September 20/25 16:39 pm - Visma - Lease a Bike Sweeps Gatineau Road Race
Posted by Editoress on 09/20/25
After finishing 1-2-4 in Friday's time trial at the Tour de Gatineau, Team Visma - Lease a Bike was even stronger in Saturday's road race, taking the top four spots, with Nienke Veenhoven winning ahead of teammates Martina Fidanza and Margaux Vigie. Local favourite Laury Milette (Equipe du Quebec) was the top Canadian rider, in fifth place, one spot ahead of Skyler Goudswaard (Cyclery Racing). Two other Canadians made the top-10 - Mathilde Huot (Milton Revolution) in seventh and Josephine Peloquin (LA Sweat) in eighth.
L to r: Martina Fidanza, Nienke Veenhoven, Margaux Vigie
The course is a new one for Tour de Gatineau, although it incorporates a segment of the 2016 National Road Championship circuit. The 11.1 kilometre circuit (two laps for the TT and 11 for the road race) starts and finishes on Laurier St in Hull, immediately swinging south onto the Portage Bridge, across to the Ottawa side of the Ottawa River. Riders then join the Kichi Zibi Mikan Parkway, heading west on a long gradual uphill to a flat section, before making a u-turn to head back to the bridge and across to the Quebec side. They then head north on Blvd Maisonneuve, with a couple of 90-degree lefts into residential streets, followed by a short, very steep climb, a right into another climb, and two lefts back onto the finishing straight.
Visma was the clear powerhouse, and quickly took control of the race. They didn't have to attack, just up the tempo and riders started falling off the back of the 89 rider peloton. By the halfway mark the lead group was down below 35 riders, and a lap later the final selection of 12 riders was made. In addition to the six Visma riders and four Canadians, Sofia Arreola Navarro (Virgina's Blue Ridge Twenty28) and Karlijn Koops (Orion Racing) made the front group.
From this point on, Visma set the pace and the rest just tucked in. In the final couple of kilometres through town, four Visma riders attacked, opening a gap, and Veenhoven out kicked her teammates for the win. The four Canadians all came in six seconds back.
Milette took both the Best Quebecer and Best Canadian jerseys, with Visma winning Best Young Rider (Veenhoven) and Sprint (Lieke Nooijen). The decision was made (wisely) to award the entire Visma team the Most Combative jersey.
Tour of Gatineau: Road Race results
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