Tomorrow's stage starts and finishes in Thetford Mines, west of St-Georges.  The 160 kilometre stage has two KoM climbs and two intermediate Sprints, however, like every stage at Beauce, the profile resembles a saw blade.  The stage begins at 10:00 am EDT.

 

Stage 1: Lac-Etchemin to Lac-Etchemin, 165 km
1 Rafael Serrano Fernandez (Esp) Heraklio-Murcia 4:11:21
2 Sergiy Grechyn (Ukr) Amore & Vita - Conad at 0:08
3 Charles Dionne (Can) Fly V Australia
4 Andrew Pinfold (Can) Unitedhealthcare p/b Maxxis
5 Christopher Jones (USA) Team Type 1
6 Derrick St-John (Can) Garneau Club Chaussures
7 Ryan Roth (Can) Spidertech p/b Planet Energy
8 Volodymyr Bileka (Ukr) Amore & Vita - Conad
9 Benjamin Day (Aus) Fly V Australia
10 Caleb Fairly (USA) Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin U23
11 Hugo Houle (Can) Garneau Club Chaussures
12 Valeriy Kobzarenko (Ukr) Team Type 1
13 Roger Beuchat (Sui) CKT Champion System
14 Francisco Mancebo Perez (Esp) Heraklio-Murcia
15 François Parisien (Can) Spidertech p/b Planet Energy
16 Oliver Johr (Ger) SC Wledenbruck 2000
17 Jacques Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) DCM
18 Marc De Maar (Ned) Unitedhealthcare p/b Maxxis
19 Jai Crawford (Aus) Fly V Australia
20 David Boily (Can) Spidertech p/b Planet Energy
21 Bernardo Colex Tepox (Mex) Amore & Vita - Conad
22 Thomas Rabou (Ned) Team Type 1
23 Lucas Euser (USA) Spidertech p/b Planet Energy
24 Shaun Mccarthy (Aus) Garneau Club Chaussures
25 Salvador Guardiola Tora (Esp) Heraklio-Murcia
26 Jean-Sébastien Perron (Can) Garneau Club Chaussures
27 Robbie Squire (USA) Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin U23
28 Darren Rolfe (Aus) Fly V Australia
29 Jaume Rovira Pous (Esp) Heraklio-Murcia
30 Chad Beyer (USA) BMC Racing Team
31 Morgan Schmitt (USA) Unitedhealthcare p/b Maxxis
32 Jaroslaw Dabrowski (Pol) Amore & Vita - Conad
33 Jason Donald (USA) Bahati Foundation
34 William Dugan (USA) Team Type 1
35 Darren Lill (RSA) Fly V Australia
36 Chris Butler (USA) BMC Racing Team
37 Chris Baldwin (USA) Unitedhealthcare p/b Maxxis
38 Björn Papstein (Ger) SC Wledenbruck 2000
39 David Tanner (Aus) Fly V Australia all s.t.
40 Raphael Gagné (Can) Équipe Québec 0:26
41 Maint Berkenbosch (Ned) Global Cycling Team
42 Corey Collier (USA) Bahati Foundation
43 Antoine Matteau (Can) Team Spirit-CIBC Wood Gundy
44 Travis Allen (RSA) DCM
45 Arnaud Papillon (Can) Équipe Québec
46 Andreas Keuser (Ger) Restore Cycling Team Holland
47 Yannick Bédard (Can) Team Spirit-CIBC Wood Gundy
48 Hector Gonzalez Baeza (Esp) Heraklio-Murcia all s.t.
49 Jackson Stewart (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:37
50 Max Jenkins (USA) Unitedhealthcare p/b Maxxis
51 Will Routley (Can) Canadian National Team
52 John Murphy (USA) BMC Racing Team
53 Nic Hamilton (Can) Canadian National Team
54 André Tremblay (Can) Équipe Québec
55 Vincent Quirion (Can) Équipe Québec
56 Jar Deutschmann (Ger) SC Wledenbruck 2000
57 Benjamin Martel (Can) Team Spirit-CIBC Wood Gundy
58 Tim Abercrombie (Can) Garneau Club Chaussures
59 Peter Van Agtmaal (Ned) Restore Cycling Team Holland
60 Clinton Barrow (RSA) DCM
61 Jeffrey Wiersma (Ned) Restore Cycling Team Holland
62 Holger Slevers (Ger) SC Wledenbruck 2000
63 Alex Hagman (USA) Bahati Foundation
64 Deon Locke (Aus) CKT Champion System
65 Alex Howes (USA) Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin U23
66 Matthew Rice (Aus) Bahati Foundation
67 Joris Boillat (Sui) CKT Champion System
68 Jamie Sparling (Can) Canadian National Team all s.t.
69 Pascal Bussières (Can) Team Spirit-CIBC Wood Gundy 1:01
70 Dennis Klemme (Ger) SC Wledenbruck 2000
71 Walker Savidge (USA) Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin U23
72 Fausto Fognini (Ita) Amore & Vita - Conad
73 Keir Plaice (Can) Canadian National Team
74 Michael Joannisse (Can) Canadian National Team all s.t.
75 Michael Creed (USA) Team Type 1 1:04
76 Jock (Rodney) Green (RSA) DCM 1:09
77 Danny Summerhill (USA) Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin U23
78 Holger Burkhardt (Ger) CKT Champion System
79 Yuriy Metlushenko (Ukr) Amore & Vita - Conad
80 Erik Kooiman (Ned) Global Cycling Team all s.t.
81 Benjamin Stauder (Ger) CKT Champion System 1:17
82 Max Durtschi (USA) Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin U23 1:27
83 Pieter Seyfert (RSA) DCM 1:55
84 Jay Thomson (RSA) Fly V Australia
85 Jean-François Racine (Can) Garneau Club Chaussures
86 Harm Bronkhorst (Ned) Global Cycling Team
87 Bobby Lea (USA) Bahati Foundation
88 Jorne Videler (Ned) Global Cycling Team
89 Bruno Langlois (Can) Spidertech p/b Planet Energy
90 Nathan O'neil (Aus) Bahati Foundation
91 Jamie Ball (RSA) DCM
92 Mart Ojavee (Est) CKT Champion System all s.t.
93 Marvin Guzman (Can) Team Spirit-CIBC Wood Gundy 2:22
94 William Blackburn (Can) Équipe Québec 2:57
95 Aroussen Laflamme (Can) Team Spirit-CIBC Wood Gundy 4:10
96 Jesse Reams (Can) Garneau Club Chaussures
97 Laurent Dallaire (Can) Équipe Québec
98 Hendrik Werner (Ger) SC Wledenbruck 2000
99 Jeff Louder (USA) BMC Racing Team all s.t.
100 Chris Barton (USA) BMC Racing Team 4:12
101 Danny Vrolijk (Ned) Restore Cycling Team Holland 4:57
102 Jean-Michel Lachance (Can) Équipe Québec s.t.
103 Guillaume Boivin (Can) Spidertech p/b Planet Energy 5:54
104 Andrew Randell (Can) Spidertech p/b Planet Energy s.t.
105 Stefano Maiorana (RSA) DCM 6:08
106 Vincent Veilleux (Can) Team Spirit-CIBC Wood Gundy 10:52
107 Tim Nederlof (Ned) Global Cycling Team 13:17
108 Flavio Pasquino (Ned) Restore Cycling Team Holland s.t.
109 Chris Heiberg (Ned) Restore Cycling Team Holland 32:42
110 Fabio Calabria (Aus) Team Type 1
111 Marc Den Hoed (Ned) Restore Cycling Team Holland
112 Ruurd-Jan Zwarts (Ned) Global Cycling Team all s.t.
OTL Rob Mud (Ned) Global Cycling Team
DNF Alexander Kristoff (Nor) BMC Racing Team
DNF Eric Barlevav (USA) Unitedhealthcare p/b Maxxis
DNF Javier Megias Leal (Esp) Team Type 1
DNF Peter Salon (USA) Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin U23
DNF Mathew Bell (Can) Canadian National Team
DNS Cesar Grajales (Col) Bahati Foundation
 
