June 17, 2012 (St-Georges, QC) – Rory Sutherland (Aus) UnitedHealthCare Pro Cycling Team claimed the overall victory on Sunday at his debut at the Tour de Beauce, but the loudest cheers were for Hugo Houle (SpiderTech p/b C10), who finished second overall and took home the Best Young Rider jersey, and Bruno Langlois (Garneau-Quebecor-Norton Rose) who won the final 125km Stage 6, Circuit urbain / Ville de St-Georges.

While Houle had already whipped the entire province of Quebec into a frenzy as a media star with heroic cycling that catapulted him into second overall, local fans had to wait until the final stage, when veteran Langlois finally brought home a stage victory for the host province where cycling reigns supreme. “My family and friends were at the finish making it a very special win for my first stage victory at Beauce after racing here 14 times,” Langlois told Pedal in a post-race interview.

Langlois and Marsh Cooper (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) were the final two escapees on Stage 6 as a break of nine lead riders had the peloton scrambling behind. Cooper’s teammate Sebastian Salas and Rob Britton (H&R Block), both GC contenders, had joined the original seven riders in the break as they dared the chasing pack.

The battle for Beauce was on as Sutherland’s 19s lead was not so secure anymore. Team Canada teammates Svein Tuft (4th overall) and Christian Meier (3rd overall) drove the pace in the pack as did Francisco Mancebo (Esp) Competitive Cyclist Racing Team, but Sutherland and his team could not be shaken.

As the gap fell to the leaders, Langlois attacked taking Cooper with him, while the remnants of the break were swallowed up by the advancing peloton. As neither of the two lead riders were GC threats there was less frenzy behind and Langlois took the final sprint to the line over Cooper for the stage win while Sutherland crossed the line, with Houle close by, to secure his victory.

“It’s a tough race and a great feeling to win – my team really supported me [UnitedHealthCare won the Team Classification]. The people here are tremendous and course and organization were all great. I’d love to come back here to holiday sometime,” Sutherland told Pedal.

For Houle it was a dream come true at only his second time at Beauce. “For sure it’s was a great race for me and I want to thank my team for the great support and for believing in me. After my great ride up Megantic I started to have more confidence, and then after doing well in the time trial we knew something was possible.”

Another Beauce chapter ended today as the fabled race captured the hearts and imagination of a province and a nation. The next stop on the race calendar is the 2012 Cold FX Road National Championships in La Megantic, June 21-23, run by the Beauce organization… stay tuned for more fireworks.

Stage 6 and final GC results HERE.

Jerseys
– Yellow – Rory Sutherland (Aus) UnitedHealthCare Pro Cycling Team
– KOM – Ken Hanson (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
– Points – Francisco Mancebo (Esp) Competitive Cyclist Racing Team
– Best Young Rider – Hugo Houle (Can) SpiderTech p/b C10