July 9, 2008 (Lachine, QC) — Jean-François Laroche (Sleeman) sprinted to his second stage victory at the fourth weekly Mardis Cyclistes on Tuesday evening. Guillaume Boivin (EVA-Devinci) finished second and keeps the yellow leader’s jersey. Arnaud Papillion (VW) finished 3rd and completed the podium. The three were part of a breakaway group of 12 cyclists who were 21 seconds ahead of the pack for part of this hot, muggy evening.

Laroche came around the last corner just behind Francois Parisien (Team RACE Pro) and then sprinted to the finish. Laroche, the winner of the 2007 series, also won last Tuesday’s Stage 3 race. There are six stages left in the 10-stage series.

“Dominique Perras (EVA-Devinci) changed this evening’s race,” explained Marc Wayne Addison, the new technical director at the Mardis Cyclistes. Speaking just before the finish, he said, “Perras keeps attacking and forcing the others to react.” At that point, it looked like Boivin might still win the race and Addison suggested that Boivin would have owed a big thank you to his team mate Perras. Addison also noted that the Mardis Cyclistes races are attracting many cyclists from outside of Quebec. In 2010 Addison will take over the series from Mardis Cyclistes founder, Tino Rossi.

The situation was similar in the junior women’s race where Catherine Couture won last evening but Anne-Marie Morin (Garneau-Crocs-Suzano) will wear yellow next week.

Results (brief)

Elite Men – 50km

1. Jean-François Laroche (Sleeman)
2. Guillaume Boivin (EVA-Devinci)
3. Arnaud Papillion (VW)

Coupe des femmes Shape — 24km

1. Catherine Couture (Cascades)
2. Anne-Marie Morin (Garneau-Crocs-Suzano)
3. Audrey Bernard. (Apogee-Kuota/Elicycle)

GC after 4 of 10 Stages

Coupe Pro Men’s Elite Saputo Cup

1. Guillaume Boivin (EVA-Devinci) 448
2. J-F Laroche (Sleeman) 395
3. Martin Gilbert (Kelly Benefit) 327
4. Ramos Kleber (Garneau-Crocs) 276
5. François Parisien (Team RACE) 225

Junior Lait’s Go Cup

1. Frédéric Poisson (Velo 2 Max) 445
2. Raphaël Massé-Viau (Maillot bleu) 379
3. William Fontaine (Estricycle) 298

Feminine Shape Cup

1. Anne-Marie Morin (Garneau-Crocs) 162
2. Catherine Couture (Cascades) 125
3. Frédérique Lord (Garneau-Crocs) 123

Minime Hop&Go Cup

1. Joakim Albert (Garneau-Crocs) 255
2. Jérémy Carignan (Amos) 151
3. Charles Bourassa (Espoirs Laval) 126