May 29, 2004 (Montreal, PQ) – Despite rumors and speculation, RONA’s
Genevieve Jeanson captured the the sixth stop of the 2004 edition of the
Women’s World Cup today in Montreal, Canada. Hosting a field of the best
women competitors in the world, the roster was a venerable whos who of
women’s cycling.

Hot off assisting her teammate in her stunning Tour de L’Aude win and
looking for her team’s first ever world cup win, Judith Arndt (Nurnberger),
lined up to battle it out on the infamous Mount Royale against the likes of
local heroine Lyne Bessette (Quark) and her Canadian compatriot Genevieve
Jeanson. Impressive record holders like Jeannie Longo (France), Barbara
Heeb (Suisse), Catherine Marsal (Nobili Runinetterie Guerciotti), and Dede
Demet (T-Mobile) brought their resumes and their legs to duke it out for
the honor of bringing home a World Cup win.

With an estimated 50,000 spectators lining the sides of Mount Royale, the
scene was set for what was surely to be an awesome event. Despite the
impressive roster, noticeably absent were the top six of the top seven in
the standings, including second place Zoufia Zabirova and third place
Mirjam Melchers. Mathematically, World Cup leader Oenone Wood, racing for
her Australia National Team, could not lose her lead of the series at this
race, and with many of her nearest competitors missing, Montreal offered
her an opportunity to further cushion her lead.

The seventh edition of the Montreal World Cup was held on the same course
as in previous years. The 8.5 kilometer lap featured a one kilometer ascent
up the one kilometer Mount Royale. The 99.5 kilometer circuit race allowed
for very little recovery each lap, with the climb progressively shearing
away those without the legs or lungs to compete with some of the best in
the world.

The race began with a steady pace; accelerations were marked quickly by
teams whose hope was to bring their climbers to the front in the final
laps. One of the more notable breaks was a solo effort by Quark’s Audrey
Lemieux from Canada. Staying out in front for a half lap, her gap grew to
15 seconds before she was reeled in by the peloton.

On the final two laps the accelerations began to take their toll on the
field and by the final ascent it was a fairly exclusive group remaining.
Quark’s Bessette was sitting strong in the group, but she was marked by
Arndt, Jeanson, Longo and others. At the 400 meter mark it was clear it
would be a field sprint and in a nail biting finish, Jeanson pressed hard
toward the line, with only Arndt and Olivia Gollan (Australia) able to
respond. As Jeanson made her final bid for the line, Arndt dug deep to come
by, but Jeanson was able to fend her off for her second win at the Montreal
World Cup. Arndt was second with Gollan third. Local favorite Bessette
finished tenth.

Tomorrow is a rest day for the teams before the begin the three day,
four-stage Tour of Montreal on Monday.

Results:

1. Genevieve Jeanson – Rona

2. Judith Arndt – Nurnberger

3. Olivia Gollan – Australia