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mercredi 20 juin 2012

Spidertech: Tour de Suisse & Tour de Beauce Wrap up




Tour de Suisse Stage 1 report

(Lugano, SUI – June 9, 2012) Team SpiderTech powered by C10 made Canadian sports history today by becoming the first ever Canadian-based cycling team to start a UCI World Tour race on European soil, the Tour de Suisse.

The landmark accomplishment is an important milestone for the team co-owned by cycling legend Steve Bauer and Josée Larocque, who started the project more than five years ago.

In the opening race, a 7.3 kilometre prologue, Brian Vandborg was the fastest “spider”, posting the 90th fastest time. The team is focusing on breakaways and stage results rather than the general classification and is expected to be in the thick of the action in the eight coming stages.

Tomorrow, the 160-rider peloton faces the longest stage of the nine-day race, 218 km from Verbania to Verbier, including the Simplon Pass that crests above 2,000 m, and with a finish at altitude. With Team Liquigas-Cannondale’s Peter Sagan in the lead after winning the prologue, the teams vying for the general classification are expected to try to shake things up on what should be a very difficult stage.


Anderson earns Tour de Suisse ‘most aggressive’ prize

(Verbier, SUI – June 10, 2012) Team SpiderTech powered by C10′s Ryan Anderson (Vancouver, BC) is tied with cycling legend Frank Schleck at the top of the climbers’ classification at the 2012 Tour de Suisse.

Ryan Anderson was part of a two-man breakaway with Alesandro Bazzana of Team Type 1. The break showed a maximum gap of more than seven minutes during the longest stage of the current Tour de Suisse which, at 218 km, featured two huge ‘hors categorie’ climbs.
At the summit of the first major clmb, Anderson launched his sprint with 200 m to go and took the maximum points for his efforts.

“It was the plan for one of us to make the break and fly the team colours on television,” said an exhausted Anderson after the race. The leading duo was caught with 40 km to go, and Anderson dropped to the back of the field after his outstanding efforts in the opening 180 km.

Frank Schleck will be wearing the actual KOM jersey tomorrow as the jersey is awarded to the top rider in the overall standings in case of a tie. In addition to finishing tied with Schleck in the KOM classification and taking the opening sprint points, Anderson won the ‘most aggressive rider’ award for his efforts.

Team SpiderTech rider Raymond Kuenzli, who is from Switzerland, rose to the occasion on home soil, finishing in 24th position in the 160-rider peloton, and jumping to 34th place in the general classification. Kuenzli is sitting in second place of the best Swiss rider classification.

The race was won by Portuguese rider Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa of Team Movistar, followed by Schleck four seconds later and Mikel Nieve Ituralde of Euskaltel-Euskadi, 12 seconds behind.


Anderson still tied for Swiss mountains lead

(Aarberg, SUI – June 11, 2012) The Tour de Suisse continued today with the third stage, a 195-km race between Martigny and Aarberg.

Peter Sagan won the dicey sprint to the finish line, edging Baden Cooke of Orica-GreenEDGE and Ben Swift of Team Sky Procycling.

Ryan Anderson of Team SpiderTech powered by C10 remains tied with RadioShack-Nissan-Trek’s Frank Schleck in the best climber competition with 20 pts, as neither rider scored points on the stage.

U.S. rider Lucas Euser was the top SpiderTech finisher in the front group.

Tomorrow, the team will be racing the fourth of nine stages, leaving Aarberg in the morning to reach Trimbach for a total distance of 189 km.

Vandborg jumps to 3rd in Swiss mountains standings

Team SpiderTech powered by C10 rider Brian Vandborg has climbed to third place in the best climber competition at the Tour de Suisse today after being part of the main breakaway of the stage.

Vandborg earned 17 points at the summits of the classified climbs  and now sits behind teammate Ryan Anderson and “King of the Mountains” classification leader Frank Schleck of Team RadioShack-Nissan.

“If (Dario) Cataldo (OmegaPharma) wasn’t in the break, we may have stuck it to the line today. Movistar wasn’t going to give us much of a leash and collaboration in the break was poor because Cataldo is such a threat for the general classification,” said Danish rider Vandborg. “We’ll see how the race develops from here, but it’s good to have Randy and me both in contention for the KOM moving forward.”

“The day was incredibly active, with several riders attempting to break away from the sound of the gun. All teams wanted representation in the break today. So, the fact we made it bodes well for the abilities we are developing in the team,” said Steve Bauer, directeur sportif for Team SpiderTech at the Tour de Suisse. “It was a bonus to put down a great showing here today as two of our C10 sponsors — Spidertech and BlackBerry — joined the team today.”

