July 30, 2013 (Lachine, QC) – Simon Lambert-Lemay (Garneau-Quebecor) won the the 50km men’s pro-elite race at the 9th stage of the Mardis cyclistes Jean Coutu this evening with a time of 1:01:59. But the race was most remarkable for a large crash involving some 20 cyclists and the confusion which reigned afterwards.

The crash happened only four laps from the finish of the 31-lap race and the riders involved were allowed to reintegrate back into the pack, but their points were essentially disqualified.

Race officials took a long time to verify the results, making sure that none of the winners were among the disqualified group. Émile Abraham (Independent) was eventually declared the second place winner while Stephen Keeping (Steven’s Racing) finishing third.

Caught up in the crash was Pierrick Naud (Garneau-Quebecor) who had been leading the general classification (GC) until this evening`s race. Naud slipped from first to second place in the GC with his teammate, Lambert-Lemay now leading with 935 points to Naud’s 865 points.

“I am not happy,” commented Lambert-Lemay. “I didn`t want to become the leader like this. Pierrick is a good friend. I didn’t want to take the leader`s yellow jersey from him just because of a stupid rule!” Despite his strong finish, it was mainly Lambert-Lemay who could be heard protesting with race officials while Naud was largely silent.

Keeping is now in third spot in the GC with 718 points, followed by last year’s winner, Jean-François Laroche (Fantino Mondello) with 636.

Other Results
In the women’s 24km race, Elisabeth Albert (Rocky Mountain Lessard) took the win, just as she has done for five of the six last stages. Audrey Bernard (Steven’s Racing) followed her in second while Adriane Provost (Steven’s Racing) finished third to complete the podium. Albert will be wearing the leader’s yellow jersey next week as she leads the series with 366 points against 286 points for Rosalie Cardin-Houde (IAMGOLD).

Among the cadets, Laurent Gervais (Espoirs Laval Primeau Vélo) took first place while Edouard Lepare Morin (Bernard Hinault) followed in second and Maxime St-Jules (Véloselect) in third. But Thierry Kirouac Marcassa (VCL André Cycle) still leads the GC with 380 points despite his absence this evening. His teammate, Antoine Côté is in second with 241 points.

Gabriel Drapeau Zgoralski (VCL André Cycle) won the 16km minime boys’ race followed by Alex Briand (VCL André Cycle) in second and Griffin Schwartz (Independent) in third. Schwartz maintains a commanding lead in the GC with 494 points while Drapeau Zgoralski has 356 points.

Charlotte Toussignant (Espoirs Laval) won the minime girl’s race, followed by Laurie Jussaume (Dynamiks de Contrecoeur) in second and Laurie-Anne Grenon (Dynamiks de Contrecœur) in third. Toussignant also leads the GC with 479 points followed by Jussaume with 401.

Randy Fergusson of Lachine mentioned that he has been watching the bike races for about 15 years and providing full-time race commentary for the past three seasons. Fergusson, who also provided commentary at the London Olympics, says the best thing about the Mardis is that cyclists “just give it” each week. Another Lachine resident, former pro cyclist Genevieve Jeanson, told us she likes to turn out to encourage friends who are racing.

The last race of the season is Tuesday, August 6 when a local rider just back from the Tour de France, David Veilleux (Europcar), will be on the men’s start line. The first race starts at 5:30 p.m. while the men’s pro-elite race is at 7 p.m. The grand finale will see champagne for the cyclists, a corn roast for the public, and fireworks in the sky. It is free to watch the bike races around LaSalle Park in the Montreal borough of Lachine.

Results (brief)

1. Simon Lambert-Lemay (Garneau-Québécor)
2. Emile Abraham (Ind)
3. Stephen Keeping (Steven’s Racing)