June 12, 2009 (St-Georges, QC) РToday, the manager of Planet Energy, Steve Bauer, celebrated his 50th birthday. But instead of confetti falling, it was rain, at the start of this half stage, began and finished at Notre-Dame-de-la-Trinit̩ school in Saint-Georges.

The Colombians holding the top two spots in the general classification planned to protect their places. Three days earlier in the first stage, they had been impressive on the long road to Lac-Etchemin and hopes were strong for Camilo Suarez, the specialist on their team.

The parking lot of the school looked more like a campground the morning of the race, with tents set up to keep the riders warm, while the luckiest teams or maybe quickest, used the school doorways for shelter.

As one of the favourites, David Veilleux of Quebec, triple Canadian champion in this specialty, was marking his first time trial of the season, not yet able to estimate his worth in this type of race. Nonetheless, he was very confident during the warm-up, surrounded by his teammates who were all preparing to have a great day.

Three members of the Trek Livestrong team put up the top three times quickly. Team director Axel Merckx’s men were in shape, Jesse Sergent, who just had an excellent Paris-Roubaix espoirs, marked the fastest provisional time, in 26 minutes 52 seconds, Sam Bewley, very prominent yesterday on the Mont Megantic stage, in 27 minutes 30 seconds and third, the only Canadian on the team, Cody Campbell, in 28 minutes 15 seconds. These standing lasted for quite a long time.

David Veilleux (Kelly Benefit) had an excellent time, fifth provisionally, in 28 minutes 26 seconds. However the best had yet to start. Caleb Fairly (Felt Holowesko Garmin U23), Matt Bell (Canadian National Team) and especially the Brazilian Ottavio Bougarelli (Garneau Club Chaussure) also had respectable performances.

But though the rain had just stopped, the sun had started to peek out and the yellow jersey had taken the road, Phil Zajicek (Fly V Australia) set the record straight in grabbing the best provisional time with 26 minutes 48 seconds. All that remained to be seen was if the Colombians would still be wearing the same jerseys at the end of the day. Flying along a little drier road, American Scott Zwizanski (Kelly Benefit) put in a time that could not be beaten, in 26 minutes 26 seconds. With this remarkable time, the Colombian then wearing the yellow jersey would have to put in an exceptional performance to keep his precious shirt. We knew that the Colombian climbers had been steadily improving on the road, but here Darwin Atapuma could do nothing against the American rocket. The team lead by Jenaro Leguizamo lost the yellow jersey but retained the polka-dot one for Sergio Luis Henao and the red for Darwin Atapuma.

As for the Quebec representatives, the local Ugo Lapierre (Team Québec), finished 61st in the stage and is currently in 71st place. David Veilleux (Kelly Benefit) is the leading Quebec rider in 34th place, in front of Charles Dionne (Fly V Australia) in 37th and Bruno Langlois in 44th. The first Canadian of the day, Ryan Roth (Planet Energy) is also the first in the general classification with 9th place.

