June 15/11 9:57 am - Tour de Beauce: Stage 2 UPDATES

Posted by Editoress on 06/15/11
 

Stage 2:  Thetford Miines to Thetford Miines, 162.5 km

The sun is out and it is heating up as the riders get ready to set out for the 2nd stage, a 162.5 km rolling course starting in Thetford Miines and finishing in Thetford Miines.

There's a 10 min delay as Matthias Friedemann (Champion System) required a bike change.

Scott Lyttle (Pure Black Racing) is the race leader and will wear the yellow jersey at the start of the day.  Word is that Gord Fraser's  Realcyclist.com team will work to get Francisco Mancebo into the leaders position by the end of the day, so there should be some great racing.  Mancebo's right hand man Thomas Rabou is coming back from a broken wrist, so there is some concern he will be up to the task. 

UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team will be looking for some redemption after yesterday's debacle, and of course Spidertech will also be looking to move their riders up in GC.

And they are on the road with a flurry of attacks from the gun.

10:30 am - all together at 17 km in

10:38 am - At 23 km and we have a lone rider- Jamie Riggs (Garneau-Club Chaussures- Norton Rose)- away with a gap of 20 seconds

10:49 am - Double flat for Frank Parisien (Spidertech) but a quick change, some help from the team and he is safely back in the peloton

10:58 am - At 36 km and all together again.

11am - We have an attack.  Christian Meier (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team), Daniel Dominguez (Fuji-Cyclingtime.com), Philipp Mamos (Amore & Vita) and Vladislav Borisov (Amore & Vita) are away

11:15 am - Now there are 7 in the break and the gap is up to  32 seconds

11:25 am - Gap up to 1:46.  Three riders attampting to bridge - Darren Rolfe (Fly V Australia), Matthias Friedemann (Champion System) and Michael Tkué (Rocky Mountain), tho' Tkué is struggling

11:40 am - 2 of the  chasers have joined the leaders. to make a group of 9.      Riders in the break are: Ilesic Ino (Team Type 1 sanofi-aventis), Christian Meier (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team), Darren Rolfe (Fly V Australia), Daniel Dominguez (Fuji-Cyclingtime.com), Philipp Mamos (Amore & Vita), Vladislav Borisov (Amore & Vita), Ian Burnett (Realcyclist.com), Rob Bush (Chipotle), Matthias Friedemann (Champion System)

11:48 am - Gap is now 3 minutes to the peloton

12:13 pm - at 89 km

Darren Rolfe (Fly V Australia), Daniel Dominguez (Fuji-Cyclingtime.com) and Ian Burnett (Realcyclist.com) have been dropped from the lead bunch are now at 45 sec back.  Peloton is losing ground, gap now 4 min to leaders

12:21 pm - At 91.4 km the gap is 4:25

12:33 pm - FlyV has now gone to the front of the peloton and are driving the chase.  Lyttle's ownership of the lead is not in jeopardy untill the gap goes over 20 min.   

12:45 pm - 106 km completed, and the gap is coming down.  Now under 3 min

12:49 pm - Gap continues to fall, now 2 min

1:04 pm - Leaders have passed 120 km.  Fly V doing most of the work at the front of the peloton and the gap is down  below 1:40

1:18 pm - Leaders are now at the 2nd and final KOM of the day and the gap is below 2 min.  With just over 30 km to go, it is mostly a downhill run to the finish

1:23 pm - The leaders have picked up their pace and 2 riders have been dropped from the group: Ilesic Ino (Team Type 1 sanofi-aventis) and Matthias Friedemann (Champion System)

1:30 pm - 25 km to go and the gap is under 1 min.  Lead group now down to just 4

1:38 pm - 20 km to go:  4 remaing riders are: Meier, Mamos, Borisov and Bush. .. and the gap is holding at ~ 1 min

1:41 pm - Peloton has reeled in 3 of the 4 in lead bunch.  Vladislav Borisov (Amore & Vita) is still away at 40 seconds, but still a long way to go solo.

1:44 pm - 17 km to go and gap at 30 sec

1:52 pm - They have entered the finishing circuit for 3 laps and they are all together.

Teams are lining up their sprinters for a bunch sprint

2:03 pm - lots of attacks and counter attacks, but nothing is sticking

Finish

Unofficial

1 Maarten Verschoor (Team Type 1 sanofi-aventis)

2 Shawn Milne (Kenda/ 5-hour Energy Pro Cycling p/b Geargrinder)

3 Danny Summerhill (Chipotle)

GC

1 Scott Lyttle (Pure Black Racing)

Stage Profile, map below