September 10, 2010 (Quebec City, QC) – The sun is out and it’s 20 degrees for the start of the Quebec City ProTour soon underway with thousands of fans on hand and a great atmosphere in the Old City for this historic race featuring some of the world’s top pros including 2010 Giro winner Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas and 2008 Olympic road champ Samuel Sanchez (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi.

Canada’s Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Transitions) with team mate Svein Tuft is on the start line along with Team Canada p/b SpiderTech fielding a strong squad of eight riders including Dominique Rollin, Guillaume Boivin, Charles Dionne, Keven Lacombe, Bruno Langlois, François Parisien, Will Routley and David Veilleux. The riders will complete 15 laps, 12.6km and 186m of altitude per lap, for a total of 189km.

Lap 1
The riders are off and Canada’s Parisien has attacked off the gun and is away on his own… the peloton is strung out behind. Liquigas and Lampre are at the front and Parisien has been caught. The pace is high and it’s unusual for the riders being strung out so early.

A break of 7 riders has a 25s lead on the peloton – Parisien is in the break…

Lap 2
The lead group has swelled to 14 and they have a 19s lead on the peloton – an Astana rider has crashed – Canada’s Rollin has a seat post problem.

The leaders have hit the climb on lap two including Radioshack’s Popovych, Quick Step’s Van de Walle and Saxo Bank’s Jens Voigt. There have been a number of mechanicals early – Rabobank’s Gesink just got a bike change.

Lap 3
A total of 35 min has elapsed as the riders start lap 3 – the leaders are down to 13 including Canada’s Parisien as the pace is high and peloton is not prepared to let them go. Gesink has caught back on.

There are HUGE crowds at the start/finish with patios full along the course and the atmosphere is electric as the organizers have done a fabulous job creating a festive race atmosphere throughout.

Lap 4
The leaders have come thru with a lap time of 17.5min… and have extended their lead to 1:50.

This group includes Markel Irizar (Esp) Radioshack, Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) FDJ, Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas, Sebastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis, Van de Walle (Bel), Laurent Didier (Lux) Saxo Bank, Luc Roberts (Aus) Milram, Elia Viviani (Ita) Liquigas, Parisien, Sebastien Turgot (Fra) Bbox, Bram Tankink (Ned) Rabobank – sorry we missed Radioshack’s Jaroslav Popovych – and there’s one rider still missing….

No change so far through lap 4…

Lap 5
The gap is now 3.5 min as the leaders come thru to start the fifth lap… Astana is at the front trying to get something going with the pack.

Canada’s Rollin had a problem with his rear derailleur and now has a new bike and is chasing back on. Other teams are at the front now as the peloton is keeping an eye on the break and doesn’t look like it wants to let the gap increase.

Lap 6
The total elapsed time is 1:53 as the peloton comes thru at 4 min behind the leaders to start the sixth lap with Rollin rejoining at the back. The pace is still high as it starts to get a bit cloudy… the riders are over the 1/3 mark with lots of racing still to come. It’s a perfect day for bike racing and the next 4-5 laps could prove interesting as things are bound to heat up.

Lap 8
Somewhere a lap was missed (sorry) as the riders have now started the eighth lap with a time of 2:10 and the gap is now down to 3:15 as the peloton has upped the pace… the front group of 13 are still intact.

Lap 9
The gap is back up 3:40 with 7 to go and we’re in the Team Canada p/b SpiderTech car with director Steve Bauer, to get his impressions of the race.

“The race was hard from the start and I didn’t expect things would settle down so quickly. We’ve been in a bit of a lull for 3-4 laps and the teams are taking turns at the front with Sky, HTC and Garmin all working to keep the leaders in check.” What about Parisien being up front? – “Awesome,” said Bauer. “Depending on how the gap plays out I expect we’ll see the pack start to move with about 4 laps to go.”

The gap is down to 3:10… now it’s 2:45.

