May 27, 2006 (Montreal, Quebec) – We cheered her on, we sweated with her, but it just wasn’t enough. France’s Élodie Touffet (Nobili) put a little spark in an otherwise lacklustre race at the Montreal Women’s Road World Cup held today on the city’s demanding Mount Royal course. Unfortunately for her, the race was just 500m too long. German World Cup contender Judith Arndt (T-Mobile) executed the right attack with 200m to go, to become the first post-Lyne Bessette, post-Genevieve Jeanson, winner of the event squeezing by the World Cup overall leader, Nicole Cooke (Univega) from Britain. USA’s Kristin Armstrong (Lipton) completed the podium finishing 3 secs. behind Cooke.

Cautious Start

Just after the start pistol went off it looked like we may be in for some surprises — at 1.5 km on a downhill part of the course there was a crash involving several riders. There were no serious injuries and no front-runners were involved, so no harm was done.

Aside from the crash, the first half of the race looked like a cautious boxing match where both opponents knew each other too well — there was little action as everyone continued to size up each other. No rider got more than 15 secs. on the pack during the first seven laps as the steep Camilien-Houde Hill played its part, allowing the group to catch up quickly with anyone who had any great ideas.

The peloton was animated for the partisan crowd by veteran Canadian riders such as Sue Palmer-Komar (Team Canada) and Anne Samplonius (Biovail), who were at the front making sure no one escaped.

Élodie! Élodie!

The 9th lap finally gave us something to cheer about, when Touffet and Germany’s Tina Liebig (Nurnberger) got serious. At the u-turn on Park Avenue, both had gained a commanding 45-second lead over the pack – but no one responded to their attack, as the teams were too busy watching each other. Touffet ended up alone just before the start of lap 10, but Liebig rapidly caught up to her.

The Montreal crowd smelt an upset in the making. At one point during the 10th lap, Touffet enjoyed a 1:15 lead, and seemed to know where to find speed on the uphill-downhill course. But the chase began on the 11th lap, as Touffet’s lead was literally melting down with her last gasps of energy as she headed up Camillien-Houde Hill. She was caught by the pack with about 500m to go, and then the real race to the finish began.

Close Finish

With 200m to go, Annette Beutler drew first blood, as Nicole Cooke took her wheel. But Arndt blew past both of them on their left, to take the gold at the wire.

“After Judith blew past me, I knew I had taken the wrong attack,” Cooke said. “But I’m still very happy. I’m on the podium, which is great considering that my teammates are just back from a big stage race (Tour de l’Aude). We watched the Americans and the Canadians throughout the race, and my teammates did a great job.” With her 2nd place finish, Cooke still holds the overall lead in the World Cup series.

As for Arndt, she felt relieved after crossing the finish line first. “So many people have many expectations of me this season,” she said. “I had an outstanding year in 2005, and people expect me to repeat those great performances this year. I can’t help but to feel sorry for the girl we caught at the end, though (Touffet). She had a great run, but we knew we would catch up to her eventually.”

Passing the Torch

The Canadian rider that Montreal’s cycling fans focused on was Audrey Lemieux (Team Quebec). The 19 year-old from Alma, Que. has been identified as the future of cycling in Quebec, even in Canada, after Lyne Bessette retired this past week. Lemieux finished well back in the pack today, but the young Bleuet isn’t worried. “I must not worry about that. I’ll get acquainted with this course, because I plan to enter this race for many years, and even to win it. I know I’m missing that little edge that would get me into the world elite, but I’m gaining experience.”

The top Canadian finisher was Erinne Willock (Webcor), from Victoria, B.C. in 6th, ahead of Palmer-Komar in 7th, while Samplonius placed 22nd. With such great results from Canada’s veterans, one wonders if the torch has yet been passed.

Montreal notes”¦

– the Montreal Women’s Road World Cup took two huge blows recently with the retirement of two of Canada’s top women, Geneviève Jeanson and Lyne Bessette. This seemed to have an effect on attendance which was more scattered today. But the crowd, although smaller, was much louder. “It was awesome,” said Judith Arndt. “We could hear the cowbells, the horns, the loud cheers”¦that was fun!”

