Skujins wins final stage and overall title at the Tour de Beauce
Britton and Tvetcov take second and third overall
Hincapie Sportswear Development Team's Toms Skujins celebrated his 23rd birthday with an impressive flair Sunday at the 29th Tour de Beauce, winning the final stage and sealing the overall win along with the jerseys for best young rider and the points competition.
“That's how we race, right?” Skujins said after taking his second stage win of the five-day tour. “That's the Hincapie motto: just go as hard as you can for as long as you can. You have to give all of yourself and take risks. That's how to race.”
Skujins and his team covered all of the early moves on the difficult circuit race in St-Georges before the Latvian rider made the final selection and then sprinted away from the rest of the survivors during the long uphill drag to the finish.
Team SmartStop's Rob Britton crossed the line second on the stage and moved into second overall. Edson Arturo Calderon (4-72 Colombia) finished the stage third, while Serghei Tvetcov (Jelly Belly-Maxxis) clung to a third-place overall finish after crossing the line Sunday in 11th place.
The final day at the tour proved to be the most difficult of the week, with more riders abandoning the stage than finishing it. The 10.4km circuit started above the town of St-Georges and then twisted its way through a residential neighborhood before plunging down along the Chaudiere River in town. From there it turned back uphill toward the start/finish for another loop of the technical route. The riders circled the course 12 times for a total of 124.8km.
“It was definitely the hardest one, just because we did circuits and you had to climb this climb over and over again,” Skujins said. “And there is always the pressure of keeping the jersey and everything else.”
The day started without mercy as riders gunned it from the start and never really let up until they either abandoned or limped across the finish line. Several groups of 10 or fewer riders escaped the field and gained small gaps of 40 seconds or less, but the Hincapie team was determined not to let Skujins' grasp on the general classification slip away. The team limited any escapees' advantage to a manageable margin.
After much shaking and reshuffling, a group of 15 riders that included most of the general classification contenders assembled off the front. Mechanicals and a manic tempo soon whittled the front group down to seven, and from there the final selection left just five riders at the front with two laps remaining.
In the lead group were Skujins, Calderon, Britton, Bruno Langlois (5-hour Energy/Kenda) and Kirk Carlson (Jelly Belly). The leaders had a half-minute gap on a chasing group of seven riders and 55 seconds on the field, which had been reduced to about 20 riders.
Langlois flatted on the second-to-last lap and fell out of the group, while Amore & Vita's Michael Woods bridged from the first chase group to the leaders, who maintained their advantage over the closing circuits. The five riders at the front approached the final climb ready to fight it out amongst themselves for the win, and Woods tried to jump away with about a kilometer remaining.
Woods' move shattered the front group, and only Skujins, Britton and Calderon were able to come to terms with his effort. That trio eventually passed Woods, but Skujins put in a final winning kick with 200 meters to go. Britton clung to his wheel but was unable to come around, and Calderon hung on for third.
“Woods was our biggest concern,” Britton said of the finale. “And then Toms is obviously just on another level. He is so strong, and chapeau to him. He rode like a boss today. Next to Toms on the climbs, I knew [Woods] was the guy to watch. He hit out and just shattered everybody. I was able to mark him, and then with about 200 meters to go Toms started to wind it up. I could go with him, but really all I could do was watch in the last 100.”
Skujins effort on the day almost netted him the KOM jersey as well; he finished second in that competition, just 10 points behind polka-dot jersey winner Joshua Berry (Team SmartStop).
The results provided a very happy birthday for Skujins, who will now head back to Europe for his national championships.
“This birthday was definitely in the top three of the best ever,” Skujins said. “Probably the best one was in 1991, when I was born. That was probably the best one. But this is probably in the top three.”
