July 3, 2010 (Devon, AB) – The best junior cyclists had an extra adversary during the title races at the 2010 Canadian Road Cycling Championships in Devon, Alberta – the wind. The top junior cyclists in the country met on Saturday to compete on a relatively flat but blistery course.

In the women’s 72km race, an early attack by Veronique Drapeau-Zgoralski (Team Quebec) was reeled in and Annie Ewart (Cycling BC) tried her hand at soloing off the front, a next to impossible feat because of the strong wind in the town south of Edmonton.

It was finally a group sprint that decided the three podium spots with Drapeau-Zgoralski winning the top honour. Elodie Gillard (Atrium-CC2R) and Elisabeth Albert (Team Quebec) completed the women’s podium in second and third.

“I tried a break away early on the main climb and to my surprise gained a lot of time. They reeled me in a bit later when the tailwind started,” commented Drapeau-Zgoralski “Once I saw the line, I looked for an opening and there it was on the right. This title is amazing. I still can’t believe it!”

On the men’s side, a breakaway that took off 45 minutes into the race had the Canadian champion within its ranks.

Eight riders distanced the main group, at one point growing their lead to over six minutes. On the last climb, 25km from the finish line, Ryan MacDonald (Atrium-CC2R) blew away from the break to cross the line first to win the Canadian title. Only Frederic Poisson (Team Quebec) kept him in sight.

At the finish line, MacDonald looked over his shoulder to see Poisson take second and Devan McClelland (Cycling BC) crossed the line in third, one minute, 24 seconds behind the winner.

“The winning break got away in a peculiar way, we attacked and the peloton just sat up. I guess they thought it was just another false alarm,” said MacDonald. “As a breakaway group, we worked very well together… but I saw everybody waning at one point and that is where I attacked. The lessons learned at our national team development camps in Europe really paid off today,” added MacDonald.

The Canadian Road Championships continues tomorrow with the Criterium, an urban challenge event.

More Mark Kay photos here.

Results

Women

1. Jasmin Glaesser (Ger) Cycling BC 1:55:31
2. Véronique Drapeau-Zgoralski (Can) Team Quebec 1:25
3. Elodie Gillard (Can) Atrium-CC2R
4. Elisabeth Albert (Can) Team Quebec
5. Allison Beveridge (Can) Team Alberta
6. Julia Garnet (Can) Team Saskatchewan
7. Anne-Marie B. Morin (Can) Team Quebec
8. Cayley Brooks (Can) Team Ontario
9. Tennessee Mayer (Can) Team Quebec
10. Annie Ewart (Can) Cycling BC
11. Laura Bietola (Can) Team Ontario
12. Florence Laplante-Lamarche (Can) Team Ontario
13. Sarah Rasmussen (Can) Team Ontario 5:36
14. Frédérique Prince (Can) Espoir Saputo 7:43
DNF Julia Cormier (Can) Team Atlantic
DNF Jamie Heggie (Can) Team Alberta
DSQ Adriane Provost (Can) Team Quebec

Men

1. Ryan Shaun Macdonald (Can) Atrium-CC2R 3:08:08
2. Frederic Poisson (Can) Team Quebec
3. Devan McClelland (Can) Cycling BC 1:24
4. Raphael Masse-Viau (Can) Team Quebec 3:02
5. Noah MacCullum (Can) Team Ontario
6. Olivier Delaney (Can) Espoir Saputo 5:25
7. Zachary Taylor (Can) Cycling BC 6:42
8. Craig Logan (Can) Cycling BC 7:06
9. Mackenzie Garvin (Can) Team Alberta 7:10
10. Stuart Wight (Can) Team Atlantic
11. Jordan Brochu (Can) Team Quebec
12. Jean-Samuel Deshaies (Can) Team Quebec
13. Jean-Michel Naud (Can) Team Quebec
14. Simon-Pierre Gauthier (Can) Espoir Saputo
15. Christopher Prendergast (Can) Team Manitoba
16. Steven Noble (Can) Team Ontario
17. Kris Dahl (Can) Team Alberta
18. Kyle Buckosky (Can) Team Coastal
19. Graham Courtney (Can) Team Alberta 7:14
20. Ty Andrews (Can) Team Alberta 7:15
21. Jason King (Can) INVITA-FCV
22. Alex Cataford (Can) Team Ontario
23. Jacob Bouchard (Can) Nippour/Devinci 7:46
24. Philippe Nadon (Can) Team Quebec 9:53
25. Milo Del Bigio (Can) Team Manitoba 11:14
26. Jess Neufeld (Can) Team Manitoba 12:23
27. Chris Balestrini (Can) Team Ontario 12:50
28. Gabriel Charlton (Can) Team Ontario 16:00
29. Joshua Hall (Can) Cycling BC 20:01
30. Geordie Morrison (Can) Cycling BC 24:32
31. Mackenzie Carson (Can) Team Alberta 24:34
32. Julien Langlois (Can) Espoir Saputo
33. Jeffrey Doyle (Can) Cycling BC
34. Francis Desbiens (Can) Atrium-CC2R
35. Philippe Vezina (Can) Atrium-CC2R
36. Patrick Mcginley (Can) INVITA-FCV
37. Kiernan Orange (Can) Ride with Rendall
38. Charles Matte (Can) Nippour/Devinci
39. Vallen Rezazadeh (Can) Juventus 29:34
40. Nigel Ellsay (Can) Cycling BC 33:40
41. Austin Miller (USA) Team Alberta
42. Dylan Law (Can) Juventus 59:25
DNF Henri De Boever (Can) Cycling BC
DNF Justin Zottl (Can) Team Ontario
DNF Joel Johnson (Can) Balance Point Racing
DNF Christopher Bernard (Can) Ride with Rendall
DNS Nicolas Garcia (Can) Synergy Racing
DNS Kevin Stafford (Can) Juventus