In the sprint finish, Slovak rider Peter Sagan of Team Liquigas-Cannondale won his third stage at this year’s the Tour de Suisse.
Team SpiderTech is not a threat for the overall victory at the Tour de Suisse, but the team’s objective is to animate the race, hunt for a stage performance, and focus on the King of the Mountains classification to hopefully wear the coveted and respected jersey awarded to the best climber.

The KOM race is expected to be very difficult with the climbs on stages 8 and 9.

Added Bauer: “It will be an honour to take it for a day or two, and a dream to hold it to the end of the tour. Today we moved a strong player into contention with Vandborg scoring 17 points to move into a tie for third with Morkov from Team SaxoBank, Vandborg’s teammate from last year.” 

CLASSIFICATION – KING OF THE MOUNTAIN
1. Frank Schleck (LUX) (RadioShack-Nissan) 20 pts
2. Ryan Anderson (CAN) (Spidertech Powered By C10) 20 pts
3. Brian Vandborg (DEN) (Spidertech Powered By C10) 17 pts

Will Routley of Whistler, BC, who has been fighting a severe flu since the start of the Tour de Suisse, abandoned the race.

Tomorrow, the peloton will travel 193 kilometres between Olten/Trimbach and Gansingen.


Roth 2nd, De Luna top young rider at Tour de Beauce

(Lac-Etchemin, QC – June 12, 2012) Team SpiderTech powered by C10 enjoyed a strong opening day at the Tour de Beauce Tuesday as Flavio de Luna earned the best young rider jersey and Ryan Roth finished second on the stage.

The Tour de Beauce began with its usual tough stage in the rolling hills around Lac-Etchemin, and road construction forced organizers to add even more climbing this year.

The 162-km race opened with a flurry of attacks and after just five kilometres a breakaway of three riders went up the road, including De Luna, Ken Hanson (Optum-Kelly Benefit Strategies) and David Williams (Competitive Cyclist).

Although De Luna hadn’t been assigned to cover the early moves, he was at the right place at the right time and went for it. “I was riding out front and it just happened,” said the 22-year-old from Aguascalientes, Mexico.

With just three riders, it was going to be tough to make the break stick to the end, but De Luna decided to go for the King of the Mountains sprint points and try to get the team onto the podium.

In the end the breakaway stayed away for nearly 140 km, and though Hanson took the KOM jersey De Luna finished the stage in the same time as the leaders and now sits atop the best young rider classification. He is also second in the KOM standings and can hope to win the jersey later in the tour.

The finale featured a dangerous three-rider attack that included 2011 winner Francisco Mancebo (Competitive Cyclist). Mancebo hung on to win the stage by a couple bike lengths, but the downhill run to the finish meant the peloton overhauled the other two riders and Ryan Roth managed to avoid a pair of crashes to finish second on the stage.

“The opportunity presented itself so I went for it,” Roth said.

“When you’re out there good things happen,” said team director Michael Carter, who was full of praise for De Luna. “He’s well on his way to the mountains jersey, and he did a great job to hang in there to finish with the main field after such a long breakaway.”

Roth, De Luna in strong position at Tour de Beauce

(Thetford-Mines, QC – June 13, 2012) Team SpiderTech powered by C10 consolidated its strong position in the Tour de Beauce during the second stage Wednesday as the race heads into its most critical phase.

The day after spending 140 km in the breakaway on Stage 1, SpiderTech’s Flavio De Luna scored points on both classified climbs Wednesday and now sits just one point behind “King of the Mountains” leader Ken Hanson (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies).

Meanwhile, Ryan Roth, who finished second in Stage 1, made sure he stayed out of trouble in the 160-km second stage and remains just four seconds behind overall leader Francisco Mancebo (Competitive Cyclist Racing Team).

Thursday’s 164-km stage finishes with the 8-km climb to the top of Mont Mégantic and will be critical to both the overall standings and the KOM classification.
“The guys did good – we didn’t make any losses today,” said team director Michael Carter after the stage. “We’re looking to Hugo (Houle), Flavio and Ryan for a good result, and the others will do their part to help.”
Stage 2 started off very fast as rider after rider attempted to break away, but it wasn’t until the 40th kilometre that three riders managed to get clear. Craig Lewis (Champion System Pro Cycling Team), Jamie Sparling (Raleigh-GAC) and James Williamson (Bike NZ – Pure Black Racing) soon gained four minutes on the field before Competitive Cyclist began to set tempo to keep the time gap under control.

The gap was down to a little more than two minutes at the final KOM climb with 30 km to go, when Williamson dropped back to the field, but despite Team Type 1 Sanofi’s efforts to chase them down Lewis and Sparling managed to hang on by 29 seconds at the finish.
Lewis gained enough time to leapfrog Roth in the overall standings – Lewis is now second at three seconds – but the time gaps in tomorrow’s mountain top finish and Friday’s time trial will have a far bigger impact in the final outcome of the race.