– former top Canadian racer and coach Jacques Landry is now head coach of the New Zealand National Team. Will he become another Pierre Lafontaine (the former Australian swimming coach who turned Ian Thorpe into The Torpedo) and make a powerhouse out of the Kiwi team?

Рthe women now have a well-deserved day of rest before starting Le Tour du Grand Montr̩al, a 4-day stage race beginning this Monday, May 29, with an 11km ITT on the streets of Lachine.

Results

1 Judith Arndt (Ger) T-Mobile 3.11.52
2 Nicole Cooke (GBr) Univega
3 Kristin Armstrong (USA) Lipton 0.03
4 Annette Beutler (Swi) Elk Haus No
5 Trixi Worrack (Ger) Nurnberger Versicherung 0.13
6 Erinne Willock (Can) Webcor-Platinum
7 Sue Palmer-Komar (Can) Équipe du Canada 0.19
8 Christine Thorburn (USA) Webcor-Platinum
9 Edwige Pitel (Fra) Pruneaux d’Agen- Bianchi Aliverti Kookai 0.24
10 Kori Seehafer (USA) Lipton 0.30
11 Rachel Heal (GBr) Victory Brewing
12 Alex Wrubleski (Can) Canadian National Team
13 Priska Doppmann (Swi) Univega 0.32
14 Kimberly Baldwin (USA) T-Mobile 0.35
15 Patricia Schwager (Swi) Elk Haus No 0.37
16 Christiane Soeder (Aut) Univega 0.41
17 Elisabeth Chevanne Brunel (Fra) Pruneaux d’Agen- Bianchi Aliverti Kookai
18 Xiang Yin Ruan (Chn) Giant Pro Cycling 0.46
19 Johanna Buick (NZl) New Zealand National Team 0.48
20 Leigh Hobson (Can) Victory Brewing 0.55
21 Anne Guzman (Can) Diet Cheerwine 1.00
22 Anne Samplonius (Can) Biovail
23 Elodie Touffet (Fra) Nobili Rubinetterie Menikini Cogeas 1.03
24 Min Gao (Chn) Giant Pro Cycling 1.20
25 Amy Moore (Can) T-Mobile 1.30
26 Toni Janne Bradshaw (NZl) Pruneaux d’Agen- Bianchi Aliverti Kookai 1.33
27 Katie Mactier (Aus) Argon 18-Champion System 1.38
28 Katherine Bates (Aus) Nurnberger Versicherung
29 Jennifer Stephenson (Can) Biovail
30 Joanne Kiesanowski (NZl) Univega 2.36
31 Grace Fleury (USA) Lipton 2.53
32 Alexandra Le Henaff (Fra) Pruneaux d’Agen- Bianchi Aliverti Kookai 4.07
33 Marisa Asplund (USA) Colorado Premier Training 4.31
34 Betina Hold (Can) Webcor-Platinum
35 Miho Oki (Jpn) Nobili Rubinetterie Menikini Cogeas 5.25
36 Tina Liebig (Ger) Nurnberger Versicherung 6.11
37 Gussepina Grassi (Mex) Mexican National Team 8.43
38 Stephanie Bourbeau (Can) Biovail 10.17
39 Johanne Cyr (Can) Équipe du Québec 12.05
40 Veronica Leal (Mex) Mexican National Team 12.38
41 Alison Shanks (NZl) New Zealand National Team 13.27
42 Katharine Carroll (USA) Victory Brewing 13.30
43 Kirsten Robbins (Can) Victory Brewing
44 Gina Grain (Can) Giant Pro Cycling
45 Nicky Wangsgard (USA) Colorado Premier Training 13.37
46 Hiroko Shimada (Jpn) Diet Cheerwine 13.40
47 Audrey Lemieux (Can) Équipe du Québec 13.42
48 Karin Russo (Aut) Elk Haus No 13.56
49 Christina Ruiter (USA) Victory Brewing
OTL Phillips Jessica (USA) Argon 18-Champion System 14.03