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Toms Skujins (Hincapie Sportswear Development) | 3:10:35 |
2 | Rob Britton (Team SmartStop) | Row 1 - Cell 2 |
3 | Edson Arturo Calderon (4-72 Colombia) | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
4 | Michael Woods (Amore & Vita-Selle SMP) | 0:00:07 |
5 | Kirk Carlson (Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis) | 0:00:15 |
6 | Anatoliy Pakhtusov (ISD Continental) | 0:00:29 |
7 | Jure Kocjan (Team SmartStop) | 0:00:33 |
8 | David Lozano (Team Novo Nordisk) | Row 7 - Cell 2 |
9 | Dion Smit (Hincapie Sportswear Development) | Row 8 - Cell 2 |
10 | Asbjorn Kragh (Christina Watches-Kuma) | 0:00:36 |
11 | Serghei Tvetcov (Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis) | 0:00:39 |
12 | Michael Torkler (Team SmartStop) | Row 11 - Cell 2 |
13 | Ryan Roth (Silber Pro Cycling) | Row 12 - Cell 2 |
14 | Jonathan Hornbeck (5 Hour Energy p/b Kenda) | Row 13 - Cell 2 |
15 | Maxim Jenkins (Team Veloselect) | Row 14 - Cell 2 |
16 | Timothy Roe (Team Budget-Forklifts) | 0:00:46 |
17 | Viesturs Luksevics (Amore & Vita-Selle SMP) | Row 16 - Cell 2 |
18 | Garrett Mcleod (Team H&R Block) | Row 17 - Cell 2 |
19 | Bjorn Selander (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) | 0:00:54 |
20 | Joshua Prete (Team Budget-Forklifts) | Row 19 - Cell 2 |
21 | Volodymyr Dzhus (ISD Continental) | 0:01:04 |
22 | Fernando Orjuela (4-72 Colombia) | 0:01:13 |
23 | Eloy Teruel (Jamis-Hagens Berman) | 0:01:25 |
24 | Timothy Rugg (Ride with Rendell p/b Biemme) | 0:01:27 |
25 | Oscar Clark (Hincapie Sportswear Development) | 0:01:43 |
26 | Stefan Schumecher (Christina Watches-Kuma) | 0:01:50 |
27 | Denys Karnulin (ISD Continental) | 0:01:56 |
28 | Taylor Shelden (5 Hour Energy p/b Kenda) | 0:02:15 |
29 | Bruno Langlois (5 Hour Energy p/b Kenda) | Row 28 - Cell 2 |
30 | Brodie Talbot (Team Budget-Forklifts) | 0:02:44 |
31 | Julien Gagné (Norco Bicycles-Premier Tech) | 0:03:44 |
32 | Jacob Rathe (Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis) | 0:04:28 |
33 | Joshua Berry (Team SmartStop) | 0:05:19 |
34 | Joey Rosskopf (Hincapie Sportswear Development) | Row 33 - Cell 2 |
35 | Joe Lewis (Hincapie Sportswear Development) | Row 34 - Cell 2 |
36 | Gavin Mannion (5 Hour Energy p/b Kenda) | Row 35 - Cell 2 |
37 | Maris Bogdanovics (Alpha Baltic-UnityMarathons.com) | 0:05:54 |
38 | Adam Farabaugh (Garneau-Quebecor) | 0:06:31 |
39 | Javier Megias (Team Novo Nordisk) | 0:07:46 |
40 | Jordon Cheyne (Ride with Rendell p/b Biemme) | 0:09:16 |
41 | Kyle Buckosky (Team H&R Block) | 0:12:44 |
42 | Pierrick Naud (Garneau-Quebecor) | Row 41 - Cell 2 |
43 | Daniel Bichlmann (Bike Aid-Ride For Help) | Row 42 - Cell 2 |
44 | Jean-Michel Lachance (Silber Pro Cycling) | Row 43 - Cell 2 |
45 | Marius Bernatonis (Alpha Baltic-UnityMarathons.com) | Row 44 - Cell 2 |
46 | Michael Hümbert (Bike Aid-Ride For Help) | Row 45 - Cell 2 |
47 | Jimmy Schurman (Ride with Rendell p/b Biemme) | Row 46 - Cell 2 |
48 | Ryan Wills (Bike Aid-Ride For Help) | 0:12:56 |
49 | Michael Vink (Team Budget-Forklifts) | 0:13:12 |
50 | Yean Rodriguez (4-72 Colombia) | 0:19:09 |
51 | Federico Marchiori (Team H&R Block) | 0:20:06 |
DNF | Marijn Verschoor (Team Novo Nordisk) | Row 51 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Charles Planet (Team Novo Nordisk) | Row 52 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Joonas Henttala (Team Novo Nordisk) | Row 53 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Chad Beyer (5 Hour Energy p/b Kenda) | Row 54 - Cell 2 |
DNF | James Stemper (5 Hour Energy p/b Kenda) | Row 55 - Cell 2 |