Note: Flavio De Luna was mistakenly given the best young rider jersey on Tuesday. That award actually belongs to Adiq Othman (Champion System). He was given the jersey before Wednesday’s stage. Hugo Houle is second and De Luna sits third.


Houle climbs to 4th overall at Tour de Beauce

(Mont-Mégantic, QC – June 14, 2012) Hugo Houle has made no secret this week that he’s in great shape, and the 21-year-old Quebecker proved it Thursday with a brilliant ride to the summit of Mont-Mégantic.

The Team SpiderTech powered by C10 rider finished fourth on the “queen stage” of the Tour de Beauce, trading attacks with 2011 winner Francisco Mancebo (Competitive Cyclist Racing Team) and Australian Rory Sutherland (United HealthCare) to finish fourth on the stage.

The result – which also puts Houle into the fourth spot in the overall standings – earned Houle the red jersey as best young rider in the tour, and he’s also the top-ranked Canadian in the race, which is being led by Mancebo.

“I’ve wanted to test myself against guys like Rory Sutherland and Mancebo because they’re among the best in the world,” said Houle after the stage.

“The guys did a great job once again,” said team director Michael Carter. “The goal was either to get in a break really early or hit them at the end. Flavio (De Luna) went in an early move but it didn’t work out, so we went with Plan B.”

The 164-km stage ended with an 8-km climb to the summit of Mont-Mégantic – the highest road in Quebec.

A five-rider breakaway went up the road after about 25 km and gained as much as six minutes, but by the time the pack hit the final climb everything was back together again and it was an all-out race to the summit.

Simon Lambert-Lemay, Zach Bell, Martin Gilbert and Francois Parisien made sure Houle, Ryan Roth and De Luna – who was sitting second in the best climber standings – were well protected until the base of the mountain.

“As it split up, Hugo went with the leaders and put in three really solid attacks,” Carter said. “Ryan (Roth) lost a little time, but he should get a little of that back in tomorrow’s time trial.”

On Friday the riders face a 20-km individual time trial, which will play a decisive role in the final standings.

“I haven’t done any specific time trialing lately, but with the form I have I think I can do a good ride,” Houle said.


SpiderTech still in the hunt for Swiss mountains prize

After six stages Team SpiderTech powered by C10 continues to battle for the “King of the Mountains” title at the Tour de Suisse.

With two riders within four points of the lead, the team has raced the past two stages with the same mission – to get into the breakaway and pick up KOM points.

Each day Brian Vandborg and Ryan Anderson have tried hard, but have been caught out and the accumulated fatigue is taking its toll as the team rides its first big stage race at the WorldTour level.

“We were almost there today (Stage 6 to Bischofszell),” said Vandborg. “We tried to push through on Movistar as the break was establishing … but they didn’t want any of it.

Sometimes it’s just that way. The big teams have the strength and clout to decide when enough is enough and they are happy with the break. We just missed the timing a bit today.”

Anderson remains just one point out of the classification lead, while Vandborg is four points down.

“The KOM classification is still open, in some ways this can really benefit us,” said assistant team director Kevin Field. “I think for us it will now come down to Stage 9. Fingers crossed, Brian or Randy can get up there the last day and snag points.”
Each rider on the team has raised their game while racing at a new level.

“Lucas was great today, he really stepped into the road captain role and was keeping the guys on task. It was great to see,” said Field.

Friday’s Stage 7 is a 34-km individual time trial on a technical and challenging course near Zurich.

“We won’t have any riders really going for this stage. It won’t be an easy day for the riders, but our goals are modest for today: Get through and focus on recovery for the final two mountain stages to come,” said Field.

“We knew this race would be hard, a whole new level for us and this tour is as much about learning as fighting for results,” said team owner and director Steve Bauer. “We’re really happy to see the commitment and aggression the guys are putting into the race-opening when its crucial to get in the breaks. The spirits are high, we’re going to keep fighting.”



Houle has breakthrough result in Tour de Beauce

(St-Benoît-Labre, QC – June 15, 2012) Hugo Houle wanted to show that he could rival the best riders on the continent, and he got his wish Friday with a third place in the time trial stage of the Tour de Beauce.

The 21-year-old Team SpiderTech powered by C10 has already proved that he is the best Canadian in the U23 category by winning the national championships in that age class for two years running. But his result Friday came against much older, more experienced riders after three tough days of racing.

The stage winner was former seven-time Canadian Champion and former worlds medalist Svein Tuft, 35, who races on the WorldTour with Orica-GreenEDGE.

