Both winners were part of the main breakaways of two riders in their respective races, launching their attacks in the last 200 meters to secure their victories.
In the men’s race, Rémi Pelletier-Roy of St-Augustin de Desmaures took the new event by storm earning the victory after 40 laps of racing. Pelletier-Roy and Canadian junior cyclist Derek Gee formed the breakaway of the day, and worked together to the finish line. But Pelletier’s strength was just too much for the powerful junior cyclist. Marc-Antoine Soucy (Garneau-Québecor) won the mass sprint to take third place.
Gone after three laps, the two had a substantial lead at the halfway point on the Mont-Royal circuit and would have won by a more solid advantage had they not crashed together on the slippery tarmac with four laps to go.
On the last stretch, Gee attacked but experience prevailed and Pelletier-Roy was the one who raised his arms on the line. At 25, the rider from Longueil said he was still aiming at the world championships and Olympics in Rio before putting an end to his pro career to go ahead with his studies.
The women’s 33km race featured 28 starters who completed 30 laps of the 1.1 km course. Maine, who led from the start, won five intermediate sprints over her Carrie Cartmill (The Cyclery), her breakaway partner, earning some bonuses in the process. In the final 200m, Maine was able to distance herself from Cartmill to earn the victory. Canadian track star Kirsti Lay (SAS-Mazda) took the final podium spot.
The eight junior cyclists racing today will represent Canada at the Road World Championships next week. They utilized the Criterium National, a development competition for North American riders with a UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) licenses in the Juniors, Espoirs and Élites (17 to 29 years old) categories, as part of their final preparations.
This new event announces the comeback of women’s cycling to international competition in Montréal, a first since the last World Cup in 2009.
Results (brief)
Women
1. Katherine Maine (Team Canada)
2. Carrie Cartmill (The Cyclery-Opus)
3. Kirsti Lay (Team Canada)
Men
1. Rémi Pelletier-Roy (Garneau-Quebcor)
2. Derek Gee (Team Canada)
3. Marc-Antoine Soucy (Garneau-Quebecor)
Full results here.