May 28/11 19:15 pm - Killington Stage Race: Stage 1 FULL RESULTS, Naud and Labonte win

Posted by Editoress on 05/28/11
 

Naud, Labonte win Mountain Times Circuit Race

Canadian riders Pierrick Naud (Rocky Mountain/Desjardins/Valeurs Mobili) and Veronique Labonte (Team Juvederm/Specialized) took top honors in the 1st stage of this weekend Killington Stage Race.  Their wins however came in much different fashion.

Naud and the rest of the peloton had to deal with a 17-man breakaway that was trying to work together to secure a chance at the win.  But when the break was caught, Naud went to the front and powered his way down at more than 40mph down the 500m finish stretch to secure the win and the overall lead in the race.  Sam Witmitz, who’s Garneau-Club Chaussures-Norton Rose team was aggressive all day long, had to settle for 2nd while the U.S. was represented by Allan Rego (Farm Team Elite Cycling).

The women’s peloton was dominated by a 2-woman lead group of Labonte and Lindsey Myers (Danbury Audi), who were able to elude any chase by the main field and increased their lead to over a minute by the race’s end; a very rare feat on this circuit which general promotes field-size finishes.  The best of the rest was led by Myers’ teammate Jennifer Purcell, who continues her fine form from the beginning of the season.

Tomorrow (Sunday’s) Stage 2 on is the 11 mile Long Trail Brewery Individual Time Trial, where riders will be looking to challenge for all the time they can get before the very difficult day on Monday.  The queen stage is Monday’s Stage 3 Champion Systems Road Race, a 62 mile parcours with 3 major climbs including the grueling East Mountain Rd and the finishing climb up to the K1 Base Lodge on the top of the Killington Mountain Resort.  Race updates will be posted on both Twitter (@KillingtonSR) and on Facebook (Killington Stage Race) throughout the weekend. (ed note: depending on internet availability)

The 2011 Killington Stage Race is brought to you in part by the Town of Killington Economic Development and Tourism Board, Long Trail Brewery, The Mountain Times, Champion Systems, Raw Revolution natural and organic food bars, and by Vermont Pure Spring water.