Duchesne wins Canadian Road Championship title in Saguenay

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Antoine Duchesne (Groupama-FDJ) won the road race title at the 2018 Global Relay Canadian Road Championships in Saturday in Saguenay. Duchesne sprinted for the victory ahead of his breakaway rivals Benjamin Perry (Israel Cycling Academy) in second and Nigel Ellsay (Rally Cycling) in third. Adam De Vos (Rally Cycling) sprinted in for fourth place 14 seconds after the winning breakaway, just ahead of Svein Tuft (Mitchelton-Scott) in fifth.

The men's race included several European-based pros Duchesne, plus strong North American teams Silber Pro Cycling and Rally Cycling. Duchesne and Perry were part of an early move that split the field in the chase.

The front of the race saw multiple riders join and get dropped, with only Duchesne and Perry consistently there. With the race down to less than 30 riders from the 128 starters, Duchesne, Perry and Nigel Ellsay (Rally Cycling) finally broke clear of the chasers with less than 40 kilometres remaining. In the sprint, Duchesne went to the front early and held off Perry for the win, with Ellsay taking third. Edward Walsh (T-Palm PCW) was the Under-23 champion, finishing tenth overall.

"I really believed it this time; I felt really strong coming out of Dauphine," said Duchesne. "I felt confident, but stressed and nervous, since I knew I could win it. I tried to put myself at the front so I wouldn't have to worry about chasing stuff down. I was in every move all day long and still managed to have a little left for the sprint."

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