Results

1. Scott Zwizanski (Usa) Kelly Benefit Strategies 0:26:26
2. Phillip Zajicek (Usa) Fly V Australia 0:22
3. Jesse Sergent (Nzl) Trek Livestrong 0:26
4. Otavio Bougarelli (Bra) Garneau-Club Chaussure 0:28
5. Benjamin Day (Aus) Fly V Australia 0:38
6. Darren Lill (Rsa) Team Type 1 0:58
7. Christopher Jones (Usa) Team Type 1 1:04
8. San Bewley (Nzl) Trek Livestrong 1:04
9. Neil Shirley (Usa) Kelly Benefit Strategies 1:11
10. Bjorn Selanler (Usa) Trek Livestrong 1:17
11. Tom Southam (Gbr) Rapha Condor 1:22
12. Danilo Wyss (Sui) Bmc Racing Team 1:23
13. Bernard Sulzberger (Aus) Fly V Australia 1:24
14. Ryan Roth (Can) Planet Energy 1:25
15. Steve Bovay (Sui) Bmc Racing Team 1:28
16. Martin Kohler (Sui) Bmc Racing Team 1:30
17. Matthew Bell (Can) Éq. Nationale Canadienne 1:33
18. Jackson Stewart (Usa) Bmc Racing Team 1:33
19. Caleb Fairly (Usa) Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin U23 1:39
20. Peter Stetina (Usa) Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin U23 1:39
21. Sergio Luis Henao (Col) Éq. Nationale De Colombie 1:42
22. Derrick St-John (Can) Garneau-Club Chaussure 1:48
23. Cody Campbell (Can) Trek Livestrong 1:49
24. Valeriy Kobzarenko (Ukr) Team Type 1 1:50
25. Darwin Atapuma (Col) Éq. Nationale De Colombie 1:51
26. Darren Lapthorne (Aus) Rapha Condor 1:58
27. Benjamin King (Usa) Trek Livestrong 2:00
28. David Veilleux (Can) Kelly Benefit Strategies 2:00
29. Jacob Erker (Can) Kelly Benefit Strategies 2:02
30. Phillip Cortes (Can) Garneau-Club Chaussure 2:02
31. Camilo Suarez (Col) Éq. Nationale De Colombie 2:05
32. Guy East (Usa) Trek Livestrong 2:07
33. Guillaume Boivin (Can) Équipe Québec 2:09
34. Cameron Evans (Can) Éq. Nationale Canadienne 2:10
35. Kristian House (Gbr) Rapha Condor 2:12
36. Jonathan Mumford (Usa) Kelly Benefit Strategies 2:12
37. Walker Savidge (Usa) Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin U23 2:13
38. Simon Richardson (Gbr) Rapha Condor 2:19
39. Bryson Bowers (Can) Éq. Nationale Canadienne 2:23
40. Jonathan Garcia (Usa) Bmc Racing Team 2:24
41. Jean-Sébastien Perron (Can) Équipe Québec 2:25
42. Charlie Bryer (Can) Éq. Nationale Canadienne 2:31
43. Peter Salon (Usa) Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin U23 2:37
44. Ryan Baumann (Usa) Trek Livestrong 2:41
45. William Goodfellow (Can) Équipe Québec 2:41
46. James Stewart (Gbr) Kuk-Kinesis 2:41
47. Charles Dionne (Can) Fly V Australia 2:42
48. Clay Murfet (Aus) Kelly Benefit Strategies 2:54
49. Alex Candelario (Usa) Kelly Benefit Strategies 2:57
50. Timothy Henry (Usa) Dlp Racing 3:04
51. Bruno Langlois (Can) Planet Energy 3:05
52. Raphaël Gagné (Can) Équipe Québec 3:05
53. Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Éq. Nationale De Colombie 3:06
54. François Parisien (Can) Planet Energy 3:07
55. Aroussen Laflamme (Can) Garneau-Club Chaussure 3:11
56. Daniel Summerhill (Usa) Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin U23 3:12
57. Chad Beyer (Usa) Bmc Racing Team 3:12
58. Martin Gilbert (Can) Planet Energy 3:15
59. Ryan Belliveau (Can) Éq. Nationale Canadienne 3:16
60. Jeffery Schiller (Can) Garneau-Club Chaussure 3:17
61. Ugo Lapierre (Can) Équipe Québec 3:18
62. Keven Lacombe (Can) Planet Energy 3:24
63. Ben Greenwood (Gbr) Rapha Condor 3:26
64. Jean-François Racine (Can) Garneau-Club Chaussure 3:27
65. André Tremblay (Can) Équipe Québec 3:28
66. Matt Wilson (Aus) Team Type 1 3:31
67. Steve Lampier (Gbr) Kuk-Kinesis 3:33
68. Jamie Riggs (Can) Éq. Nationale Canadienne 3:38
69. Andris Smirnovs (Lat) Latvian National Team 3:44
70. Moises Aldape Chavez (Mex) Team Type 1 3:46
71. Mathew Cronshaw (Gbr) Rapha Condor 3:46
72. James Moss (Gbr) Kuk-Kinesis 3:46
73. Alex Howes (Usa) Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin U23 3:48
74. Ian Macgregor (Usa) Team Type 1 3:51
75. Dan Craven (Gbr) Rapha Condor 3:59
76. William Munoz (Col) Éq. Nationale De Colombie 4:01
77. Mark Bathy (Can) Planet Energy 4:06
78. Steven Gordon (Usa) Dlp Racing 4:10
79. Raymond Kreder (Ned) Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin U23 4:14
80. Scott Davis (Aus) Fly V Australia 4:18
81. Alesandro Bazzanna (Ita) Fly V Australia 4:23
82. William Rodriguez (Col) Éq. Nationale De Colombie 4:25
83. Antonio Cruz (Usa) Bmc Racing Team 4:34
84. Simon Lambert-Lemay (Can) Équipe Québec 4:36
85. Hayden Brooks (Aus) Fly V Australia 4:39
86. Janis Rezins (Lat) Latvian National Team 4:44
87. Eric Boily (Can) Planet Energy 4:57
88. Robert Wardell (Gbr) Kuk-Kinesis 5:23
89. Casey Munro (Aus) Kuk-Kinesis 5:23
Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Latvian National Team