Tuft posted a time of 27 minutes, 8 seconds, 30 seconds faster than 30-year-old Australian Rory Sutherland (UnitedHealthCare), and 46 seconds faster than Houle. “I’m very happy,” said Houle after the race. “The team had confidence in me, and the pressure was on me to perform today.”

After Houle’s fourth-place finish at the summit of Mont-Mégantic on Thursday, he now sits just 19 seconds behind Sutherland in the overall standings, with another Orica-GreenEDGE rider, Christian Meier, in third place at 43 seconds.
“This was a breakthrough race for him,” said team director Michael Carter, who praised

Houle’s professionalism in bouncing back from a fall on Tuesday. “Had he not crashed on the first stage, who knows. That always takes it out of a rider.”
Team SpiderTech had a strong showing in the time trial, with Ryan Roth finishing fifth and Zach Bell ninth.

The focus now turns to the final two stages of the tour, a tough circuit race in Quebec City on Saturday and another one in Ville St-Georges on Sunday.

Sutherland has a very strong team to lean on as he defends his overall lead, but they have a hard job ahead of them as several teams are poised to go on the attack, and it will be up to Houle to look for opportunities to play off some other riders, such as Tuft and Meier, to gain some time.

Houle continues to lead the best young rider classification, and SpiderTech is second in the team standings as well, just 53 seconds behind UnitedHealthCare.

“This has been such a team effort all week, and here we are in second place on the team classification with a very good chance as UHC burns off their riders defending the lead,” said Carter. “It’s a second priority, but it’s a target for sure.”



Houle still 2nd at Tour de Beauce

(Ville de Québec, QC – June 16, 2012) The Team SpiderTech powered by C10 boys rallied around Hugo Houle Saturday to deliver him to Sunday’s final stage of the Tour de Beauce as fresh as possible.

“Francois (Parisien) in particular did a great job for me today,” said Houle, who is in second place after five stages, just 19 seconds behind Australian Rory Sutherland of the UnitedHealthCare team. “The guys brought me water all day so I just sat on Sutherland.”
Houle did have a bit of a scare early in the stage.

“At the start I didn’t feel very good, but I ate like four Bonk Breaker bars and I came around,” he said.

Despite a breakaway that survived to the finish and several attacks by contenders for the overall victory, there were no major changes to the standings after Saturday’s stage. With small gaps separating the top five places it sets the stage for a dramatic battle in Sunday’s 125-km circuit race in Ville St-Georges.

“The guys were on task and did their job to keep Hugo protected today,” said team director Michael Carter. “It was a good day. Tomorrow’s the war.”



Houle ends Tour de Beauce in 2nd overall

(Ville de St-Georges, QC – June 17, 2012) Hugo Houle ended the Tour de Beauce in second place overall Sunday, scoring the biggest result at the elite level in his young career.

The Team SpiderTech powered by C10 rider started the 125-km final stage just 19 seconds behind leader Rory Sutherland of the UnitedHealthCare team, but it quickly became clear that it was a next to impossible task to dislodge the Australian.

“We saw right away that Sutherland was virtually unbeatable,” said Houle. “I didn’t win but, for me, to finish second in the Tour de Beauce is amazing.”

Houle laid the foundation for his result with a fourth-place finish in the third stage, which climbed to the summit of Mont-Mégantic on Thursday. He followed that up the next day with third in the individual time trial, which was won by former world championship medalist Svein Tuft.

“His result here shows that the breakthrough in the time trial and on Mégantic was no fluke,” said team director Michael Carter. “He’s a complete rider.”

That said, Houle could not have done it without his teammates, who protected him throughout the tour and wound up second on the team classification.

“The team did a really good job, I was never stressed,” said Houle.

“The team rode great,” said Carter. “And you’ve got to hand it to Rory and his team as well.”

RACE PROFILE
Event: 2012 Tour de Beauce (CAN)
Class: UCI 2.1 (America Tour)
Type: Six-day stage race
Website: http://www.tourdebeauce.com

RESULTS – STAGE 6
1. Bruno Langlois (Garneau-Quebecor-Norton Rose) 3:05:58
2. Marsh Cooper (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) @2”
3. Matthias Friedmann (Champion System Pro Cycling Team) @21”
4. Christian Meier (Canada) same time
5. Evan Oliphant (Raleigh-GAC) st
===
12. Hugo Houle (SpiderTech p/b C10) st
19. Ryan Roth (SpiderTech p/b C10) st
28. Flavio De Luna (SpiderTech p/b C10) st
37. Francois Parisien (SpiderTech p/b C10) @1:08
52. Martin Gilbert (SpiderTech p/b C10) @7:02
DNF Zach Bell (SpiderTech p/b C10)
DNF Simon Lambert-Lemay (SpiderTech p/b C10) 

