June 10, 2008 (Lac-Etchemin, QC) – The 23rd edition of the Tour de Beauce was launched on Tuesday with Stage 1 being held in Lac-Etchemin. Mexico’s , Bernardo Colex Tepoz (Tecos Trek Uga), pulled out all the stops and crossed the finish line alone, winning the yellow leader jersey as well as the points jersey. The day was highlighted by several attacks and a final steep climb, around 5km from the finish, which broke apart the main peloton.

The Tecos Trek Uga rider covered the 165 kilometres in a time of 4 hours 17 minutes and 9 seconds. Sweden’s Micheal Stevenson (Amore e Vita – McDonald’s) finished second, stopping the clock 16 seconds after the winner while Germany’s Eric Baumann (Team Sparkasse) completed the top trio.

Australia’s Trent Wilson (Jittery Joe’s) established an early lead for the first 50kms before being swallowed up by the peloton. Several breakaway attempts were aborted before Ireland’s Martyn Irvine (Penzula Racing) and South African Jay Robert Thomson (South African U23 National Team) got away mid-race. This duo was joined by the eventual winner after 120km of racing – 10km later Colex Topez took off alone.

Colex Topez was notably pleased with a smile from ear to ear. “We wanted to be sure to be in the mix and place one of our riders in the breakaway group, if there was one. I never thought I could win the race,” confided the 24-year old rider, who hopes to keep the coveted yellow jersey.

Brazilian Kleber Ramos (Garneau-Crocs) grabbed the red jersey as best young rider. “As this was the first stage, I had no real goal other than to judge the calibre and to make adjustments accordingly for the next stages,” he said, through one of his teammates who acted as translator

Even though he finished far behind, Thomson, who was visibly exhausted, was awarded the jersey as best climber thanks to two victories in the King of the Mountain competition.

Svein Tuft (Symmetrics) put in the best Canadian performance finishing 15th. Quebecers, Francois Parisien (Team RACE Pro) placed 21st, while Charles Dionne (Team Quebec) and Dominique Perras (EVA Devinci) finished 34th and 54th respectively.

The selection of the Canadian men’s road team for the Beijing Olympics will take place after the Tour. Therefore, this is the final opportunity for Canadian riders to tip the balance in their favour.

Stage 2 at 166km will be presented on Wednesday in Valley Junction.