GC after Stage 4a

1. Scott Zwizanski (Usa) Kelly Benefit Strategies 12:27:07
2. Sergio Luis Henao (Col) EÃ¥lq. Nationale De Colombie 1:03
3. Darwin Atapuma (Col) EÃ¥lq. Nationale De Colombie 1:15
4. Christopher Jones (Usa) Team Type 1 1:59
5. Darren Lill (Rsa) Team Type 1 2:34
6. Benjamin Day (Aus) Fly V Australia 3:02
7. Bernard Sulzberger (Aus) Fly V Australia 3:03
8. Danilo Wyss (Sui) Bmc Racing Team 4:00
9. Ryan Roth (Can) Planet Energy 4:11
10. Tom Southam (Gbr) Rapha Condor 4:25
11. Neil Shirley (Usa) Kelly Benefit Strategies 5:05
12. Bjorn Selanler (Usa) Trek Livestrong 5:19
13. Phillip Zajicek (Usa) Fly V Australia 5:26
14. Steve Bovay (Sui) Bmc Racing Team 6:05
15. Derrick St-John (Can) Garneau-Club Chaussure 6:19
16. Guy East (Usa) Trek Livestrong 7:21
17. Valeriy Kobzarenko (Ukr) Team Type 1 7:24
18. Chad Beyer (Usa) Bmc Racing Team 7:29
19. Otavio Bougarelli (Bra) Garneau-Club Chaussure 7:29
20. Martin Kohler (Sui) Bmc Racing Team 7:38
21. Cameron Evans (Can) EÃ¥lq. Nationale Canadienne 8:29
22. Ian Macgregor (Usa) Team Type 1 8:46
23. Simon Richardson (Gbr) Rapha Condor 9:15
24. Peter Stetina (Usa) Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin U23 9:34
25. Matthew Bell (Can) EÃ¥lq. Nationale Canadienne 9:49
26. Jarlinson Pantano (Col) EÃ¥lq. Nationale De Colombie 9:57
27. Caleb Fairly (Usa) Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin U23 10:18
28. Benjamin King (Usa) Trek Livestrong 11:33
29. Darren Lapthorne (Aus) Rapha Condor 12:07
30. William Rodriguez (Col) EÃ¥lq. Nationale De Colombie 12:25
31. Jackson Stewart (Usa) Bmc Racing Team 12:37
32. Jonathan Garcia (Usa) Bmc Racing Team 12:42
33. Andris Smirnovs (Lat) Latvian National Team 12:48
34. David Veilleux (Can) Kelly Benefit Strategies 12:54
35. Timothy Henry (Usa) Dlp Racing 12:58
36. Ben Greenwood (Gbr) Rapha Condor 13:09
37. Charles Dionne (Can) Fly V Australia 13:48
38. Kristian House (Gbr) Rapha Condor 14:18
39. Dan Craven (Gbr) Rapha Condor 15:03
40. Jamie Riggs (Can) EÃ¥lq. Nationale Canadienne 15:24
41. Alex Candelario (Usa) Kelly Benefit Strategies 15:54
42. Peter Salon (Usa) Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin U23 15:59
43. Jacob Erker (Can) Kelly Benefit Strategies 16:01
44. Bruno Langlois (Can) Planet Energy 16:02
45. William Munoz (Col) Éq. Nationale De Colombie 17:38