Lap 10-11
The front group has splintered as they come thru to start the 11th lap with 5 to go… we missed lap 10 while talking with Bauer. There are 8 riders now leading and Parisien is back with the second group of 5 – the gap to the chasing peloton remains at 2:45.

Now the lead group of 8 is splintering as two more riders are shed… they’re about 2/3 of the way thru the lap and gap to the chasing pack is unchanged.

The latest report is there are 7 leaders as one rider rejoined them – Agnoli, Irizar, Van de Walle, Didier, Tankink, Dominik Nerz (Milram) and Alfredo Balloni (Lampre) – our previous list was not complete it seems – they’re on the Cote de la Montagne about 6km from the start/finish.

Lap 12
The leaders are thru as they begin lap 12 with four to go… there are 6 riders chasing hard including Canada’s Parisien – the peloton is at 2:30.

Basso has been dropped and is off the back as the pace picks up – now the 6 chasers have been absorbed by the pack.

Basso is out… and apparently so is Parisien – other riders are dropping out as well at the peloton is down to about 150 riders.

We caught up with Canadian ProTour chief Serge Arsenault who told us he’s happy with how things are going, “We put together a team of the right people and they’ve done a fabulous job.”

The leaders are attacking each other on the Cote de la Montagne.

Lap 13
The 7 leaders are still together coming through at 3:40 and gap is dropping as the peloton is now 1:50 behind with three laps to go. The average speed on the last few laps was 39/km.

The leaders are on the 10% grade Cote de la Montagne and still together but the gap is now down to 45 seconds as the fireworks are about to happen.

Lap 14
The seven leaders are about to be caught with two to go… the peloton is at 10s with only 25km remaining in the race.

A crash at the start finish took down about 5 riders – a Fuji rider may be hurt – Hincapie and Chavanel went down but are back up and trying to rejoin.

Didier and Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quick Step are off the front on the Cote de la Montagne with Svein Tuft and Dom Rollin at the front of the chasing peloton just behind.

Canada’s Hesjedal has attacked trying to bridge to the leaders at the 4:15 mark of the race – there are riders all over the hill.

Lap 15 Final
Hesjedal and Cunego are at the front with Luke Roberts and a Saxo rider we think driving the pace as the peloton is just behind at 10-15 seconds – the riders are on the final lap.

Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank has joined the leaders – the other rider is Matti Breschel from Saxo Bank… and it’s Fabian Wegmann from Milram not Roberts – these are the five at the front of the race.

Leipheimer with Radioshack riders and Euskaltel-Euskadi are leading the charge to bridge to the leaders – BMC is there too – Hesjedal is leading pushing the pace at the front.

The pack is at 8s as they hit the climb and it’s Hesjedal and Cunego leading the front group up the Cote de la Montagne as Leipheimer behind is trying to bridge…

2km to go it’s Hesjedal with Cunego and Wegmann… 20 riders are chasing close behind.

1km to go… now Wegmann is leading – Voeckler attacks and is going for it.

Voekler is at the front – he’s got a good gap.

