June 8/14 21:19 pm - Grand Prix Saguenay: Stage 4 report and results

Posted by Editoress on 06/8/14
 

The first Grand Prix cycliste de Saguenay ended on Sunday with an active and aggressive fourth stage, after four days of racing in the districts of La Baie and Chicoutimi, in Saguenay.

The overall victory came down to one second, with Jure Kocjan of Team SmartStop winning the stage and grabbing the bonus seconds that came with it, moving him from third to the top the standings.

The 149 kilometre stage was raced under a bright sun and scorching temperatures. Eric Young (Optum-Kelly Benefits), holder of the yellow jersey from the first stage, was being chased by Canadian Pierrick Naud (Garneau-Quebecor) and Jure Kocjan, both only a few seconds back in the general classification, so nothing was taken for granted at the start line along the beautiful Saguenay river.

The race started as expected with a very fast pace on the first lap, with many teams wanting to put pressure on the yellow jersey. A small break of three riders went away early, riding together for five laps. The peloton managed the break and kept a perfect control. In the seventh of 14 laps, the peloton had enough and brought back the leaders.

Led by Vitaliy Popkov of Team ISD Continental, another break took off very quickly after the capture of the first break, with the leaders moving over 3:30 ahead of the main bunch. In the 12th lap, with two to go, the two groups formed, and the race once again became one group. Popkov delivered a remarkable performance, racing alone at the front, for more than 50 kilometres in temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius. A flat tire ended his journey at the front.

When the bunch formed again a nine-man break took off and took advantage of a crash in the peloton with 1.5 laps to get a 30-second lead, but in the last lap were brought back once again.

On the last climb in the last lap, the peloton split up in two groups, with the green jersey of Pierrick Naud and Jure Kocjan in the front group and the yellow jersey of Eric Young in the second group. The lead group took over 40 seconds on the rear group, and the Grand Prix title became a sprint race between Kocjan and Naud.

At the finish line, Jure Kocjan edged Asbjørn Kragh Andersen (Christina Watches-Kuma) to win the stage, and grab the 10 bonus seconds attached to victory. These ten bonus seconds earned him the title of the first winner of the Grand Prix Cycliste de Saguenay.

A special mention goes to Canadian Criterium champion Pierrick Naud, who finished on the podium for all four stages, finishing third on the final stage and taking four bonus seconds.

The Jerseys

The yellow jersey was won by Jure Kocjan, finishing the 560 kilometre race only one second ahead of Pierrick Naud. The competition for the Grand Prix was so tight that the Yellow and Green jersey winner were determined by the time bonus in the stage classification. Winning the final stage, Kocjan collected 10 bonus seconds, while Naud collected only four by finishing third. Kocjan also won the Green jersey, by one point, over Naud in this epic race to the end.

The Italian rider Luca Benedetti (Amore & Vita-Selle SMD) easily won the Polka Dot jersey as winner of the King of the Mountain classification. Benedetti scored big on stages two and three, and finished the Grand Prix cycliste with 28 points, 13 more than his nearest rival, teammate Michael Woods.

Asbjørn Kragh Andersen was the Best Young Rider (U23) in the general classification, returning home with the white jersey. He finished fourth in the general classification, thanks to his second place in the fourth stage.

The majority of teams present in Saguenay will now travel to Beauce, where they will take part in the 29th edition of the Tour de Beauce, starting Wednesday.

The organizers of the first Grand Prix Cycliste de Saguenay were delighted with the success of the event, which marked a major shift this year.

The race was previously part of the U23 Nations Cup, and the transition to a UCI 2.2 sanctioned event was successful, with more than 125 riders on 18 teams from seven countries taking part.

"We are extremely pleased with the success of this first edition of the Grand Prix Cycliste de Saguenay," commented Steve Potvin, Chairman of the Board of Directors. "All operations were completed without a hitch, and we had the pleasure to witness racing of the highest caliber, with a standout peloton."

The event would not have been possible without the support and contribution of all partners involved, and without the participation of 250 volunteers.

Participating teams enjoyed their first experience in Saguenay:

Gord Fraser, Directeur sportif for Team Silber Pro Cycling:
"UCI races in North America, let alone Canada, are a great opportunity to showcase a team like Silber Pro Cycling. We are ecstatic and we appreciate the opportunity to race at a high level against great competition, close to home. For our sponsors such as Argon18, for Silber Investments, this is what it's all about. This is the reason we exist. It's to perform at a high-exposure race like this. We are very happy with the inaugural edition, and partnering up with the Tour de Beauce offers two weeks of great racing for teams."

Michael Creed, Directeur sportif of Team SmartStop:
"It's been great. I didn't know much about racing here. Overall, it's tremendous. Of all the races we've done this year, it's one of the best organized. They have been really accommodating. For me, as a first year director, they have gone out of the way to help me with the logistics. The race itself has been really simple, with no transfers and the courses are really dynamic. It's been really good, and it seems like they have the support of the community. I certainly hope it can continue."

Eric Wohlberg, Directeur Sportif of Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefits:
"I think the event has gone really well. The courses have been really good and the criterium on Saturday was very hard, and went right through the heart of Chicoutimi and a lot of spectators came out. Having twilight criterium is always good for the crowds. With the UCI sanction, we knew that the race would be very attractive to any teams coming up. I want to support Canadian cycling."

Cameron Watts, Directeur Sportif for Team Budget Forklifts, racing for the first time in North America.
"Our experience here was really good. We like the courses. It was the first time our boys were racing in North America and we are on a steep learning course with a slightly different style of racing from what we are used to. The boys have adapted well and we came close to a stage win on Saturday. The courses offered a little bit for everyone. The depth of field and quality of racing here is a lot better than in Australia."

Stage results and Final GC