De Maar on top in Beauce

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Marc de Maar (UnitedHealthcare p/b Maxxis) was the only rider to succeed in catching and passing a six-man breakaway to take the victory of the queen stage three atop Mont Megantic at the Tour de Beauce. Derrick St-John (Garneau Club Chaussures) held on for second place ahead of his breakaway companion Valeriy Kobzarenko (Team Type 1) in third.

"It was a really hard finish especially the first and the last kilometre of that climb," De Maar said. "I felt bad today and felt guilty because I was riding in the last 10 of the bunch all day. As soon as the last climb came I felt better. There were 15 of us left from the field part way up and I saw Ben Day was not looking comfortable and knew this was my time to attack."

"I went full gas to the finish line," he added. "Luckily I passed the breakaway riders but I wasn’t sure if I had won because I didn’t know if there were more guys ahead still."

As expected, Mont Megantic’s nine-kilometre ascent was tough enough to rearrange the general classification, now topped by the new race leader de Maar. Runner up St-John sits in second place followed by Kobzarenko in third.

"I think I can win the overall, anything is possible," De Maar said. "It is going to be hard because Ben Day is a strong time trialist and one of the most dangerous competitors. The last two days are hard but we are going to try."

A slugfest to the top of Mont Megantic

The six riders entered the Mont Megantic National Park and were greeted with a steep two kilometres of twisting narrow road up the side of the mountain. The breakaway riders included former overall race winner Valeriy Kobzarenko (Team Type 1), Jeff Louder (BMC Racing), Sergiy Grechyn (Amore e Vita), Darren Rolfe (Fly V Australia), Bjorne Papstein (SC Wledenbruck 2000) and Derrick St John (Garneau Club Chaussures).

Kobzarenko was no stranger to the famed ascent having competed in the Tour de Beauce on seven previous occasions. "I know this climb very well because I’ve raced this so many times," Kobzarenko said. "I’ve gotten third on the climb twice and I won the overall once. I did everything I could today."

St-John was the first to make his move on the steep pitches at the base of the climb. He opened up a narrow lead and surprised himself when the chasers were unable to close the gap. "I shocked myself a little," St-John said. "I’ve done this race four times before so I knew the climb. I’m not really a climber but it is super hard, a slog, a fight, kind of like a wrestling match which is what I’m good at."

Papstein, Louder, Kobzarenko and Rolfe followed on the heels of St-John. However, the trio rode just off the back for the duration of ascent. "I felt that the time was right and I didn’t think," St-John said. "I rode for as long as I could and as hard as I could and it turned out to be second best. I think that’s good on this climb."

St John continued on and when it looked like he might have been the first rider to make it to the prestigious finish line, De Maar came flying passed him with 200 metres to go to take the victory. "I was surprised Marc de Maar had passed me but that’s good on him," St-John said. "I’m still happy with this. We will take what we gained today because it was a good ride and let the cards fall after tomorrow."

Breakaway tackles Beauce rollers

The peloton lined up under overcast skies and a light drizzle for the start of the queen stage three at the Tour de Beauce. The race got underway in the city of Saint-Georges and headed on a 154 km route toward the daunting Mont Megantic.

The point-to-point stage included two Sprint zones and three King of the Mountain (KOM). Andrew Pinfold (UnitedHealthcare p/b Maxxis) increased his lead in the Sprint competition when he won the first dash to the line ahead of Canadian rivals Charles Dionne (Fly V Australia) and Nic Hamilton (Team Canada).

The early portion of the race was highly active but none of the attempted breakaways lasted for more than a few seconds. One breakaway gained roughly two minutes that included former overall race winner Kobzarenko, Louder, Grechyn, Rolfe, Papstein and St-John.

Kobzarenko stretched his legs over the first KOM to take the points ahead of Grechyn. The six-man group gained a three minutes on the descent down to Lac-Drolet. Overall race leader Rafael Serrano Fernandez (Heraklio-Murcia) used his four teammates to maintain the breakaway’s gap at a manageable two to three minutes.

"Some people were not working but that is normal," Kobzarenko said. "Louder had a good climber in the back and Rolfe too. But four of us were working. Maybe I wasn’t the best guy for the break but the Spanish guys didn’t have enough good guys to work for the leader."

Five of the six riders were placed 23 seconds or less behind Serrano Fernandez in the GC. Grechyn the highest placed at 15 seconds back and Louder was the lowest placed in the overall classification at nearly four and half minutes back.

Shortly after Grechyn won the second KOM, race officials neutralized the breakaway and led the peloton through a two kilometre dirt road section that wrapped around the scenic Lac-Megantic. Both parties regrouped exiting of the dirt road. Officials restarted the breakaway, followed by the peloton three and half minutes later.

Grechyn went on to win the final sprint of the day ahead of Kobzarenko, located close to the base of the final climb to Mont Megantic. They hit the climb and attacked one another but it was St-John who opened the several second margin he needed to get to the top the quickest.

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