46. Casey Munro (Aus) Kuk-Kinesis 18:20
47. Antonio Cruz (Usa) Bmc Racing Team 18:22
48. Moises Aldape Chavez (Mex) Team Type 1 18:40
49. Jean-Sébastien Perron (Can) Équipe Québec 19:05
50. Alesandro Bazzanna (Ita) Fly V Australia 20:37
51. Martin Gilbert (Can) Planet Energy 22:23
52. Keven Lacombe (Can) Planet Energy 22:32
53. James Stewart (Gbr) Kuk-Kinesis 22:38
54. James Moss (Gbr) Kuk-Kinesis 22:39
55. Alex Howes (Usa) Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin U23 23:10
56. François Parisien (Can) Planet Energy 23:29
57. Jonathan Mumford (Usa) Kelly Benefit Strategies 24:16:00
58. Scott Davis (Aus) Fly V Australia 24:51:00
59. Raphaël Gagné (Can) Équipe Québec 25:00:00
60. Matt Wilson (Aus) Team Type 1 25:58:00
61. William Goodfellow (Can) Équipe Québec 26:21:00
62. Clay Murfet (Aus) Kelly Benefit Strategies 26:27:00
63. André Tremblay (Can) Équipe Québec 27:04:00
64. Phillip Cortes (Can) Garneau-Club Chaussure 27:55:00
65. Guillaume Boivin (Can) Équipe Québec 28:11:00
66. Steve Lampier (Gbr) Kuk-Kinesis 28:15:00
67. Jesse Sergent (Nzl) Trek Livestrong 28:32:00
68. Cody Campbell (Can) Trek Livestrong 28:37:00
69. Bryson Bowers (Can) Éq. Nationale Canadienne 29:13:00
70. Daniel Summerhill (Usa) Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin U23 29:15:00
71. Ugo Lapierre (Can) Équipe Québec 29:20:00
72. Aroussen Laflamme (Can) Garneau-Club Chaussure 29:21:00
73. Jean-François Racine (Can) Garneau-Club Chaussure 29:29:00
74. Janis Rezins (Lat) Latvian National Team 32:37:00
75. Charlie Bryer (Can) Éq. Nationale Canadienne 32:56:00
76. San Bewley (Nzl) Trek Livestrong 33:04:00
77. Mathew Cronshaw (Gbr) Rapha Condor 33:20:00
78. Hayden Brooks (Aus) Fly V Australia 38:17:00
79. Mark Bathy (Can) Planet Energy 38:37:00
80. Camilo Suarez (Col) Éq. Nationale De Colombie 40:32:00
81. Simon Lambert-Lemay (Can) Équipe Québec 41:23:00
82. Walker Savidge (Usa) Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin U23 42:32:00
83. Ryan Belliveau (Can) Éq. Nationale Canadienne 43:05:00
84. Robert Wardell (Gbr) Kuk-Kinesis 44:11:00
85. Ryan Baumann (Usa) Trek Livestrong 50:00:00
86. Eric Boily (Can) Planet Energy 50:34:00
87. Raymond Kreder (Ned) Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin U23 53:07:00
88. Jeffery Schiller (Can) Garneau-Club Chaussure 54:28:00
89. Steven Gordon (Usa) Dlp Racing 1:23:19