September 11/13 14:32 pm - Team Canada Prepared for GP Quebec and Montreal

Posted by Editoress on 09/11/13
 

Ryan Roth (Champion System Pro Cycling) will join Team Canada to ride the two UCI World Tour races this weekend, in Québec on Friday and Montreal on Sunday, as we reported previously.

Roth, the 2012 Canadian Road Race Champion, comes in at the last minute to replace Michael Woods of Garneau-Québecor, who suffered from a broken collarbone in the third stage of the Tour of Alberta.

"Those are two of my favorite races of the world. I am really excited to be racing for Canada, with the National Team. I'll be among friends, so that will be fun. First things first, I have to recover from the racing last week at the Tour of Alberta. I have been racing six days in Alberta and need to freshen up. Those two races will be really hard. I don't know really what to expect for the races," said Roth.

Of the eight-man roster, seven raced for their respective teams and the National Team at the Tour of Alberta. Notably, Ryan Anderson won the Best Canadian Jersey while racing for Optum p/b Kelly Benefits Strategies.

Zach Bell, the current Canadian Champion, riding with Champion System Pro Cycling, crashed in the first stage and was shaken up, but felt better as the week progressed. Bell is the current Champion of the Pro Sprint Challenge, and will be defending his title on Thursday at this year's edition of the fan-friendly event.

"The health is on the mend. Certainly improving daily, but not 100% recovered yet. The injury didn't interfere too much at the tour of Alberta. It's certainly a little more intense at the WorldTour level. We'll see how it goes, but it should be ok," reassured Bell.

Bruno Langlois, of the continental cycling team Garneau-Quebecor, will be riding on his hometown streets of Quebec City wearing the National Team uniform. Last year at the Grand Prix cycliste de Québec, Langlois won the King of the Mountain jersey.

With the National Team for the Tour of Alberta, Antoine Duchesne of Bontrager Pro Cycling Team was part of the wining break on Stage 4, and won the Most Aggressive Rider jersey for that stage. Duchesne has had success on the Quebec City course at Tour de Beauce, taking second place on a very similar course in downtown Québec. Rob Britton of Team Raleigh was also at the Tour of Alberta with the Canadian National Team.

Nic Hamilton of Jelly Belly Cycling Team was part of two major breaks in Alberta, racing in his native province. Marsh Cooper of Optum p/b Kelly Benefits Strategies, will once more suit up in the national team uniform. Cooper was part of the Canadian team at the Tour de Beauce, helping Christian Meier ride to third place in the overall classification.

Thursday night will feature the Pro Sprint Challenge, before Friday's UCI World Tour Grand Prix cycliste de Québec. The teams will then travel via train to Montreal on Saturday, and race on Sunday in the Grand Prix cycliste de Montréal.

Ryan Anderson (Vancouver, BC/Optum Kelly Benefits)
Zach Bell (North Vancouver, BC/Champion Systems Pro Cycling)
Rob Britton (Victoria, BC/Team Raleigh)
Marsh Cooper (Delta, BC/Optum-Kelly Benefit)
Antoine Duchesne (Québec, QC/Bontrager Cycling Team)
Nic Hamilton (Victoria, BC/Jelly Belly Cycling)
Bruno Langlois (Québec, QC/Garneau Quebecor Cycling Team)
Ryan Roth (Guelph, ON/ Champion Systems Pro Cycling)