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Cycling Canada – Val-d’Or, QC – Team Canada got off to a strong start at the first stage of the Tour de l’Abitibi, with national Criterium champion Riley Pickrell winning the field sprint, putting him in the brown leader’s jersey, plus the Points and Best Young Rider jerseys.

The 50th edition of the Tour de l’Abitibi began in one of the traditional host cities – Rouyn-Noranda – and ended 115 kilometres later at this year’s host city, Val d’Or. Strong cross and tail winds discouraged breakaways, and Team Canada worked hard to keep any dangerous moves from getting away in their plan to set up Pickrell.


Photo Rob Jones/Canadian Cyclist (All Rights Reserved)
Media: Please contact Karine Bedard for image use.

The race saw a number of crashes in the final 40 kilometres, and missed one section as the lead police escort went straight when they should have turned; a mistake that shortened the race by a couple of kilometres but had no real impact on the outcome.

The peloton entered Val d’Or with half of the 150 rider field still together, while the rest of the field were broken up into small chase groups.  Three finish loops made no changes, and the final false flat straight became a drag race between Pickrell, American rider Eduardo Cruz De La Mora (Alterra Home Loans Cycling Team) and Taisei Hino (Team Japan). Pickrell went straight up the middle, with a speed the others could not match. Cruz De La Mora took second just in front of Hino.

“It’s an amazing start for the team,” said Pickrell. “Our team rode fantastically; we had a strategy where two riders worked early in the race, two worked later in the race and one was a sweeper on my wheel in the sprint, and it was executed beautifully. The wind was a big factor in the last quarter of the race and we had to do a lot of communicating to make our way through the field and protect ourselves from the crosswinds.”

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.

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Cycling Canada
Information:
Karine Bedard l Cycling Canada l 438-884-8771 l karine.bedard@cyclingcanada.ca