July 17/13 13:01 pm - Canada's Pineda Leads Abitibi After Stage 1

Posted by Editoress on 07/17/13
 

More than one hundred fans lined the arrival circuit in Rouyn-Noranda, in order to encourage cyclists from the 45th edition of the Tour de l'Abitibi Desjardins. From the start, the cyclists from the Canadian national team and the Colavita-Van Dessel team went to the front of the pack, attempting breakaways several times. Finally, Hendrik Pineda from the Canadian team managed to win both the orange and brown jerseys, in addition to finishing in first place on the stage, with a time of 2 hours 45 minutes and 29 seconds.

The American CF Racing team, who is new to the Tour, finished in second place, with Peter Goguen finishing only a few seconds behind Pineda. Goguen earned a spot on the podium and the blue jersey, reserved for the best first year rider. Meanwhile, Ansel Dickey from the United States national team finished in third place.

This year, the teams from Quebec greatly distinguished themselves during the Sprint Abitibi Challenge and made a good impression during the Agnico Eagle first stage. Indeed, the cyclists from the André Cycle-Kaycan-RDS team and the IAMGOLD-Specialized team started the race on the right foot, by attacking the pack. Olivier Miclette from the Quebec team stood out the most, by gaining an advantage of more than two minutes over the rest of the pack, during his solo breakaway, which lasted about thirty minutes.

During the first stage, the cyclists faced three King of the Mountain challenges on the route between Amos and Rouyn-Noranda. The Colombians were able to showcase their climbing abilities by winning all three challenges, earning the polka dot jersey for the best climber, the first time this jersey has been awarded.

The second stage will take the cyclists from La Sarre to Rouyn-Noranda, passing through Duparquet, for a total distance of 106 kilometres.  The arrival time is planned for 7:00 pm, and finishes with four laps around the city.

Courtesy Le Tour cycliste de l’Abitibi inc. (edited)

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