Results

1. Bernardo Colex Tepoz (Mex) Tecos Trek UAG 4:17:09
2. Michael Stevenson (Swe) Amore E Vita-Mcdonald’s 0:16
3. Eric Baumann (Ger) Team Sparkasse
4. Miguel Martinez (Fra) Amore E Vita-Mcdonald’s
5. Ramos Kleber (Bra) Garneau-Crocs
6. Andreas Schillinger (Ger) Team Sparkasse 0:17
7. Glen Chadwick (NZl) Team Type 1
8. Valeriy Kobzarenko (Ukr) Team Type 1
9. Paul Brousse (Fra) A-Style Stomn
10. Graziano Gasparre (Ita) Amore E Vita-Mcdonald’s
11. Soren Nissen (Den) Amore E Vita-Mcdonald’s
12. Gregorio Ladino Vega (Col) Tecos Trek UAG 0:18
13. Moises Aldape (Mex) Team Type 1
14. Darren Lapthorne (Aus) Team Sparkasse 0:19
15. Svein Tuft (Can) Symmetrics
16. Cam Evans (Can) Symmetrics
17. Carlos Oyarzun Guinez (Chi) Tecos Trek UAG 0:20
18. Christian Meier (Can) Symmetrics
19. Ciaran Power (Irl) Pezula Racing 0:49
20. Johann Rabie (RSA) South African U23 National Team
21. François Parisien (Can) Team RACE Pro
22. Jacob Erker (Can) Symmetrics
23. Rob Britton (Can) Trek-Red Truck Racing
24. Francisco Javier Matamoros (Mex) Tecos Trek UAG 0:50
25. Cameron Jennings (Aus) Pezula Racing
26. Luis Macias Hernandez (Mex) Tecos Trek UAG 1:05
27. Dustin MacBurnie (Can) Team RACE Pro
28. Neil Shirley (USA) Jittery Joe’s
29. Aristide Ratti (Ita) A-Style Stomn 1:05
30. Ryan Roth (Can) Team RACE Pro 1:16
31. Christopher Newton (Gbr) Rapha Condor Recycling.co.uk 1:17
32. Jacobus Venter (RSA) South African U23 National Team
33. Mark Walters (Can) Team RACE Pro
34. Charles Dionne (Can) Team Quebec
35. Chris Jones (USA) Team Type 1
36. Sébastien Fournet-Fayard (Fra) A-Style Stomn 1:18
37. Derrick St-John (Can) Garneau-Crocs
38. Yuriy Metlushenko (Ukr) Amore E Vita-Mcdonald’s
39. David O’Loughlin (Irl) Pezula Racing
40. Jairo Perez Suarez (Col) Colombian National Team 1:19
41. Bruno Langlois (Can) Team Volkswagen 1:26
42. Kristian House (Gbr) Rapha Condor Recycling.co.uk 1:30
43. Arnaud Papillon (Can) Team Volkswagen 1:35
44. Florencio Ramos Torres (Mex) Tecos Trek UAG
45. Omar Cervantes Diaz (Mex) Tecos Trek UAG 1:36
46. Michael Joanisse (Can) Garneau-Crocs 1:41
47. Ryan Bonser (Gbr) Rapha Condor Recycling.co.uk 1:42
48. Benjamin Martel (Can) 2peer.Com 1:43
49. Philipp Mamos (Ger) Team Sparkasse 1:44
50. Patrique Gama Azevedos (Bra) Garneau-Crocs 1:45
51. Siphiwe Sowella (RSA) South African U23 National Team 2:14
52. Juan Esteban Arango Carvajal (Col) Colombian National Team
53. Guillaume Boivin (Can) EVA Devinci 2:20
54. Dominique Perras (Can) EVA Devinci 2:45
55. Mark Pozniak (Can) Team RACE Pro
56. Ryan Sullivan (Aus) Jittery Joe’s 2:46
57. Ian Macgregor (USA) Team Type 1
58. Matt Shriver (USA) Jittery Joe’s
59. Sylvain Georges (Fra) A-Style Stomn
60. Evan Elken (USA) Jittery Joe’s
61. Travis Allen (RSA) Konica-Minolta 2:52
62. Jonathan Kinnear (RSA) South African U23 National Team
63. Graham Briggs (Gbr) Rapha Condor Recycling.co.uk
64. Robert Partridge (Gbr) Rapha Condor Recycling.co.uk 2:53
65. Jean-Sébastien Perron (Can) EVA Devinci 3:33
