Double-Day at Tour de Beauce

Race: Tour de Beauce, Stage 3a-3b

Start/Finish: Saint-Georges/Saint Georges, Quebec, Canada

Distance: Time Trial: 19.4-kilometers, Road Race: 77-kilometers

Saint-Georges, Canada — Team Novo Nordisk raced twice on Friday in Canada, starting with a 20-kilometer out-and-back time trial in the morning and a short but intense evening road race that finished near the Riviere Chaudiere in Quebec.

Under heavy rains, the riders started the day with a race against the clock. Alexander Cowan (Silber Pro Cycling) laid down the fastest time in 25:17 beating out TJ Eisenhart (Holowesko/Citadel P/B Hincapie Sportswear) and Stage 2 winner Matteo Dal-Cin (Rally Cycling). The solid time trialing skills moved Cowan into the overall leader’s jersey by nine seconds over Jordan Cheyne (Jelly Belly P/B Maxxis).

In the evening, the race began under threatening skies, but the roads remained relatively dry throughout the 77-kilometer course. Breakaways flew from the start, which immediately caused the race to splinter into three groups: breakaway, chase, and peloton. The break eventually grew to 18 riders but then shed four riders halfway through the race. The peloton was strung out as it laid down the chase, but with three kilometers to go, the escapees still had 35 seconds. In the end, Chris Lawless (Axeon Hagens Berman) won up an intense final kicker with Cowan holding onto the leader’s jersey.

Stephen Clancy

“It was an intense, fast road race. I think racing at 6 pm following a time trial. After all the cold rain, this made motivation a little low for most of the peloton. A break established early on, and it was touch and go for a while if they’d come back, but it didn’t in the end. We know it was a missed opportunity, so we need to do something tomorrow in Quebec City.”

Team Novo Nordisk, the world’s first all-diabetes pro cycling team, is currently competing in two races: Tour de Korea and Tour de Beauce. Saturday’s Stage 4 of the Tour de Korea is a 156-km run from Yeongju to Chungju and features one categorized climb and at the Tour de Beauce, it’s a 35-lap criterium around a 2-kilometer course in the heart of Québec City.

Gallery:

Results 2a: 

• 1^st: Alexander Cowan (Silber Pro Cycling): 25:17
• 2^nd: TJ Eisenhart (Holowesko/Citadel P/B Hincapie Sportswear): 0:08 behind Cowan
• 3^rd: Matteo Dal-Cin (Rally Cycling): 0:16 behind Cowan

Team Novo Nordisk Results: 

• Stephen Clancy: 48^th: 3:27 behind Cowan
• Fabio Calabria: 52^nd: 3:41 behind Cowan
• Corentin Cherhal: 60^th: 4:08 behind Cowan

Results 2b: 

• 1^st: Chris Lawless (Axeon Hagens Berman): 1:40:44
• 2^nd: Steve Fisher (Canyon Bicycle): same time as Lawless
• 3^rd: Sepp Kuss (Rally Cycling): 0:03 behind Lawless

Team Novo Nordisk Results: 

• Corentin Cherhal: 40^th: 1:22 behind Lawless
• Fabio Calabria: 43^rd: 1:30 behind Lawless
• Stephen Clancy: 55^th: 1:42 behind Lawless