July 27, 2009 (Fance) – While the Tour de France worked it’s way across the country, Canadians made their mark in two other Tours – Bretagne and Limousin. The weather was a factor as always – wind, rain and cool temperatures in Bretagne then scorching weather for the few days in between then back to more wind, even more rain and thankfully warmer temperatures. The final day was played out in hot sunshine giving riders relief from the daily downpours.

Bretagne was a 4 day, 5 stage race characterized by rolling terrain and fast finishing circuits. The riders took a couple days to get their race legs. Joanie Caron had a solid finish on stage 2 for 13th place but the team made a real show of it on the third stage when Veronique Labonte had a solid break for almost 40 km. Team Canada was working hard at the front of the race to cover attacks but 1.5 laps from the finish, Labonte was reeled in. Alison Testroete and Karol-Ann Canuel finished 8th and 9th on the stage respectively with a solid 4th place for the team amongst 17 teams.

Natasha Elliot worked hard to gain mountain points and finished in 2nd place overall in the competition. Denise Ramsden was 7th amongst the Espoir riders. There were no mishaps until the last day when Canuel went down as two riders in front of her crashed. The Canadians represented very well and finished 5th overall in the Team Classification. No doubt the GC would have been a bit higher had the riders not done the ITT Mercx style! Team DSB Bank was the class of the crowd winning every stage of the event.

Audrey Lemieux, riding for her French team ‘ESGL 93 gsd gestion’ scored 2 top 10 stage finishes and finished a respectable 15th overall in the Tour de Bretagne.

Full results can be found here.

The team headed south east to the Limoges area of France to contest the 4 day, 4 stage race amongst the hills of the region. Bretagne looked mild compared to what the riders faced on the first stage of Limousin. The initial climb of the day took place only 15 km into the race and even though it was classified as a Category 2, it allowed a group of 9 riders to get off the front and stayed off until the end. From then on, there wasn’t a flat portion of the road to be found. Testroete and Elliot finished in the top chase group that day. Ramsden was suffering from severe intestinal distress and unfortunately had to climb in the car.

The second and third stages were much flatter but the difficulty arose with the small roads and technical descents. The team was gunning for a podium spot and worked hard to attain this. A bunch sprint prevailed on stage 3 where Caron was taken out at the line. Stage 4 had Canada written all over it – Canuel was in a break that lasted several km, Labonte was in another…a group of 5 riders slipped off the front with 1.5 laps to go. Testroete made a valiant effort to bridge while all the Canadians took turns covering the chases. She came close to the break and held off the charging pack to finish 6th on the stage.

The final stage included 3 sprints 6 hill climbs, 4 of which were first category. Riders were shelled from the beginning as this was the toughest day by far of the French campaign. Before the final GPM, Canada had three riders in the main bunch – Canuel, Elliot and Testroete. Testroete suffered a rear puncture and worked hard to get back on, which she did. The timing couldn’t have been worse though as the riders at the front drilled the pace and she was dropped. Elliot was climbing well at the front of the group when it split into three. Eventually all groups came back together and she managed a 13th place finish.

The Team GC took a beating as Canada fell from 9th to 13th place. Lotto Belisol was the class of this race as they took the overall and sprint jerseys. The Russians were a close second taking the climber and young rider jerseys. Audrey Lemieux (ESGL 93 gsd gestion) also took part in the Tour Feminin en Limousin where she scored a 10th place stage
finish.

Full results can be found here.

The hard work will pay off for these riders as they head in separate directions for the remainder of the season.