July 26/14 10:56 am - Tour de l'Abitibi Desjardins: Stage 5

Posted by Editoress on 07/26/14
 

Unexpected Changes in the Rankings

Several attempts to break away took place all along the 100 kilometres separating Val-d'Or and Amos. The national teams from France, Morocco, Denmark, the United States, and Canada attempted to separate themselves from the rest of the pack, before a counter-attack put a wrench in their plans. Upon arrival in the town of Amos, the competition started to heat up between the Americans and the French, who battled it out until a major crash took out the brown and blue jersey holders, a mere 3 kilometres from the fiish. The crash allowed several lower ranked racers to an advantage at the finish line, including the stage winner, Quentin Valognes, from team Novo Nordisk.

Not far behind, cyclist Peter Goguen, who was second best youth in 2013, took second place, followed by Adrien Carpentier, from France, who also took 3rd on for stage 4. Despite winning the stage, as well as the Sprint Abitibi Challenge, Valognes did not win a jersey. It is now Team France's Bouhanni who has regained the lead in GC, earning him the brown jersey. The crash by the US team greatly affected their lead, and Mathias Norsgaard Jorgenson (from Denmark) who took both blue and yellow jerseys. As for the other jerseys, the French kept the orange jersey, although it will be worn by Adrien Carpentier, and Team Morocco's Zahiri kept his polka dot jersey for the next stage.

Shaking the Rankings
The crash that occurred within the last kilometres of the finish greatly affected rankings for several teams. Quebec riders Pier-André Côté and Laurent Gervais, had ranked highly all week, but the crash in which they were caught up in will definitely affect their position in the GC. The same fate goes for the US national team, who had finally succeeded in putting a strategy together to remove the French and Danish teams from the lead.

A Different Stage
Saturday the cyclists from the Tour de l'Abitibi Desjardins will remain in Amos for the urban circuit, running through 9 laps of 10.8 kilometres. From 5:15 p.m., the citizens will have the opportunity to see the 139 cyclists in various locations throughout town, until 7:35 p.m., where the race will finish in front of the cathedral.

Report courtesy Tour de l'Abitibi

Results from the fifth stage of the Tour de l'Abitibi Desjardins, in Rouyn-Noranda, QC

Previous stages

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stages 3 & 4