August 12, 2009 (Lachine, QC) – The winner of last evening’s 50km senior men’s race in Lachine was Guillaume Boivin (VW) who crossed the line in 58:52, breaking the 59:57 record for the 32-year event. For his efforts, Boivin, 2009 Canadian U23 champ, received a $5,000 award. Martin Gilbert (Planet Energy) was second capturing the series title, followed by David Veilleux (Kelly Benefit Strategies) in third, Keven Lacombe (Planet Energy) in fourth, Maxime Vives (Planet Energy) in fifth and Hugo Houle (Garneau) in sixth.

Boivin, who blasted into first place with a high speed inside turn on the final lap, conceded that his victory – and record time – was in part largely due to the work done by the Planet Energy Team who kept the pace fast all evening. “I knew those guys were going for the record and just stayed on Gilbert’s wheel until the end. Let’s say that I chose the moment for my first victory at the Mardis Cyclistes!”

A second place finish was easily enough to secure Gilbert the title of overall winner of the 10-stage series, amassing 1,245 points versus 1,003 for Jean-Francois Laroche (Kuota) and 925 for Houle. This is the fourth time that Gilbert has won the Saputo Cup series, the other years being 2001, 2002 and 2004. Laroche congratulated Gilbert and blamed his second place finish on a crash during the seventh stage. “That messed up the cards for me…” Houle, who has only just started racing with the seniors, was named the “revelation of the year.”

Gilbert claimed that Boivin’s victory was well earned and pointed to the incredible work the VW rider has accomplished. He also admitted to having focused too much on Veilleux, ignoring the threat that Boivin posed. And when Boivin made his move, there was nothing much Gilbert could do – still he was very happy with his fourth title.

Apart from the exciting finish, the race was straight forward no major crashes or altercations. Planet Energy dominated most of the competition, making it look almost like a team time trial.

The crowd last evening was large but perhaps a little shy of the 20,000 who turned out to see Floyd Landis (OUCH) race here on July 16. Dominique Rollin (Cervelo) was a no-show but rumours indicated he might be on hand for the finale. Former Tour de France rider and Canadian legend, Steve Bauer, was on site wearing a big grin and a Planet Energy t-shirt for the team he manages.

The rain held off for the final event of the series and the evening finished in fireworks to mark the end of the 2009 Mardis Cyclistes season.