June 07, 2014 (Gatineau, QC) – Former Canadian road champ, Denise Ramsden, delivered another victory to Optum-Kelly Benefit Strategies winning the 122.16km (12 x 10.18km) Grand Prix Cycliste Gatineau Hydro-Québec, as the team is on fire in Quebec this weekend.

The final selection came down to a 2-up sprint between Ramsden and Flavia Oliveira (Bra) Garneau Factory Team as Oliveira settled for silver while Canadian track star, Jasmin Glaesser (Tibco), took the final podium spot.

Team TWENTY16’s Lex Albrecht riding for Team Quebec, recently 2nd on the podium at the women’s Philly Cycling Classic, claimed 4th followed by strong Kirsti Lay (Can) SAS-Mazda-MacoGep p/b Specialized in 5th. Justine Clift (Can) West of Quebec Wheelers, who made a bold move to bridge to the winning break, took 6th.

It was Ramsden who instigated the winning move with two laps to go soon after an earlier break of seven riders led by Steph Roorda (SAS-Mazda-Macogep p/b Specialized) was caught with Tibco leading the chase despite having their rider, Anika Todd, in the lead group.

Soon after that break was caught Ramsden jumped taking four other riders with her including Oliveira, Glaesser, Albrecht and Lay. They were joined by Clift who seemed to sense this may be the winning move… and it was.

The cat-and-mouse scenario played out as Ramsden and Albrecht sat on biding their time but it was Oliveira and Ramsden who emerged as the final protagonists in the last kilometre. Yet the former road champ wasn’t entirely sure she could take the final sprint. Pedal’s Pasquale Stalteri caught up with Ramsden post-race for her take on her great victory today.

Ramsden Interview

Also making the crucial final move was Glaesser of track fame. Her teammate Todd was in the Roorda break that also contained Optum’s Jade Wilcoxson and other strong riders. But not everyone was certain that these escapees would stay away including Optum’s Director Sportif Kevin Field of SpiderTech and Symmetrics fame.

“”We like this move as it could play out well for Jade or be a springboard for later,” Field told us from the team car. “There’s still lots of racing to come so there’s no panic… we’re content to sit tight and see how things unfold.”

With 80 starters the first half of the GP Gatineau road race was mostly a wait-and-see affair with early attacks by Antje Thamm (Kallisto-FCV) and Carrie Cartmill (Stevens-The Cyclery) shut down quickly. Roorda ignited things after the half way mark which led to Ramsden’s kick that sparked the final break.

Tibco’s Glaesser, who won the Best Young Rider Jersey at the recent Joe Martin Stage Race, made the final selection as well and shared her thoughts with Pedal post-race – it was her second podium this weekend as she claimed third in the ITT but the young star wanted more.

Glaesser Interview

For Optum, Ramsden’s victory counted three wins – Eric Young won the first two stages of GP Saguenay – and a silver with Leah Kirchmann’s second place in yesterday’s ITT. The rumour mill says Field owes the women’s team a trip to the spa – well deserved it seems.

Full results here