RESULTS – GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Rory Sutherland (UnitedHealthCare)
2. Hugo Houle (SpiderTech p/b C10) @19”
3. Christian Meier (Canada) @43”
4. Svein Tuft (Canada) @1:06
5. Matt Cooke (Exergy) @1:07
===
8. Ryan Roth (SpiderTech p/b C10) @1:29
24. Flavio De Luna (SpiderTech p/b C10) @6:10
34. Francois Parisien (SpiderTech p/b C10) @9:20
47. Martin Gilbert (SpiderTech p/b C10) @25:15 

STAGES
Stage 1: Lac-Etchemin – Lac-Etchemin (162 km)
Stage 2: Thetford-Mines – Thetford-Mines (160 km)
Stage 3: St-Georges – Mont-Mégantic (164 km)
Stage 4: St-Benoît-Labre (Individual Time Trial – 20 km)
Stage 5: Ville de Québec (Urban circuit – 125 km)
Stage 6: Ville de St-Georges (Urban circuit – 125km)



Team SpiderTech completes tough Tour de Suisse

(Sörenberg, SUI – June 17, 2012) The 2012 Tour de Suisse, celebrating its 76th edition, came to an end today, and Team SpiderTech could not be happier with the experience it has gained throughout the last nine days.

“The team has grown significantly over the last nine days. Our riders were put to the test, riding beside all of UCI World Tour teams, and they gained valuable experience that will help us as we continue to race around the world,” said Steve Bauer, 1984 Olympic Silver medallist and co-owner of Team SpiderTech.

“We are more motivated than ever to pursue the Team SpiderTech project, and we are now striving to put together all the pieces in place to receive a World Tour licence, and become the first Canadian-based team to ever ride the Tour de France.”

“Without the complete and dedicated support from SpiderTech and all the C10 partners on board, such as Argon18, BlackBerry, Pinetree Capital and NRS Brakes, we would not have had the opportunity to race this great Tour de Suisse. As a team, as a family, we have accomplished a great feat and wrote a new chapter in the history books.”
Since the opening stage of the Tour de Suisse, the riders rode 1400 kilometers, in some of the World’s most challenging roads in Switzerland.

The team enjoyed a great start to their World Tour experience, with Ryan Anderson taking part in a break that ultimately tied him in the KOM classification leader at the time, Frank Schleck. Then, Brian Vandborg broke away with an attack, and he too jumped up in the KOM standings, staying among the top climbers throughout the race.

During the tour, swiss rider Raymond Kuenzli quickly became a fan favorite, building a fan-base along the way. At the end of the tour, he was well-known among the cycling-crazy Swiss population.

On this last day of racing, the team had the same mission in mind, to score some KOM points. The day was more about survival, and build some strength for the team. All six starters today finished what was a very gruelling race. The day’s efforts were also to recognize the race invitation from the organizers, and show them respect for the hand they lent out to Team SpiderTech.

With a young team of riders mostly in their twenties, the team will continue to gain international racing experience, and will grow to become even more powerful.

Next up for Team SpiderTech will be the 2012 COLD-FX Canadian Road Championships, in Lac Mégantic, QC, from June 21 to 24.

RACE PROFILE
Event: 2012 Tour de Suisse (SUI)
Class: UCI WT (World Tour)
Type: Nine-day stage race
Website: http://www.tourdesuisse.ch/en/

RESULTS – GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (POR) Movistar Team 35:54:49
2. Frank Schleck (LUX) RadioShack-Nissan +0:14
3. Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma–QuickStep +0:21
4. Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank Cycling Team +0:25
5. Mikel Nieve Ituralde (SPA) Euskaltel-Euskadi +0:40
=====
72. Lucas Euser (USA) Spidertech Powered By C10 +1:04:26
76. Raymond Kunzli (SWI) Spidertech Powered By C10 +1:11:04
86. Brian Vandborg (DEN) Spidertech Powered By C10 +1:23:57
87. Michael Morkov (DEN) Team Saxo Bank +1:26:48
88. Caleb Fairly (USA) Spidertech Powered By C10 +1:37:43
90. Guillaume Boivin (CAN) Spidertech Powered By C10 +1:44:55
92. Ryan Anderson (CAN) Spidertech Powered By C10 +1:48:18

STAGES
Stage 1: Lugano – Lugano (Prologue – 7.3km)
Stage 2: Verbania – Verbier (218km)
Stage 3: Martigny – Aarberg (195km)
Stage 4: Aarberg – Trimbach/Olten (189km)
Stage 5: Olten/Trimbach – Gansingen (193km)
Stage 6: Wittnau – Bischofszell TG (195km)
Stage 7: Gossau ZH – Gossau ZH (Individual Time-Trial – 34km)
Stage 8: Bischofszell TG – Arosa (198km)
Stage 9: Näfels-Lintharena – Sörenberg (216km)



L'Équipe Spidertech propulsée par C10 est commanditée par Giro et Finish Line.

mardi 19 juin 2012

Entrevue avec Hugo Houle

Lundi, 18 juin 2012

Entrevue téléphonique avec Hugo Houle (Spidertech propulsée par C10), deuxième du classement général individuel et meilleur Jeune du Tour de Beauce 2012.