DNF | David Williams (5 Hour Energy p/b Kenda) | Row 56 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Sebastian Forke (Christina Watches-Kuma) | Row 57 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Enrico Rossi (Christina Watches-Kuma) | Row 58 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jimmi Sorensen (Christina Watches-Kuma) | Row 59 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Yors Santofimio (4-72 Colombia) | Row 60 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Camilo Andres Suarez (4-72 Colombia) | Row 61 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Daniel Durango (4-72 Colombia) | Row 62 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Leonardo Pinizzotto (Amore & Vita-Selle SMP) | Row 63 - Cell 2 |
DNF | James Piccoli (Amore & Vita-Selle SMP) | Row 64 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Luca Benedetti (Amore & Vita-Selle SMP) | Row 65 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Yannick Mayer (Bike Aid-Ride For Help) | Row 66 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Samuel Witmitz (Team Budget-Forklifts) | Row 67 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Alex Wohler (Team Budget-Forklifts) | Row 68 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Tommy Nankervis (Team Budget-Forklifts) | Row 69 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Rémi Pelletier-Roy (Garneau-Quebecor) | Row 70 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jacob Kauffman (Garneau-Quebecor) | Row 71 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Benjamin Chaddock (Garneau-Quebecor) | Row 72 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Ty Magner (Hincapie Sportswear Development) | Row 73 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Joe Schmalz (Hincapie Sportswear Development) | Row 74 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Vitaliy Popkov (ISD Continental) | Row 75 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Maksym Vasilyev (ISD Continental) | Row 76 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Oleksandr Sheydyk (ISD Continental) | Row 77 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Stephen Leece (Jamis-Hagens Berman) | Row 78 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Carson Miller (Jamis-Hagens Berman) | Row 79 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Ian Burnett (Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis) | Row 80 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Matthew Lloyd (Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis) | Row 81 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Tom Soladay (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) | Row 82 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jeremy Durrin (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) | Row 83 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Bradley Huff (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) | Row 84 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Eric Young (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) | Row 85 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Carter Jones (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) | Row 86 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Aurélien Passeron (Silber Pro Cycling) | Row 87 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Matteo Dal-Cin (Silber Pro Cycling) | Row 88 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Benjamin Chartrand (Silber Pro Cycling) | Row 89 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Flavio Deluna (Team SmartStop) | Row 90 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Cameron Cogburn (Team SmartStop) | Row 91 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Nigel Ellsay (Team H&R Block) | Row 92 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Ryan