66. Dennis Van Niekerk (RSA) Konica-Minolta 3:34
67. Bradley Potgieter (RSA) South African U23 National Team 3:38
68. Jean-Michel Lachance (Can) Team Quebec
69. Tomas Roba (Cze) Rocky Mountain Bikes 4:57
70. Phil Cortes (Can) Amore E Vita-Mcdonald’s
71. Peter Ladd (Aus) Garneau-Crocs
72. Hichem Chaabane (Alg) Konica-Minolta
73. Tim Hucker (Aus) Garneau-Crocs
74. Pascal Bussieres (Can) 2peer.Com
75. Mohamed Aoun Seghir (Alg) Konica-Minolta
76. Alex Cloutier (Can) Team Quebec 4:58
77. Sebastian Frey (Ger) Team Sparkasse
78. Matt Guse (Can) Team Quebec
79. Chad Hartley (USA) Jittery Joe’s
80. Charly Vives (Can) Team Quebec
81. Ben Kneller (USA) Jittery Joe’s
82. Fabio Calabria (Aus) Team Type 1
83. Jamie Sparling (Can) Trek-Red Truck Racing
84. Andrew Pinfold (Can) Symmetrics
85. Tilo Schuler (Ger) Team Sparkasse
86. Mathieu Toulouse (Can) EVA Devinci
87. Matthew Bell (Can) Team Quebec
88. Dave Vukets (Can) Trek-Red Truck Racing
89. Kevin Noilles (Can) Trek-Red Truck Racing 5:00
90. Diego Genovesi (Ita) A-Style Stomn
91. Matt Wilson (Aus) Team Type 1
92. Arles Antonio Castro Laverde (Col) Colombian National Team 5:01
93. Martyn Irvine (Irl) Pezula Racing 6:10
94. Jay Robert Thomson (RSA) South African U23 National Team
95. Juan Pablo Forero Carreno (Col) Colombian National Team 6:41
96. Christoff Van Heerden (RSA) Konica-Minolta 7:23
97. Herman Fouche (RSA) Konica-Minolta
98. Zach Bell (Can) Symmetrics 8:10
99. Kevin “Buck” Miller (Can) Team RACE Pro
100. Andrew Randell (Can) Symmetrics
101. Lars Wackernagel (Ger) Team Sparkasse
102. Rhys Lloyd (Gbr) Rapha Condor Recycling.co.uk 8:10
103. Carlos Eduardo Alzate Escobar (Col) Colombian National Team 8:11
104. Christian Deshaies (Can) Team Volkswagen 8:48
105. Dan Timmerman (USA) Team RACE Pro 10:21
106. Jean-François Racine (Can) Garneau-Crocs 14:59
107. Morgan Fox (Irl) Pezula Racing 14:59
108. Randy Reichardt (USA) Rocky Mountain Bikes 14:59
109. George-Edouard Duquette (Can) EVA Devinci 14:59
110. Tyler Trace (Can) Trek-Red Truck Racing 24:51
111. Courtney Guck (USA) Rocky Mountain Bikes 27:54
112. François Chabot (Can) Team Volkswagen 35:54
113. Norman Bryner (USA) Rocky Mountain Bikes 37:27
114. Pierre Boilard (Can) 2peer.Com 40:24
115. John Bairo Casallas (Col) 2peer.Com 40:25
116. Derek Burke (Irl) Pezula Racing 45:19
117. William Connolly (Irl) Pezula Racing 45:47
HD Abdalla Ben Youcef (USA) Konica-Minolta
HD Nathan Macdonald (Can) Trek-Red Truck Racing
HD Justin Brunner (USA) Rocky Mountain Bikes
DNS Trent Wilson (Aus) Jittery Joe’s
DNS Alain Van Der Velde (Ned) A-Style Stomn
DNS Dale Appleby (Gbr) Rapha Condor Recycling.co.uk
DNS Alexander Fulton (Can) EVA Devinci
DNS Eric Boily (Can) Team Volkswagen
DNS François-Charles Malo (Can) Team Volkswagen
DNS Marc Allard (Can) Team Volkswagen
DNS Maxime Vives (Can) Team Quebec
DNS Dave Brooks (Can) Trek-Red Truck Racing
DNS Daniel Ceccato (Arg) 2peer.Com
DNS Ugo Lapierre (Can) 2peer.Com
DNS Vincent Veilleux (Can) 2peer.Com
DNS Brad Gehrig (USA) Rocky Mountain Bikes