OGC : D'abord, toute une performance au sommet du Mont Mégantic, quelles étaient tes sensations durant cette montée ?

Hugo Houle : L'approche de la montée a été difficile avec un bon vent de côté, puis dès le premier "pitch" la sélection de 8 coureurs s'est faite après environ 500m. Puis, après 1,5km j'étais devant avec Sutherland, De Marr, Cooke, Mancebo, Meier, Salas et Butler. Après le virage en épingle Cooke a attaqué et on ne l'a plus revu. Ensuite, De Marr a attaqué, j'ai également attaqué puisque Mancebo paraissait en difficulté et dès que nous avons rejoint De Marr, Sutherland a attaqué. Et Mancebo est arrivé de nulle part pour terminer deuxième. J'ai rejoint le fil d'arrivée au train. Je savais que j'avais une très bonne forme, mais je suis tout de même un peu surpris de ce que j'ai réalisé sur cette étape.


OGC : Ensuite, troisième du contre-la-montre individuel. Pensais-tu réaliser cette performance suite à l'effort de la veille ?

HH : Le contre-la-montre étant seulement le lendemain, j'avais amplement de temps pour bien récupérer. La forme étant bonne et avec le résultat au sommet du mont Mégantic, je savais ce que je pouvais accomplir. Par contre, je n'avais pas de référence par rapport aux autres coureurs du top 10 avant l'épreuve chronométrée. Ma performance démontre ma progression même par rapport aux athlètes d'âge Élite (23 ans et plus).

OGC : Tu disais viser un top 5 au départ de l'épreuve, d'être dauphin à seulement 19 secondes, ton objectif est donc atteint pour cette édition. Satisfait ou plus que satisfait ?

HH : Un résultat dans le top 5 était un objectif élevé, je suis donc super satisfait et je ne peux demander mieux... sauf la chute lors de la première étape, mais qui a été sans gravité, seulement des "scratchs" sur la peau, mais c'est jamais plaisant !!!


OGC : Avec cet objectif, étais-tu désigné comme leader de l'équipe Spidertech ?

HH : Steve Bauer (directeur sportif de la formation Spidertech) avait désigné deux leaders en Ryan Roth et moi. Selon le déroulement de l'épreuve, comme une échappée qui aurait pris beaucoup de temps, cela aurait changé le rôle de chacun. Après Mégantic, il était clair que l'équipe allait me supporter. François Parisien, qui est de retour d'une blessure à un genou qui l'a tenu à l'écart depuis la fin de la saison dernière, a réalisé un beau travail pour moi toute la semaine. Je suis vraiment content pour lui qu'il soit de retour sur le vélo et en forme. Son travail a été grandement apprécié ainsi que de celui de mes autres coéquipiers.

OGC : Ce sera la défense de tes deux titres nationaux chez les moins de 23 ans cette semaine, ce succès en Beauce ajoute-t-il un peu de pression ?

HH : Après la semaine que je viens de passer en Beauce, cela m'enlève une certaine pression. Jeudi, le contre-la-montre individuel. En suite, on verra pour la course sur route, je suis confiant en mes moyens, mais tout peut arriver. Cela dépendra également de la tactique de l'équipe. Le parcours sera très sélectif avec la montée que nous avons faite à une reprise cette semaine... pour le championnat national, ce sera à faire sept fois !

Mon corps accepte bien les charges de travail. J'ai beaucoup de jours de courses cette saison, et à un plus haut niveau que les années précédentes et je réagis bien. C'est bon signe et c'est encourageant.


OGC : Aujourd'hui, quelle était ta planification après le Tour de Beauce ?

HH : Une petite heure molo, question d'aller manger un Cupcake ! Bien meilleur qu'un gel en passant !!! Puis, peut-être une petite sieste, mais je profite du beau temps aujourd'hui. Une entrevue à la radio ce matin à 7h !!! Et une autre avec Radio-Canada ce matin également.


OGC : Finalement, les spectateurs des Mardis cyclistes pourront-ils te voir en jaune cette semaine ?

HH : J'ai seulement quelques jours à la maison cette semaine. Question de faire un peu de "motorpacing" et je retourne en Beauce dès mercredi pour la reconnaissance du parcours du contre-la-montre. Je ne serai malheureusement pas présent, question de limiter les transports et d'optimiser ma préparation.


