Pickrell Second in Stage 4 at Tour De L’abitibi
Cycling Canada – Val-d’Or, QC (July 20, 2018) – After taking the Brown Jersey at the Tour de l’Abitibi in the Stage 3 time trial on Thursday morning, Riley Sheehan (Team USA) extended his lead in the overall classification later in the day on Stage 4 by winning the field sprint and grabbing the six bonus seconds on offer. Team Canada’s Riley Pickrell, the winner of Stage 1, finished second and took back the Points Jersey.
“It was a very good stage, but I would have been happier with the win,” admitted Pickrell. “It was a well raced stage by team USA, so I have to accept second. The wind was a huge factor; the main crosswind section was two kilometres before an intermediate sprint [won by Pickrell] so the pace was fast, and if you were caught out of the first echelon, you had to do a lot of work. The focus has shifted a bit [for the team]; we will still be going for stage wins, but the goal will be to come away from Abitibi with a jersey.”
Sheehan now leads his two team mates Kendrick Boots and Michael Garrison by 11 seconds, with Canadian road and time trial champion Ben Katerberg (Tag Cycling) remaining in fourth, now 15 seconds back. Garrison remains in the Blue Jersey as Best Young Rider, as does Kevin Cervantes (Alterra Home Loans) in the Climber’s Jersey, since there were no KoMs contested.
In the Points competition, Pickrell now has 72 points to Hino’s 64, with Sheehan moving into third with 54 points.
About Cycling Canada
Cycling Canada is the governing body for competitive cycling in Canada. Founded in 1882, Cycling Canada aims to create and sustain an effective system that develops talented Canadian cyclists to achieve Olympic, Paralympic, and World Championship medal performances. With the vision of being a leading competitive cycling nation by 2020 celebrating enhanced international success, increased national participation and world class event hosting, Cycling Canada manages the High Performance team, hosts national and international events and administers programs to promote and grow cycling across the country. Cycling Canada programs are made possible through the support of its valued corporate partners – Global Relay, Lexus Canada, Mattamy Homes, Louis Garneau, lululemon, 4iiii, Argon18 and Bear Mountain Resort – along with the Government of Canada, Own The Podium, the Canadian Olympic Committee and the Canadian Paralympic Committee.
Source: Cycling Canada
Information:
Karine Bedard l Cycling Canada l 438-884-8771 l karine.bedard@cyclingcanada.ca