GC after Stage 1

1. Bernardo Colex Tepoz (Mex) Tecos Trek Uag 4.16.59
2. Michael Stevenson (Swe) Amore E Vita-Mcdonald’s 0.2
3. Eric Baumann (Ger) Team Sparkasse 0.22
4. Miguel Martinez (Fra) Amore E Vita-Mcdonald’s 0.26
5. Ramos Kleber (Bra) Garneau-Crocs
6. Andreas Schillinger (Ger) Team Sparkasse 0.27
7. Glen Chadwick (NZl) Team Type 1
8. Valeriy Kobzarenko (Ukr) Team Type 1
9. Paul Brousse (Fra) A-Style Stomn
10. Graziano Gasparre (Ita) Amore E Vita-Mcdonald’s
11. Soren Nissen (Den) Amore E Vita-Mcdonald’s
12. Moises Aldape (Mex) Team Type 1
13. Gregorio Ladino Vega (Col) Tecos Trek Uag 0.28
14. Darren Lapthorne (Aus) Team Sparkasse 0.29
15. Svein Tuft (Can) Symmetrics
16. Cameron Evans (Can) Symmetrics
17. Carlos Oyarzun Guinez (Chi) Tecos Trek Uag 0.3
18. Christian Meier (Can) Symmetrics
19. Ciaran Power (Irl) Pezula Racing 0.59
20. Johann Rabie (RSA) South African U23 National Team
21. François Parisien (Can) Team Race Pro
22. Jacob Erker (Can) Symmetrics
23. Rob Britton (Can) Trek-Red Truck Racing
24. Francisco Javier Matamoros (Mex) Tecos Trek Uag 1
25. Cameron Jennings (Aus) Pezula Racing
26. Luis Macias Hernandez (Mex) Tecos Trek Uag 1.15
27. Dustin Macburnie (Can) Team Race Pro
28. Neil Shirley (USA) Jittery Joe’s
29. Aristide Ratti (Ita) A-Style Stomn
30. Yuriy Metlushenko (Ukr) Amore E Vita-Mcdonald’s 1.25
31. Ryan Roth (Can) Team Race Pro 1.26
32. Christopher Newton (Gbr) Rapha Condor Recyclingcouk 1.27
33. Jacobus Venter (RSA) South African U23 National Team
34. Mark Walters (Can) Team Race Pro
35. Charles Dionne (Can) Équipe Québec
36. Chris Jones (USA) Team Type 1
37. Fournet-Fayard Sébastien (Fra) A-Style Stomn 1.28
38. Derrick St-John (Can) Garneau-Crocs
39. David O’loughlin (Irl) Pezula Racing
40. Jairo Perez Suarez (Col) Équipe Nationale Colombienne 1.29
41. Bruno Langlois (Can) Équipe Volkswagen 1.36
42. Kristian House (Gbr) Rapha Condor Recyclingcouk 1.4
43. Arnaud Papillon (Can) Équipe Volkswagen 1.45
44. Florencio Ramos Torres (Mex) Tecos Trek Uag
45. Omar Cervantes Diaz (Mex) Tecos Trek Uag 1.46
46. Philipp Mamos (Ger) Team Sparkasse 1.5
47. Michael Joanisse (Can) Garneau-Crocs 1.51
48. Ryan Bonser (Gbr) Rapha Condor Recyclingcouk 1.52
49. Benjamin Martel (Can) 2Peercom 1.53
50. Patrique Gama Azevedos (Bra) Garneau-Crocs 1.55
51. Siphiwe Sowella (RSA) South African U23 National Team 2.24
52. Juan Esteban Arango Carvajal (Col) Équipe Nationale Colombienne
53. Guillaume Boivin (Can) Eva Devinci 2.3
54. Dominique Perras (Can) Eva Devinci 2.55
55. Mark Pozniak (Can) Team Race Pro
56. Ian Macgregor (USA) Team Type 1
57. Ryan Sullivan (Aus) Jittery Joe’s 2.56
58. Matt Shriver (USA) Jittery Joe’s
59. Sylvain Georges (Fra) A-Style Stomn
60. Evan Elken (USA) Jittery Joe’s
61. Travis Allen (RSA) Konica-Minolta 3.02
62. Jonathan Kinnear (RSA) South African U23 National Team
63. Graham Briggs (Gbr) Rapha Condor Recyclingcouk
64. Robert Partridge (Gbr) Rapha Condor Recyclingcouk 3.03
65. Jean-Sébastien Perron (Can) Eva Devinci 3.43
66. Dennis Van Niekerk (RSA) Konica-Minolta 3.44
67. Bradley Potgieter (RSA) South African U23 National Team 3.48
68. Jean-Michel Lachance (Can) Équipe Québec
69. Tomas Roba (Cze) Rocky Mountain Bikes 5.07
70. Phil Cortes (Can) Amore E Vita-Mcdonald’s
71. Peter Ladd (Aus) Garneau-Crocs
72. Hichem Chaabane (Alg) Konica-Minolta
73. Tim Hucker (Aus) Garneau-Crocs
74. Pascal Bussières (Can) 2Peercom
75. Mohamed Aoun Seghir (Alg) Konica-Minolta
76. Alexandre Cloutier (Can) Équipe Québec 5.08
77. Sebastian Frey (Ger) Team Sparkasse
78. Matt Guse (Can) Équipe Québec
79. Hartley Chad (USA) Jittery Joe’s
80. Charly Vives (Can) Équipe Québec
81. Ben Kneller (USA) Jittery Joe’s
82. Fabio Calabria (Aus) Team Type 1
83. Jamie Sparling (Can) Trek-Red Truck Racing
84. Andrew Pinfold (Can) Symmetrics 5.09
85. Tilo Schüler (Ger) Team Sparkasse
86. Mathieu Toulouse (Can) Eva Devinci
87. Matthew Bell (Can) Équipe Québec
88. Dave Vukets (Can) Trek-Red Truck Racing
89. Kevin Noils (Can) Trek-Red Truck Racing 5.10
90. Diego Genovesi (Ita) A-Style Stomn
91. Matt Wilson (Aus) Team Type 1
92. Arles Antonio Castro Laverde (Col) Équipe Nationale Colombienne 5.11
93. Martyn Irvine (Irl) Pezula Racing 6.20
94. Jay Robert Thomson (RSA) South African U23 National Team
95. Forero Carreño Juan Pablo (Col) Équipe Nationale Colombienne 6.51
96. Christoff Van Heerden (RSA) Konica-Minolta 7.33
97. Herman Fouche (RSA) Konica-Minolta
98. Zachary Bell (Can) Symmetrics 8.20
99. Kevin “Buck” Miller (Can) Team Race Pro
100. Andrew Randell (Can) Symmetrics
101. Lars Wackernagel (Ger) Team Sparkasse
102. Rhys Lloyd (Gbr) Rapha Condor Recyclingcouk
103. Carlos Eduardo Alzate Escobar (Col) Équipe Nationale Colombienne 8.21
104. Christian Deshaies (Can) Équipe Volkswagen 8.58
105. Dan Timmerman (USA) Team Race Pro 10.31
106. Jean-François Racine (Can) Garneau-Crocs 15.09
107. Morgan Fox (Irl) Pezula Racing
108. Randy Reichardt (USA) Rocky Mountain Bikes
109. George-Édouard Duquette (Can) Eva Devinci
110. Tyler Trace (Can) Trek-Red Truck Racing 25.01
111. Courtney Guck (USA) Rocky Mountain Bikes 28.04
112. François Chabot (Can) Équipe Volkswagen 36.04
113. Norman Bryner (USA) Rocky Mountain Bikes 37.37
114. Pierre Boilard (Can) 2Peercom 40.34
115. John Bairo Casallas (Col) 2Peercom 40.35
116. Derek Burke (Irl) Pezula Racing 45.29
117. William Connolly (Irl) Pezula Racing 45.57