June 09, 2017 (La Baie, QC) – Canada’s Emile Jean headlined a Silber Pro Cycling 1-2 punch as the 23-year-old took the win on the final sprint battling a strong headwind at the finish of the 171km Stage 2 in La Baie with teammate Stephen Bassett (USA) in second. Team Canada’s Guillaume Boivin challenged at the finish to take third.

“I knew I had the abilities, but this is the first time I’ve sprinted like that. It worked well and I’m glad I did not disappoint them,” Jean told Le Quotidien. “Without saying I was due, I’m happy.”

An early break was initiated by Pier-André Côté (Silber Pro), Jean-François Soucy (Garneau Québecor) and Jure Rupnik (H & R Block) on the first lap of nine on the 19km course. Despite strong winds the trio gained a 5:15 gap but Canyon raised the pace and the break was caught on the final lap.

On the final corner with 300m to go Jean-Simon D’Anjou (Garneau Quebecor) launched his sprint but Silber’s Jean and Bassett timed the finish to perfection for double podium with Boivin third and  D’Anjou 4th.

“We came here with great ambitions, but on Thursday it did not work the way we wanted. We were disappointed with our performance and I think (that today’s victory) shows that the team has the character to go for the first and second place,” added  Jean, paying tribute to his teammate Côté who was part of the initial breakaway. “It allowed us to take it easy behind and wait for the right time to attack.”

Steve Fisher (USA) Canyon Bicycles in 6th today holds on to the GC lead with Boivin in second and Ulisis Castillo Soto (Mex) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis in third. Fisher has the green Points jersey while Rupnik holds the KOM jersey and Jack Burke (Can) Aevolo retains the white jersey for the best young rider. Canyon leads the team classification over Team Canada – full results link below.

Read Le Quotidien report (in French) here.

Results (brief)

1. Emile Jean (Can) Silber Pro Cycling    4:20:04
2. Stephen Bassett* (USA) Silber Pro Cycling
3. Guillaume Boivin (Can) Team Canada
4. Jean-Simon D’Anjou* (Can) Garneau Québecor
5. Noah Granigan* (USA) CCB Velotooler
6. Steve Fisher (USA) Canyon Bicycles
7. Ulisis Castillo Soto (Mex) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
8. Fabio Calabria (Aus) Team Novo Nordisk    0:02
9. Serghei Tsvetkov (Rom) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis
10. Lukas Conly* (Can) Smart Savvy +Garneau
11. Stephen Clancy (Irl) Novo Nordisk
12. Jake Sitler (USA) CCB Velotooler
13. Chris Prendergast (Can) H & R Block
14. Tyler Stites* (USA) Aevolo
15. Travis Samuel (Can) H & R Block
16. Francisco Mancebo (Esp) Canyon Bicycles
17. Kaler Marshall (USA) Canyon Bicycles
18. Benjamin Perry (Can) Team Canada
19. Cooper Willsey* (USA) CCB Velotooler
20. Jack Burke* (Can) Aevolo
21. Spencer Petrov* (USA) CCB Velotooler
22. Chad Beyer (USA) Canyon Bicycles
23. Bruno Langlois (Can) Garneau Québecor
24. Marc-Antoine Soucy* (Can) Garneau Québecor
25. Connor Toppings* (Can) Smart Savvy +Garneau
26. Julien Gagne (Can) Silber Pro Cycling
27. Olivier Brisebois* (Can) Garneau Québecor
28. Léandre Bouchard (Can) Team Canada
29. Jordann Jones* (Can) NCCH Elite p/b MGCC    0:23
30. Gage Hect* (USA) Aevolo

GC after Stage 2
1. Steve Fisher (USA) Canyon Bicycles     8:26:01
2. Guillaume Boivin (Can) Team Canada    0:03
3. Ulisis Castillo Soto (Mex) Jelly Belly p/b Maxxis    0:07
4. Francisco Mancebo (Esp) Canyon Bicycles    0:15
5. Travis Samuel (Can) H & R Block    0:18
6. Jack Burke (Can) Aevolo
7. Kaler Marshall (USA) Canyon Bicycles     0:31
8. Diego Milan Jimenez (Dom) Inteja-ULB Dominican Cycling Team    0:33
9. Chad Beyer (USA) Canyon Bicycles     0:59
10. Bruno Langlois (Can) Garneau Québecor

*=U23

Full results here.