OTL Yun Mei Wu (Chn) Giant Pro Cycling 14.06
OTL Yan Xia Jiang (Chn) Giant Pro Cycling 14.20
OTL Michelle Beltran (USA) Diet Cheerwine 19.11
OTL Julie Bellerose (Can) Ann Arbor Velo club 19.14
OTL Amanda Shaw (Can) Biovail 19.15
OTL Maribel Diaz (Mex) Mexican National Team 19.20
OTL Kerry Litka (USA) Diet Cheerwine 20.41
OTL Julie Marceau (Can) équipe mixte Cascades 21.17
OTL Claudia Hecht (Ger) Nurnberger Versicherung 28.10
DNF Emma Rickards (Aus) Univega
DNF Christiana Becker (Ger) T-Mobile
DNF Anke Wichmann (Ger) Nurnberger Versicherung
DNF Oenone Wood (Aus) Nurnberger Versicherung
DNF Sigrid Corneo (Ita) Nobili Rubinetterie Menikini Cogeas
DNF Milena Pirola (Ita) Nobili Rubinetterie Menikini Cogeas
DNF Olivia Gollan (Aus) Nobili Rubinetterie Menikini Cogeas
DNF Andreu Vilajosana (Spa) Nobili Rubinetterie Menikini Cogeas
DNF Marina Duvnjak (NZl) New Zealand National Team
DNF Dale Tye (NZl) New Zealand National Team
DNF Amy Mosen (NZl) New Zealand National Team
DNF Helen Kelly (Aus) Elk Haus No
DNF Lang Meng (Chn) Giant Pro Cycling
DNF Tamara Jayne Boyd NSZ19800213 Pruneaux d’Agen- Bianchi Aliverti Kookai
DNF Alison Testroete (Can) Canadian National Team
DNF Anna Tratnyek (Can) Canadian National Team
DNF Heather Lamson (Can) Canadian National Team
DNF Moriah Macgregor (Can) Canadian National Team
DNF Rosario Peralta (Mex) Mexican National Team
DNF Annet Rios (Mex) Mexican National Team
DNF Berenice Castro (Mex) Mexican National Team
DNF Emilie Roy (Can) Équipe du Québec
DNF Joanie Caron (Can) Équipe du Québec
DNF Marie-Pier Bédard (Can) Équipe du Québec
DNF Krystal Jeffs (Can) Équipe du Québec
DNF Joëlle Numainville (Can) Biovail
DNF Lisa Sweeney (Can) Colorado Premier Training
DNF Kami Tremblay (USA) Colorado Premier Training
DNF Aimee Vasse VAS19780722 Colorado Premier Training
DNF Alena Radomsky (Can) BC Coastal
DNF Christina Briante (Can) BC Coastal
DNF Lee Darling (Can) BC Coastal
DNF Barbara Zimich (Can) BC Coastal
DNF Leah Guloien (Can) BC Coastal
DNF Lauren Franges (USA) Victory Brewing
DNF Wendy Caldwell (USA) Ann Arbor Velo club
DNF Laura Johnson (USA) Ann Arbor Velo club
DNF Dawn Lovejoy (USA) Ann Arbor Velo club
DNF Gutierrez Hilda Mota (Mex) Ann Arbor Velo club
DNF Megan Elliott (USA) Argon 18-Champion System
DNF Christen King (USA) Argon 18-Champion System
DNF Meredith Miller (USA) Lipton
DNF Liza Rachetto (USA) Lipton
DNF Felicia Gomez (Can) Webcor-Platinum
DNF Katheryn Curi (USA) Webcor-Platinum
DNF Rebecca Nelson (Can) Diet Cheerwine
DNF Marie-Caroline Côté (Can) équipe mixte Cascades
DNF Jodi Bilek-Deville (Can) équipe mixte Cascades
DNF Amanda Cox (Can) équipe mixte Cascades
DNF Jessica Burns (Can) équipe mixte Cascades
DNF Marie-Michèle Richard (Can) équipe mixte Cascades