April 18, 2012 (Cambridge, NY) – It was Francisco Mancebo Perez (Competitive Cyclist Racing Team) who won Sunday’s Tour of the Battenkill pro elite men’s race ahead of Jesse Anthony (Team Optum Presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies) in second and Jeremy Vennell (Bissell PRO Cycling) in third.

Bruno Langlois (Garneau/Quebecor Cycling Team) was the top Canadian, finishing ninth at 1:59 behind Mancebo. Only two other Canadian riders finished the grueling race – Aaron Fillion (Ride with Rendall Cycling Team) place 25^th and Pierrick Naud (Équipe cycliste EKOÏ.com/Gaspésien) came in 30^th.

Listen to a post-race interview with Langlois (English/French).

Of the 153 cyclists on the start line at 12 noon, only 59 finished the difficult 200km race on hilly terrain that alternates between asphalt and gravel. A few kilometres from the finish line, a 10-minute gap had developed between a group of a dozen lead rider – including Langlois – and the rest of the peloton.

Langlois told Pedal that he was lucky, neither flatting nor being caught in a crash. The 2011 champion, Brett Tivers (Garneau/Quebecor Cycling Team), a New Zealander based in Quebec City, was not so lucky. Tivers, who finished 45^th, explained that he got caught behind a crash. “Some days things line up for you and some days they don’t,” he said philosophically.

Mathieu Roy (Équipe cycliste EKOÏ.com/Gaspésien) was even more unlucky. He DNF’d after flatting three times and crashing once. Numerous cyclists told us of the difficulties caused by dust and loose gravel.

“We were going down the hills at about 80km,” Charly Vives (Garneau/Quebecor Cycling Team) told Pedal. “But it was so dusty that I couldn’t see the road in front. My front wheel was shaking.” Rémi Pelletier-Roy (Garneau/Quebecor Cycling Team) said that the main lesson from 2012 was to try and ride near the front of the pack in 2013.

Listen to the full interview with Vives.

American Greg LeMond, a three-time TdF winner, spoke at a press conference in Cambridge this weekend and Pedal interviewed him afterward. The video interview will be posted shortly. In the video, LeMond speaks about winning the 1983 Worlds as the defining moment of his career that spanned from 1981-1994.

Pedal also asked LeMond to explain why he is so outspoken when criticizing doping. “The rationale is that nobody is looking at backside of the sport. In the ‘90s a couple hundred [cyclists] died. I knew two who died,” commented LeMond. “People who cheat are cheating others. Point blank, it’s cheating. There was an amount of corruption, but I think it’s cleaning up a lot.”

LeMond is very involved these days with 1in6.org, an association that he helped found. “The mission of 1in6 is to help men who have had unwanted or abusive sexual experiences in childhood live healthier, happier lives,” reads an excerpt from the group’s website. LeMond has revealed that he was abused as a youth.

LeMond also spoke highly of SpiderTech’s Steve Bauer, mentioning Bauer’s clear thinking and his determination. When we asked where Bauer will likely go with his team, LeMond responded, “I hope he gets to the Tour [de France].”

Meanwhile, Canadian women did extremely well in Saturday’s elite women’s race. Veronique Fortin (Tibco/To the Top) won the 99.2km/62-mile course in a time of 3:00:38. In second was Crystal Anthony (USA) LadiesFirst Racing in second and Canada’s Alizee Brien (Specialized-Mazda-SGC) placed third on the podium. In total, four Quebec women finished in the top 10.

Fortin, the current Canadian road champ, spoke to Pedal just after crossing the finish line. She mentioned the strong field of competing women on the Battenkill start line. The silver medalist, Anthony told us that the dirt sections were very soft, and this made them difficult.

Listen to Fortin’s post-race interview.

Brien, who is only 18 years old, was competing at her first race as a senior. Brien’s coach, Gerard Penarroya, told Pedal that he was very happy to have to girls in the top 10. Penarroya also spoke about the challenges caused by the dust on dirt sections of the race circuit, but said that his girls really enjoyed Battenkill.

Evelyne Blouin (Real Deal Racing / La Bicicletta) finished fifth. Some 55 women were on the start line and 51 finished, including eight Canadians.

Pedal spoke to one of the competitors at an amateur race on Saturday at Battenkill. The cyclist, from Massachusetts, said that whenever he sees Canadian teams at an event, he knows that it will be tough to finish near the podium.

Elite women’s results HERE.
Elite men’s results HERE.

More interviews…

William Blackburn

Remi Pelletier-Roy

Pierrick Naud

Pierre Hutsebaut

Mathieu Roy