Tuft powers to victory in stage four time trial

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It was no surprise that Rory Sutherland (UnitedHealthcare) would pull on the Tour de Beauce yellow jersey after the stage 4 time trial Friday, but it was a shock to see just how much time 2011 overall winner Francisco Mancebo (Competitive Cyclist Racing Team) would lose on the big Australian.

Mancebo went into the stage with only a 10-second lead on Sutherland and covered the 21.4-km course 1:27 slower to drop all the way to seventh on the overall standings.

"The problem was me – I'm not good in the TT," said the Spaniard, whose light weight didn't help on a course that favours powerfully built riders. "A bad day, simply."

The stage marked a return to form for Svein Tuft (Canadian National Team), who churned through the course at an average of 48.2 km/h to stop the clock at 27:08 and notch up his first individual win of 2012, 30 seconds ahead of Sutherland.

With two stages to go, Sutherland now has a 19-second lead on the surprising young Canadian Hugo Houle (SpiderTech p/b C10). Orica-GreenEDGE teammates Christian Meier and Tuft (both riding for the Canadian National Team) are third and fourth at 43 seconds and 1:04, respectively.

"It's going to be tough (to defend the lead) but it's simple mathematics," said Sutherland. "With Marc De Maar (5th overall at 1:12) and Ben Day (11th at 2:11) we've got three guys in relatively good position."

On paper, UnitedHealthCare has the strongest team, but Sutherland said there are no guarantees. "Being the best team on paper, if you think about that then you forget about the simple things about how to race your bike," he said.

The 21.4-km out-and-back course in Saint-Benoit-Labre climbed about 150m to the turnaround, but as usual in Beauce the course was harder than the profile indicated. The riders faced grades as steep as 7 percent over a series of rollers on the way out, and needed to turn over a huge gear to maintain speed on the way back. Fortunately the weather was perfect – about 18C with blue skies and a gentle wind.

The first rider to crack 30 minutes was New Zealander Joseph Cooper (Bike NZ-Pure Black Racing), the 13th rider off, who posted a 29:29 on a course he described as "unrelenting."

Cooper's time stood for nearly three quarters of an hour until William Clarke (Champion System Pro Cycling Team) crossed the line in 29:17. Olympic track cycling medal favourite Zach Bell (SpiderTech p/b C10) was then the first under 29 minutes with a 28:43.

But all eyes were on Svein Tuft, who started the stage 17th overall at 1:44. Tuft said he's been having a hard time finding his form since Paris-Roubaix, and struggled to produce power in the Giro d'Italia, so he was particularly happy with his ride today.

"When I went out over the rollers I felt the power was there," said the seven-time Canadian time trial champion, who crossed the line in 27:08 after turning over a 56x11 at up to 80 km/h on the return leg. "It's been awhile since I've pushed that kind of power – it's satisfying."

After that, the race was for second place. Ben Day (UnitedHealthCare) posted a 28:39, immediately followed by Rob Britton (H&R Block) in 28:24. Four minutes later, Ryan Roth (SpiderTech p/b C10) lowered the bar to 28:18 before Meier bested that with a 28:03.

Then Houle delighted the home crowd by cracking 28 minutes with a 27:54, but any hopes of taking yellow were dashed less than two minutes later when Sutherland put up a 27:38. Nevertheless, the 2011 Canadian U23 road and time trial champion was satisfied. "The team showed its confidence in me, and today the pressure was on me to perform," said the 21-year-old. "I just want to show people that I can time trial with the best in North America."

Houle is just 19 seconds behind Sutherland in the overall, but he's realistic about his chances. "It will be very difficult to take the jersey because UHC is very strong," he said. "The legs are good and I'm very strong, but Sutherland is too. But it's not over – we'll fight to the end."

The riders now have two tough circuit races to finish off the Tour. Saturday's 125km circuit race in Quebec City will be run over 13 laps of a course that includes part of the same climb as the WorldTour Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec in September. Another 125km circuit race in Ville St-Georges awaits the riders on Sunday. This stage – which features 19 corners and two climbs on each of the 10 laps – was the scene of a dramatic GC showdown last year that saw Mancebo emerge the victor.

"I think for a bike racing fan, there's going to be some fireworks," said Tuft.

Race notes

Mancebo, who said he's had bad legs since the first stage, was visibly disappointed with his result today and vowed to fight to the end of the Tour. "It's not over for me for the GC – I'll attack tomorrow or after tomorrow to go for the yellow or podium," he said. "For me, seventh on GC is nothing."

Five Canadians finished in the top-10 in the time trial, and now occupy three of the top four GC places, which has Tuft optimistic for the future. "We have so many young guys coming up, performing at a high level – the future looks good," he said. Tuft also said he's happy to be doing the Tour de Beauce instead of training at home for the Canadian championships, which will be held next weekend in nearby Lac-Mégantic (Thursday's stage went over the main climb on the road circuit). "To come and race here is perfect prep for nationals," said the defending road and time trial champion.