June 18, 2005 (Mont Ste-Anne, Que.) – Racers faced copious amounts of mud on the 101-kilometere World Cup marathon course, which started in Quebec City and finished in Mont Ste-Anne, Quebec.

Great Britain’s Liam Killeen (GBR, Specialized) beat out last year’s Marathon World Champion, Massimo De-Bertolis (ITA, Full Dynamix) by just under three minutes. The winning time of 4:35:30 was significantly longer than last year’s of 3.5 hours due to the addition of new sections, but mostly because of the difficult conditions brought on by relentless showers and cold weather all week long. No rain fell during the race and temperatures were ideal, but the damage had been done earlier in the week. Thomas Spichtig (SUI, Stoeckli.ch) finished third.

Guido Visser (CAN, Cycles Lambert-Sportif Bromont) delivered the best Canadian men’s result with fifth place and a time of 4:48:38. Benoit Simard (CAN), Dominique Fortin (CAN), Luc Proulx and David Gagnon (CAN) placed eighth, 14th, 15th and 18th, respectively.

Canada’s Andreas Hestler (CAN, Rocky Mountain-Business Objects) didn’ finish due to mechanical difficulties. He commented that all racers were facing debilitating bike problems because of the sheer amount of mud. He also mentioned the huge volume of running racers had to do. “I’m not a runner!” he exclaimed, adding that it felt like an adventure race.

Brazilian-Canadian Jaqueline Mourao (BRA, Scott) defeated two-time Olympic gold medalist Paola Pezzo (ITA, Gatorade) in today’s race of attrition. Mourao was on the go for 5:20:53 and Pezzo trailed by just under four minutes. Daniela Louis (SUI) finished third, 5:52 back from the leader. Canada’s Hillary Harrison (CAN) finished seventh.

Results
Men
1. Liam Killeen (GBR, Specialized) 4:35:30
2. Massimo De-Bertolis (ITA, Full Dynamix) at 2:48
3. Thomas Spichtig (SUI, Stoeckli.ch) 3:42
4. Mauro Bettin (ITA) 4:43
5. Guido Visser (CAN, Cycles Lambert-Sportif Bromont) 8:38
6. Alban Lakata (AUT, Specialized) 9:36
7. Richard McCauley (IRL, Bray Wheelers) 10:00
8. Benoit Simard (CAN) 13:07
9. Dario Acquaroli (ITA, Full Dynamix) 15:47
10. Benjamin Schmieg (GER, Fuji) 16:48

Women
1. Jaqueline Mourao (BRA, Scott) 5:20:53
2. Paola Pezzo (ITA, Gatorade) at 3:51
3. Daniela Louis (SUI) 5:52
4. Monique Sawicki (USA) 20:19
5. Jenny McCauley (IRL) 29:00
6. Kyia (USA) 38:16
7. Hillary Harrison (CAN) 1:25:02