Nous parlerons de nouveau avec Hugo Houle ce vendredi, suite à l'épreuve du contre-la-montre des Championnats canadiens.

L'Équipe Spidertech propulsée par C10 est commanditée par Giro et Finish Line.

lundi 18 juin 2012

Pichette U23 National Champion

Andréanne just won the big one!!! U23 Canadian Champion! 

Congratulations go to her for all her hard work over the years and sticking with it. Andréanne has been part of the Opus family for years and we're extremely proud of her.

Race recap :  Andréanne had a 30 second lead when disaster struck and her chain broke ! Thankfully Olivier Laprade was in the zone and got her back rolling in record time. She dropped to 7th place with the broken chain and managed to climb back up to the lead to take the win !

facebook.com/opusbike

Check out a race recap video form the Canadian Cycling Federation (Andreanne is featured @3.17)

cyclingcanada.ca/video-recap


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Andréanne wasn't the only winner this weekend, Opus has taken the victory at the Team relay race held on Sunday !

The Opus team for the relay race  consisted of :

Andreanne Pichette
Steven Noble
Mathieu Belanger-Barrette
Guillaume Larose-Gingras

Great effort from the whole team!

facebook.com/opusbike

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Frédérique Larose-Gingras had a hard fought race and was able to take the 3rd spot in Junior women's!!! Congratulations! This gets her an invite to go to the Worlds in St-Anne as well as the one in Windham.

Mathieu Belanger-Barrette had a great race as well coming in 10th in senior elite during a hard fought race.

Guillaume Larose-Gingras managed to get a 4th place finish in Men's Junior, being probably the only Junior in Canada that would be disappointed with a 4th. He can console himself by knowing he is the overall series Junior Champion for the Canada Cups!!!

Steven Noble got a great 6th place finish in U23 men's and Daniel Varga was close behind with an 11th place. Congratulations to both of them!!!

Alex Frappier managed to get a 11th place in Masters elite during a hard fought race.

Full results :

canadiancyclist.com
canadiancyclist.com

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Véronique Labonté came for a visit last week , she's going back to race in Europe in top shape and fully focused on  the rest of the season.

Also, visit Véronique's blog for updated news:


The Opus rig is turning quite a few heads at events and will have a nice spot at the World Cup next weekend.


vendredi 15 juin 2012

Opus news

Plenty of Opus news again this week!

VIDEOS
Opus invited Panach Prod to film a video "Day in the life" of an Opus Citato during the Tour de l'ile held in Montreal. Video was filmed with the help of GoPro camera's. Came out great, this is a must see, forward to your contacts and dealers. If you have a dealer asking you for a video loop this could be a great option as the branding in the video is awesome

Check it out :
English version
Version française


To see more video's from Panach Prod, make sure to check out their website :
www.panacheprod.com


Race Reports
Check out the Hardwood Hills race report with pics up on the Opus bike page :
English version
Version française


Jany Mitges, Opus ambassadrice and overall great person just posted a recap for both the Albion Hills and Hardwood races :
Check it out

Steven Noble got a great 3rd place finish at eh Albion race :
Check it out


Athlete Blogs
You should definitely follow Véronique Labonté's news page, she's going back to France in a few day's and she's doing Mardi Lachine tonight.

Andréanne Pichette is having a great season and you should follow her on her own blog also.

Coming races
XC Canadian Championships this coming weekend in St-Félicien, we should have plenty of news next week coming from that event.


jeudi 14 juin 2012

The 10 Best cycling gear

The Kryptonite Evolution Lock Kryptoflex Cable Combo is list as one of the 10 best cycling gear (8th place) on The Independant website from Great Britain.

" Cycling to the shops this summer? Try this D-lock and extended cable combo to keep light-fingered bike thieves at bay. "

To read the full article, follow this link: independent.co.uk

mardi 12 juin 2012

New product: Medical Data Carrier

OGC is now distributing Medical Data Carrier in Canada.

At Medical Data Carrier IM Inc. we are always asking two questions; what if? and then what?

What if, while participating in an activity or while working at the job, a loved one, family member, friend, co worker or employee was involved in an accident. Supposing that they are wisely wearing a helmet and that the helmet serves its purpose; to protect the head, what next.  There is a very real risk that the person will be scared, injured, disoriented, groggy, in shock, unconscious or worse. Not commonly know is the fact that improper helmet removal can result in collateral C-spine damage, paralysis or even death. Medical Data Carrier speaks for those who cannot speak.

