June 11/25 18:20 pm - Canadian Gauthier Third in Stage 1 of Beauce

Posted by Editoress on 06/11/25
 

The 37th edition of the Tour de Beauce opened on Wednesday with the longest stage of the race, a 193.3 kilometre loop that began and finished in Saint-Gédéon de Beauce. American Sean Christian of the Skyline team won the stage and the Yellow Jersey in a sprint from the remnants of a long breakaway that finished four minutes ahead of the peloton. Jérôme Gauthier of the Marni N'SIDE team was the top Canadian, finishing third and taking both the Sprint and Best Young Rider jerseys.

The main break of the day formed approximately 45 kilometres into the stage, with 14 riders initially off the front. With multiple teams in the break, the chase was not strenuous, and grew to over four minutes, with nine riders still left at the front for the end of the race. Averaging around 45 km/h, and despite the strong winds that blew throughout the stage, the cyclists beat the fastest time estimated for the day by a few minutes. In the sprint, Christian narrowly edged out another American, Hugo Scala (Project Echelon), and Gauthier.

Last year in Beauce, Christian came close to victory, twice reaching the second step of the podium. This time, he didn't miss his chance. On May 18th, the cyclist also won the Gran Premio, a UCI event held in New York.

"It was a beautiful day but very difficult with a lot of wind," explained Christian. "Luckily, I had two teammates with me in the breakaway, and I'm not the best climber in the group."

The 20-year-old Quebecer, Gauthier, pulled off a remarkable feat by also capturing the white jersey for Points leader, as well as the red jersey for Best Young Rider (Under-23) in the standings. His teammate Joël Plamondon finished 6th, just behind the 48-year-old Oscar Sevilla (Team Medellin - EPM), a former top-10 finisher in both the Vuelta a Espana and the Tour de France.

"I would have definitely liked to win. It was tough, but it was a good day for the team, and we're well-positioned for the overall standings," said Gauthier, who has primarily been competing in France this season.

The mountains classification jersey will be worn by Italian Mattia Gaffuri (Swatt Club), who finished seventh in the stage.

Stage 2 will see the riders take on a 164 kilometre loop that begins and ends in Saint-Odilion-de Cranbourne.

Tour de Beauce: Stage 1 results