Macdonald (Team H&R Block) | Row 93 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Justin Purificati (Ride with Rendell p/b Biemme) | Row 94 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Samuel Blanchette (Norco Bicycles-Premier Tech) | Row 95 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Joël Desgreniers (Norco Bicycles-Premier Tech) | Row 96 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Félix Côté-Bouvette (Team Veloselect) | Row 97 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Conor O'brien (Team Veloselect) | Row 98 - Cell 2 |
DNS | Robbie Squire (Jamis-Hagens Berman) | Row 99 - Cell 2 |
DNS | Christopher Prendergast (Team H&R Block) | Row 100 - Cell 2 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Toms Skujins (Hincapie Sportswear Development) | 16:19:09 |
2 | Rob Britton (Team SmartStop) | 0:01:49 |
3 | Serghei Tvetcov (Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis) | 0:02:09 |
4 | Asbjorn Kragh (Christina Watches-Kuma) | 0:02:19 |
5 | Kirk Carlson (Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis) | 0:02:30 |
6 | Michael Woods (Amore & Vita-Selle SMP) | 0:02:36 |
7 | Dion Smit (Hincapie Sportswear Development) | 0:02:38 |
8 | Timothy Roe (Team Budget-Forklifts) | 0:02:49 |
9 | Ryan Roth (Silber Pro Cycling) | 0:03:27 |
10 | Garrett Mcleod (Team H&R Block) | 0:03:34 |
11 | Stefan Schumecher (Christina Watches-Kuma) | 0:03:50 |
12 | Fernando Orjuela (4-72 Colombia) | 0:03:58 |
13 | Maxim Jenkins (Team Veloselect) | 0:04:26 |
14 | Jonathan Hornbeck (5 Hour Energy p/b Kenda) | 0:04:39 |
15 | David Lozano (Team Novo Nordisk) | 0:04:44 |
16 | Anatoliy Pakhtusov (ISD Continental) | 0:04:59 |
17 | Joshua Prete (Team Budget-Forklifts) | 0:05:01 |
18 | Timothy Rugg (Ride with Rendell p/b Biemme) | 0:05:06 |
19 | Edson Arturo Calderon (4-72 Colombia) | 0:05:12 |
20 | Viesturs Luksevics (Amore & Vita-Selle SMP) | 0:07:38 |
21 | Volodymyr Dzhus (ISD Continental) | 0:07:42 |
22 | Jure Kocjan (Team SmartStop) | 0:07:56 |
23 | Joey Rosskopf (Hincapie Sportswear Development) | 0:08:55 |
24 | Joshua Berry (Team SmartStop) | 0:09:30 |
25 | Gavin Mannion (5 Hour Energy p/b Kenda) | 0:10:03 |
26 | Denys Karnulin (ISD Continental) | 0:10:19 |
27 | Joe Lewis (Hincapie Sportswear Development) | 0:11:54 |
28 | Jordon Cheyne (Ride with Rendell p/b Biemme) | 0:12:13 |
29 | Julien Gagné (Norco Bicycles-Premier Tech) | 0:12:44 |
30 | Brodie Talbot (Team Budget-Forklifts) | 0:12:58 |
31 | Eloy Teruel (Jamis-Hagens Berman) | 0:14:43 |
32 | Bjorn Selander (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) | 0:15:27 |
33 | Maris Bogdanovics (Alpha Baltic-UnityMarathons.com) | 0:17:40 |
34 | Daniel Bichlmann (Bike Aid-Ride For Help) | 0:18:38 |
35 | Michael Hümbert (Bike Aid-Ride For Help) | 0:19:15 |
36 | Javier Megias (Team Novo Nordisk) | 0:20:19 |
37 | Marius Bernatonis (Alpha Baltic-UnityMarathons.com) | 0:20:36 |
38 | Oscar Clark (Hincapie Sportswear Development) | 0:21:17 |
39 | Pierrick Naud (Garneau-Quebecor) | 0:22:09 |
40 | Jimmy Schurman (Ride with Rendell p/b Biemme) | 0:22:22 |
41 | Kyle Buckosky (Team H&R Block) | 0:24:02 |
42 | Michael Torkler (Team SmartStop) | 0:25:15 |
43 | Adam Farabaugh (Garneau-Quebecor) | 0:25:55 |
44 | Bruno Langlois (5 Hour Energy p/b Kenda) | 0:29:40 |
45 | Taylor Shelden (5 Hour Energy p/b Kenda) | 0:30:03 |
46 | Jean-Michel Lachance (Silber Pro Cycling) | 0:34:26 |
47 | Jacob Rathe (Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis) | 0:38:06 |
48 | Yean Rodriguez (4-72 Colombia) | 0:41:49 |
49 | Michael Vink (Team Budget-Forklifts) | 0:44:59 |
50 | Federico Marchiori (Team H&R Block) | 0:52:09 |
51 | Ryan Wills (Bike Aid-Ride For Help) | 1:15:52 |
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