We are a leading provider of on helmet medical and contact information systems. In fact the IM in our company name stands for Information Management. Our high visibility ID pouch and medical data form is simple, effective and cost efficient.  Our kit includes everything that you need to protect yourself, a loved one, your employees... anyone who wears a helmet. Why would you NOT want to make crucial medical and contact infomation readily available and give emergency responders or good samaritans precious time by having a Medical Data Carrier on all of your helmets?.

Our non-exotheric adhesive means that our Medical Data Carrier is safe on all helmet surfaces. Make your helmet a lifesaver...Today!  Stick it on and save a life.
Proudly made and packaged in Canada and the United States of America. 


MAKE YOUR HELMET A LIFESAVER... TODAY!™ 

Make sure that you and your family have personal and crucial medical data immediately available for emergency responders. 

The Medical Data Carrier  is a unique medical Information safety preparedness device that provides critical lifesaving information about a person/athlete in the event of an emergency.

The small, highly visible and aerodynamic Medical Data Carrier is affixed to the left side of the sports helmet.  The non-exothermic adhesive is safe on all helmet surfaces.  On the outside of the pouch, in bold, bilingual text, the Medical Data Carrier  warns non-medical bystanders not to try remove the individual\'s/athlete\'s helmet and to leave that critical task to trained medical responders.

Information about the identity of the athlete/person and their medical history including allergies, medications, blood type and pre-existing medical conditions will assist trained first responders to expedite the crucial triage stage of their care.  Emergency contact and medical plan information enables responders to notiy friends or family of the incident and to provide medical administration with relevant information.

Assurez-vous que vous et votre famille avez personnelles et crucial de données médicales immédiatement disponibles pour les intervenants d’urgence.


DringDring: Sonnez la charge

Des sonnettes de vélos peintes à la main.


Sur rendez-vous
Vous voulez plus de choix ? Vous êtes à Montréal. Il est possible de venir acheter une sonnette directement à notre atelier, situé sur le plateau Mont-Royal. Veuillez, s’il vous plaît, téléphoner ou envoyer un courriel au préalable pour prendre rendez-vous car nos heures de travail changent à toutes les semaines. Nous vous donnerons l’adresse lors de la prise d’un rendez-vous.  Au plaisir !





lundi 11 juin 2012

Wear a Helmet When you Ride!

Choosing the right helmet will protect you while your out slaying mountain bike trails, climbing those epic mountains on your road bike or easing your way through traffic on your commute to work! It is as easy as trying on different helmets to find the perfect fit!





vendredi 8 juin 2012

jeudi 7 juin 2012

Bodogh show for M.S. Fundraiser Walk

A few people asked me yesterday - "Ahh man, doesn't it suck to have to get up at the crack of dawn on a Sunday morning and have to ride??".

No, absolutely not. If it's one thing I have learned, it's that volunteering your time to a cause, or to help the world in some way (big or small) is one of the most important things out there. Why is this important? Because, when we think life is rough, someone else's life is always rougher. This weekend, I met some fine people, some of them life with Multiple sclerosis. It was my pleasure to demonstrate my bicycle action show for them and hope to be involved again in the future, perhaps even in another area of Canada to help raise even more awareness and encourage a strong turn out.



Trevor wears a Giro MTB helmet.

mercredi 6 juin 2012

GoPro Wi-Fi BacPac & Remote

The awaited GoPro Wi-Fi BacPac and WiFi Remote are now available at an authorized retailer near you.

To find the nearest GoPro dealer.


Les très attendus écran BacPac WiFi et télécommande WiFi Remote de GoPro sont maintenant disponible chez un détaillant autorisé près de chez vous.

Pour trouver le détaillant GoPro le plus près.




Liquigas-Cannondale: moving forward with Mavic

Liquigas-Cannondale is one of the three elite professional teams using Mavic products. It's a long-standing relationship, and this top Italian team benefits from a wide selection of race-caliber wheels and tires. Similarly, Mavic engineers benefit from the product testing and feedback that is possible only with the extreme and varied demands of pro cycling.



mardi 5 juin 2012

Rachel McBride on The Express TV show

Rachel talks about being a pro triathlete on "THE EXPRESS" TV Show. 

Also, she took 4th place at Ironman 70.3 California! A solid result after a great month of training in San Diego. 
Read the full article on Rachel's website.




Rachel McBride is a Giro sponsored athlete.

lundi 4 juin 2012

Fabien Barel presents #1 - At home and on dirt with Cam Zink

Join Fabien Barel for a day in the life of Cam Zink. Fab traveled to Reno, Nevada to spend a day on the dirt in Cam’s world. The riding starts with dirt jumps in the backyard and goes onward from there ...


vendredi 1 juin 2012

Kelly Slater now on GoPro


Shot 100% on the HD HERO2® camera.

Kelly Slater, 11 time ASP World Champion, joins the GoPro team.