July 19, 2016 (Rouyn-Noranda, QC) – Ontario’s Quinton Disera of the Centurion Next Wave took the win at the Challenge Sprint on Monday, July 18, which is an appetizer to the 48th annual Tour de l’Abitibi that runs from July 19-24. A total of 25 teams were presented in Rouyn-Noranda as people from all over the region came out to encourage the riders, not only the regional IAMGOLD team, but also the racers of the Abitibi region selected to be on the Québec and Canada teams.

The best sprinters of each team put on a great show at the Challenge Sprint Abitibi, and in the end, Disera soloed in for the victory thanks to a surprise attack in the final. Abitibi racer, Charles-Étienne Chrétien of Team Canada, finished the race in fourth.

“After the start, near the end, I found myself in front of everyone. I thought that I could surprise them by attacking from the front, so I took the bull by the horns.  I succeeded in creating a nice gap before the curve. After that, I gave it everything,” said Disera, who recently claimed Junior Men’s XCO silver at the MTB Nationals, to the l’Echo Abitibi news.

 

“I was wondering if this really was the finale. When I saw my team coach raise his arms in the air, I could start to think it was,” said Disera with a smile. “I saw Charles-Étienne Chrétien (Team Canada) take my wheel when I attacked. But when I looked back and saw the distance I had in front of the chase group, I was surprised.”

The Ontario rider confided that he has no real ambition for the rest of the Tour. “It’s my first real road stage race. I am mainly here for the experience, but I am just coming off the MTB championships and I feel in shape,” added Disera.

According to Bruno Gauthier, technical director of the Tour de l’Abitibi, “We’ll have to see if certain teams have cards up their sleeves; Tuesday’s first stage will be the first test. Certain teams such as that of Japan or the United States could therefore surprise us.”

“We will also have to keep an eye on Team France this week as their sprinter, Lucas Grall, finished the Challenge Sprint in second position,” added Gauthier.

Tomorrow, the Agnico-Eagle Stage
The first stage of the Tour de l’Abitibi will take place on Tuesday, July 19. Racers will take off at the parc de la Cathédrale in Amos around 4:45 p.m., and will head towards Rouyn-Noranda through Preissac. The racers will finish the race off with three laps of the urban circuit for a total of 113.1 km. Racers will cross the finish line in front of the UQAT in Rouyn-Noranda around 7:20 p.m.

Start list here.

Results (brief)
1. Quinton Disera (Centurion Next Wave)
2. Lucas Grall (France)
3. Samuel Margolis (Young Medalists)
4. Charles-Étienne Chrétien (Canada)
5. Kurt Penno (Stingray Trek Lacasse)
6. Eugene Kakizaki (Japan)
7. Simon Ouellette (André Cycle Kaycan RDS)
8. Hamish Beadle (Novo Nordisk)