June 14/09 15:21 pm - Tour de Beauce: Stage 6 PHOTOS, report, results and final GC

Posted by Editoress on 06/14/09
 

Kelly Benefit Strategies' Scott Zwizanski Takes Overall

Photos

Scott Zwizanski held on through a barrage of attacks during the final stage of the Tour de Beauce to become the champion of the 24th edition of Canada's premier stage race.  Zwizanski and his Colombian rivals rolled across the finish line less than 20 seconds behind a late two man breakaway that held on to the finish line, with Bernard Sulzberger giving Fly V Australia their second consecutive stage win ahead of Bjorn Selanler (Trek Livestrong).  Charles Dionne (Fly V Australia) was the top Canadian on the stage in fourth, just behind Danilo Wyss (BMC), while Derrick St-John (Garneau-Club Chaussure) was the best Canadian rider on GC, in tenth place.

The final stage, consisting of 12 laps on a 10.8 kilometre circuit through the streets of St-Georges, is as hard as any other in the race.  Finishing at the top of a 1.5 kilometre climb, the riders twist and turn through residential and downtown streets, with little chance to rest.  It is a circuit made for breakaways, with a small group able to go just as fast as a large one.

The Colombian team, with Sergio Henao at 51 seconds and Darwin Atapuma at 1:12, were looking to put the Kelly Benefit squad under as much pressure as possible, hoping they would crack and possibly leave Zwizanski with no support.

To that end, they started attacking immediately on the first climb at the end of lap one, fracturing the field each lap as Kelly Benefit struggled to keep them in range to chase down after they crested the climb. The tactic possibly backfired, as both teams began losing riders by the fourth lap.

"We started to attack immediately, that was our strategy," explained the team's directeur sportif.  "The riders, they sacrificed everything.  We lost three of our team early in the race, but it was no mistake, we wanted to make it as hard as possible.  We didn't get first, but we are very satisfied.  We worked very hard and did the best we could."

Breaks continued to fight their way clear, gaining 15 to 20 seconds before being reabsorbed by the rapidly diminishing field.  Probably the most dangerous break was on the seventh and eighth laps, when an initial group of four was joined by five others, including danger men Darren Lill (Team Type 1), Henao and Atapuma.

Kelly Benefits drove the peloton up to this group on the top portion of the climb, and it seemed to signal the final attempt by Colombia to get away, since their team was now down to just Henao and Atapuma.  Zwizanski had Neil Shirley left for support, having burned out Jake Erker on the previous effort.

"There were many times I was in difficulty," admitted Zwizanski "it was a really hard climb to do 12 times, and then the Colombians started attacking on lap one.  Luckily, I had my team mates to bring me back every time I got gapped off, they all gave me everything they had."

This gave non-GC threats a chance to think about getting away for a stage win, with stage two winner Darren Lapthorne (Rapha Condor) the first to try on lap nine.

Lapthorne steadily took his lead up to over 50 seconds with two laps remaining, as various chase groups tried to organize and join him.  Cam Evans (Canadian National Team) and Jackson Stewart (BMC) were both in efforts to get up to Lapthorne.

The British rider might have succeeded in staying away if events hadn't conspired against him - Lill joined one of the chase groups, and the fifth placed GC rider was too dangerous for either Kelly Benefit or the Colombians to allow to go.  So the chase heated up and Lapthorne's advantage started to shrink, with the catch being made on the climb just before the start of the last lap.

A finally flurry of attacks along the top of the course before the descent saw two sets of two riders gain a handful of seconds on the field (which numbered only 25 out an original start to the stage of 84).  Sulzberger and Selanler hit the climb with a 17 second lead and managed to hold it to the finish, rolling across the line for first and second as the remnants of the field trickled in, in small groups.

"I could see that there was one last chance to try something, so I went," explained Selanler.  "On the climb it was all I could do to hold Sulzberger's wheel, and I nearly came off a couple of times.  I tried standing up at the finish to contest [the sprint], but I had nothing."

The top five on GC - Zwizanski, Henao, Atapuma, Chris Jones (Team Type 1) and Lill all came in within two seconds of each other, ensuring no changes to the final standings.

Finally, Zwizanski, a first time attendee at Beauce, shared his impressions of the race:  "I think this [Tour de Beauce win] will be ranked at the top.  [Winning the Tour of] Uruguay, it didn't have as many of the North American teams that we fight every week, and to be able to beat them is much bigger for me.  Not that winning Uruguay wasn't satisfying, but it's very satisfying to win against the guys you race against every weekend."

"It's a really great stage race, every day is almost like a one day race, that's how hard this race is.  It fits my style of racing, kind of aggressive and hard days every day.  I'm very pleased, and I hope to be back."