They’re sprinting behind him …

Voeckler takes it…

Results

1. Thomas Voeckler (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom 4:35:27
2. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Team Sky 0:01
3. Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank
4. Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Transitions
5. Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto
6. Alessandro Ballan (Ita) BMC Racing Team
7. Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Team Milram
8. Maxime Monfort (Bel) Team HTC-Columbia
9. Francesco Reda (Ita) Team Quick Step
10. Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini
11. Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Esp) Team Radioshack
12. Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
13. Anthony Geslin (Fra) FDJ
14. Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini
15. Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis
16. David De La Fuente Rasilla (Esp) Astana Cycling Team 0:09
17. Christopher Horner (USA) Team Radioshack
18. Matti Breschel (Den) Team Saxo Bank
19. Peter Sagan (Skv) Liquigas-Doimo
20. Svein Tuft (Can) Garmin-Transitions
21. Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Garmin-Transitions 0:14
22. Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Team Katusha
23. Chris Anker Sorensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank 0:18
24. Keven Lacombe (Can) Team Canada p/b SpiderTech 0:20
25. Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ 0:23
26. Peter Stetina (USA) Garmin-Transitions 0:29
27. Christian Knees (Ger) Team Milram
28. Nikita Eskov (Rus) Team Katusha
29. Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) BBOX Bouygues Telecom
30. Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Team Quick Step
31. David Veilleux (Can) Team Canada p/b SpiderTech
32. Adam Hansen (Aus) Team HTC-Columbia
33. Pablo Lastras Garcia (Esp) Caisse D’Epargne
34. Gert Dockx (Bel) Team HTC-Columbia
35. Evgueny Petrov (Rus) Team Katusha
36. Charles Dionne (Can) Team Canada p/b SpiderTech
37. Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) FDJ
38. Tiago Machado (Por) Team Radioshack
39. Ermanno Capelli (Ita) Footon-Servetto-Fuji
40. Julien Elfares (Fra) Cofidis
41. José Joaquim Rojas Gil (Esp) Caisse D’Epargne
42. Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Team Quick Step
43. Dominique Rollin (Can) Team Canada p/b SpiderTech
44. Simon Spilak (Slo) Lampre-Farnese Vini
45. Gorazd Stangelj (Slo) Astana Cycling Team
46. Laszlo Bodrogi (Fra) Team Katusha
47. Morris Possoni (Ita) Team Sky
48. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Rabobank
49. John Gadret (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale
50. Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Team Katusha
51. Julien Loubet (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale
52. Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team
53. Alexander Botcharov (Rus) Team Katusha
54. Peter Wrolich (Aut) Team Milram
55. Arnaud Coyot (Fra) Caisse D’Epargne
56. Christophe Kern (Fra) Cofidis
57. Craig Lewis (USA) Team HTC-Columbia
58. Mirko Selvaggi (Ita) Astana Cycling Team
59. Dries Devenyns (Bel) Team Quick Step
60. Tristan Valenttin (Fra) Cofidis
61. Amaël Moinard (Fra) Cofidis
62. Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJ
63. Maxim Gourov (Kaz) Astana Cycling Team
64. Cyril Gautier (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom
65. David Le Lay (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale
66. Karsten Kroon (Ned) BMC Racing Team
67. Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank
68. Arkaitz Duran Aroca (Esp) Footon-Servetto-Fuji
69. Guillaume Boivin (Can) Team Canada p/b SpiderTech
70. Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini
71. Anthony Charteau (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom
72. Damien Monier (Fra) Cofidis
73. Will Routley (Can) Team Canada p/b SpiderTech 0:39
74. Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ
75. Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:49
76. Fabio Felline (Ita) Footon-Servetto-Fuji 1:01
77. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Team Saxo Bank
78. Davide Cimolai (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo
79. Bram Tankink (Ned) Rabobank 1:05
80. Serge Pauwels (Bel) Team Sky 1:17
81. Alberto Losada Alguacil (Esp) Caisse D’Epargne 1:31
82. José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Esp) Caisse D’Epargne 1:58
83. Enrico Magazzini (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini 2:07
84. Charles Wegelius (GBr) Omega Pharma-Lotto 2:09
85. Ruben Perez Moreno (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2:33
86. Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team Radioshack 2:46
87. Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Team Quick Step
88. Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Cycling Team
89. Francisco Perez Sanchez (Esp) Caisse D’Epargne 2:48
90. Markel Irizar Aranburu (Esp) Team Radioshack 3:40
91. Alan Perez Lezaun (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
92. Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
93. Dario Cioni (Ita) Team Sky 4:26
94. Laurent Lefevre (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom 6:31
95. Christopher Sutton (Aus) Team Sky 8:26
96. André Steensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank
97. Marcus Eibegger (Aut) Footon-Servetto-Fuji
98. Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Milram
99. Jorge Azanza Soto (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
100. Jonas Ljungblad (Swe) Omega Pharma-Lotto 10:43
101. Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Team Milram
102. Nicki Sorensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank
103. Michael Morkov (Den) Team Saxo Bank
104. Ben Gastauer (Lux) Ag2r La Mondiale
105. Laurent Didier (Lux) Team Saxo Bank
106. Bruno Langlois (Can) Team Canada p/b SpiderTech
107. Dominik Nerz (Ger) Team Milram
108. Marco Bandiera (Ita) Team Katusha
109. Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo
110. Kevin Seeldraeyers (Bel) Team Quick Step 12:19
DNF Steven Cozza (USA) Garmin-Transitions
DNF Timmy Duggan (USA) Garmin-Transitions
DNF Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Garmin-Transitions
DNF Danny Pate (USA) Garmin-Transitions
DNF Javier Francisco Aramendia Lorente (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF Gorka Izagirre Insausti (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF Miguel Minguez Ayala (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF Joost Posthuma (Ned) Rabobank
DNF Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Rabobank
DNF Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Rabobank
DNF Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Team Radioshack
DNF Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Team Radioshack
DNF Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Team Radioshack
DNF Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo
DNF Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo
DNF Brian Vandborg (Den) Liquigas-Doimo
DNF Elia Viviani (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo
DNF Mauro Facci (Ita) Team Quick Step
DNF Jurgen Van De Walle (Bel) Team Quick Step
DNF Kurt Arvesen (Nor) Team Sky
DNF Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky
DNF Davide Vigano (Ita) Team Sky
DNF Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ
DNF Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) FDJ
DNF Jens Voigt (Ger) Team Saxo Bank
DNF MIkhaylo Khalilov (Ukr) Team Katusha
DNF Julien Berard (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale
DNF Maxime Bouet (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale
DNF Cyril Dessel (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale
DNF Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) Ag2r La Mondiale
DNF Alfredo Balloni (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini
DNF David Loosli (Sui) Lampre-Farnese Vini
DNF Simone Ponzi (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini
DNF Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Team HTC-Columbia
DNF Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Team HTC-Columbia
DNF Vicente Reynes Mimo (Esp) Team HTC-Columbia
DNF Michael Rogers (Aus) Team HTC-Columbia
DNF Angel Madrazo Ruiz (Esp) Caisse D’Epargne
DNF Mathieu Perget (Fra) Caisse D’Epargne
DNF Luke Roberts (Aus) Team Milram
DNF Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana Cycling Team
DNF Yevgeniy Nepomnyachshiy (Kaz) Astana Cycling Team
DNF Roman Kireyev (Kaz) Astana Cycling Team
DNF Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Omega Pharma-Lotto
DNF Christophe Brandt (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto
DNF Francis De Greef (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto
DNF Michiel Elijzen (Ned) Omega Pharma-Lotto
DNF Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Esp) Omega Pharma-Lotto
DNF Vidal Celis Zabala (Esp) Footon-Servetto-Fuji
DNF Marco Corti (Ita) Footon-Servetto-Fuji
DNF Noé Gianetti (Sui) Footon-Servetto-Fuji
DNF David Gutierrez Palacios (Esp) Footon-Servetto-Fuji
DNF Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom
DNF Yohann Gene (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom
DNF Sébastien Turgot (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom
DNF Chad Beyer (USA) BMC Racing Team
DNF George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team
DNF Jeff Louder (USA) BMC Racing Team
DNF Danilo Wyss (Sui) BMC Racing Team
DNF Rémi Cusin (Fra) Cofidis
DNF Julien Fouchard (Fra) Cofidis
DNF François Parisien (Can) Team Canada p/b SpiderTech
DNS Kristijan Koren (Slo) Liquigas-Doimo