Ben Day (Navigators Insurance) (Image credit: Jerome Lessard)
Riders from Down Under have proven hard to beat up top in Canada's Tour de Beauce, with Navigators Insurance riders Glen Chadwick and Ben Day taking three of the seven stage wins. Cyclingnews'North American Editor Mark Zalewski caught up with Day after he claimed overall victory in Saint-Georges, Québec.
There is a long list of Australian cyclists who have found success racing in 'the States,' and now one more name can be added to that long list: Navigators Insurance's Ben Day, after winning the 22nd edition of the Tour de Beauce. In fact, the Queenslander and former national time trial champion is the fourth Aussie to win the Canadian stage race, putting him in line with Henk Vogels, Michael Rogers and Nathan O'Neill.
And like many Aussie cyclists, Day has European peloton experience under his belt - only he did that first before coming to America. "This is my first year in America so everything is new to me here," he said. But already his move across the pond has paid dividends. "This is my first tour win, so I felt the pressure a bit having this jersey, but having such a great team ride for me I had to live up to the sacrifices they made for me."
Prior to racing for Navigators Day raced in Europe, first starting with the Portuguese Carvalhelhos-Boavista in 2003, then heading up north to Belgium with Mr.Bookmaker.com-Sports Tech, before returning for the last two years with the Boavista team. For Day the switch to racing in America from Europe was not always considered a possibility.