Points
1 Rafael Serrano Fernandez (Esp) Heraklio-Murcia 20 pts
2 Sergiy Grechyn (Ukr) Amore & Vita - Conad 16
3 Charles Dionne (Can) Fly V Australia 13
4 Andrew Pinfold (Can) Unitedhealthcare p/b Maxxis 12
5 Christopher Jones (USA) Team Type 1 11
6 Derrick St-John (Can) Garneau Club Chaussures 10
7 Ryan Roth (Can) Spidertech / Planet 9
8 Volodymyr Bileka (Ukr) Amore & Vita - Conad 8
9 Benjamin Day (Aus) Fly V Australia 7
10 Caleb Fairly (USA) Felt-Holowesko Part 6
11 Hugo Houle (Can) Garneau Club Chaussures 5
12 Valeriy Kobzarenko (Ukr) Team Type 1 4
13 Jay Thomson (RSA) Fly V Australia 3
14 Roger Beuchat (Sui) Ckt Champion System 3
15 Francisco Mancebo Perez (Esp) Heraklio-Murcia 2
16 François Parisien (Can) Spidertech / Planet 1
17 André Tremblay (Can) Équipe Québec 1
18 Will Routley (Can) Canadian National Team 1
 
KOM
1 Rafael Serrano Fernandez, (Esp) Heraklio-Murcia 27 pts
2 Jay Thomson (RSA) Fly V Australia 16
3 Danny Summerhill (USA) Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin U 15
4 Will Routley (Can) Canadian National Team 12
5 Francis Mancebo Perez (Esp) Heraklio-Murcia 7
6 Andreas Keuser (Ger) Restore Cycling Team Holland 4
7 Sergiy Grechyn (Ukr) Amore & Vita - Conad 3
8 Matthew Rice (Aus) Bahati Foundation 3
9 Chris Butler (USA) BMC Racing Team 2
10 Chris Baldwin (USA) Unitedhealthcare p/b Maxxis 2
11 Bobby Lea (USA) Bahati Foundation 2
12 Lucas Euser (USA) Spidertech p/b Planet Energy 1
13 Jaroslaw Dabrowski (Pol) Amore & Vita - Conad 1
14 Chris Barton (USA) BMC Racing Team 1
 
Team GC
1 Amore & Vita - Conad 12:34:27
2 Fly V Australia
3 Team Type 1
4 Garneau Club Chaussures
5 Spidertech p/b Planet Energy
6 Unitedhealthcare p/b Maxxis
7 Heraklio-Murcia all s.t.
8 Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin U23 0:29
9 SC Wledenbruck 2000
10 BMC Racing Team both s.t.
11 DCM 0:47
12 Bahati Foundation s.t.
13 CKT Champion System 0:58
14 Team Spirit-CIBC Wood Gundy 1:05
15 Équipe Québec s.t.
16 Restore Cycling Team Holland 1:16
17 Canadian National Team 1:27
18 Global Cycling Team 3:06

 

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