Les Mardis Cyclistes: August 2, 2011 Jean-Francois Laroche wins stage 8

Stage 8 Results: Top 5:

1. Jean-Francois Laroche (Fantino Mondello Cycles Regis)

2. Maxime Vives (Powerwatts-FITTIME)
3. Erik Lyman (Team Spirit GTH Canondale)
4. Felix Cote Bouvette (Prud'Homme-IGA)
5. Dominic Chalifoux (Trek-Bontranger)

Full results

Photos and official press release below


Stage 8 race summary:

• In spite of several very short lived breakaway attempts, the peleton remains intact right to the end.
• Laroche wins his second stage of the season out-sprinting Maxime Vives and Erik Lyman.

 Click to enlarge images 

Release by Mardis Cyclistes

August 2, 2011 (Lachine, QC) – Jean-François Laroche (Fantino Mondello – Cycles Régis) won a convincing victory in the senior men’s race this evening, stopping the clock at 1 :02 :17 in the 50km race for an average speed of 48.1kmh. He was followed closely in a group sprint to the finish by Maxime Vives (Powerwatts) in second and Erik Lyman (Team Spirit Cannondale) in third.

Junior racer Félix Côté-Bouvette (Prud’homme-IGA) and master racer Dominic Chalifoux (Trek-Bontrager) distinguished themselves by finishing fourth and fifth respectively. The Rocky Mountain team, despite many attacks all through the race, had to content itself with merely a sixth place finish by Jean-Michel Lachance.

Laroche, 31, joked that his victory was easier in the absence of his main rivals. These include Mathieu Roy (suffering a gastro), Martin Gilbert and David Veilleux (both cycling in Europe).  “It makes a difference when the big guns like Martin or David are not there. Nonetheless, my team mates worked splendidly for me here. Even if my rivals had been here, I think we would have beaten them in that sprint,” said Laroche. In particular, he praised team mate Pierre-Olivier Boily.  The Fantino team seemed in control during the entire race, quickly hitting the gas to catch anyone who tried to break away from the pack.

Maxime Vives was more than happy to end up in second. “To finish behind Jean-François, that’s always good. He admitted that there was some elbowing among cyclists to see who could follow Laroche’s wheel.” Vives also claimed to have not been feeling in top form at the beginning of the evening, “But I feel better now.”

Erik Lyman, 38, was pleased to see the race end in a bunch sprint rather than a breakaway as happened on previous Tuesday evenings. .  The sprinters had a chance to talk. “For my part, I’m happy to end up on the podium. The Fantino team worked well and Laroche did a tremendous sprint.”

With his win in this evening’s eighth race of the season, Laroche increased his cumulative lead and looks unstoppable at 670 points with only two more stage races left in the season.  Dominic Chalifoux (Trek-Bontrager) is a distant second at 457.