June 16, 2013 (St-Georges, QC) – After an exciting sixth stage that was very animated, Nathan Brown (USA) of Bontrager Cycling Team took the top honours at the 28th edition of the Tour de Beauce, a premier cycling stage race in Canada.

Brown’s winning move came on the sixth lap, as he joined a three-rider chase towards the main break of the day, along with Christian Meier of the Canadian National team and Philip Deignan (USA) of UnitedHealthCare. Francisco Mancebo Perez (Esp) 5 Hour Energy p/b Kenda, who was wearing the yellow jersey to start today’s race, did not make the jump with this chase group.

The Bontrager Cycling Team rider finished the six-day stage race on top of the standings with a margin of 36 seconds over Deignan in second and 44 seconds ahead of Meier in third.

“Meier attacked, I followed and Mancebo had no teammates left. When I crossed, Mancebo had no reaction. I told myself ‘Wow, this can’t be true,” said Brown after the race. “In the break, the guys were working really well together. Near the end, I knew this could happen. I gave it everything I had and it paid off.”

“Coming to the final three kilometres, all I was thinking about was to stay safe. The guys hit it at 500m to go, and I just rode it in as I had enough time. It’s so amazing to win. The team rode great all week, and to finish it off for them, it’s a great feeling.”

Brown became a solid contender for the General Classification after the fourth stage, a time trial race where he came third.

In the final stage on Sunday, Diego Jimenez of Team Inteja Domincan Republic was victorious crossing the finish line in the final sprint after 107km of racing in the streets of St-Georges, host city of the Tour de Beauce. Luis Romero Amaran of Jamis Hagens Berman came second and Lucas Euser of UnitedHealthcare was third.

Among the Canadian riders, Meier of the National Team excelled throughout the week, finishing third overall. He also finished third overall last year. Ontario’s Michael Woods of Garneau-Quebecor also impressed on his second experience in Beauce, finishing ninth overall after six days of racing.

“Originally we thought we’d focus more on the stage win today. It turned out that the race proved more aggressive than anticipated, mostly because of the UnitedHealthcare guys,” said Meier. “I had Nic Hamilton with me in the break and he rode all out. The guys going for the GC were fully committed to the breakaway. It was fantastic – another hard day.”

Canadian riders will now remain in the Beauce region this week as the 2013 Canadian Road Championships get underway on June 20 in St-Georges, an event also organized by Corporation du Grand Prix cycliste de Beauce.

The Tour de Beauce is an annual event of international scope that is made possible thanks to over 500 volunteers throughout the week. The Tour de Beauce is more than a bike race, it’s a festival in St-Georges which features several activities downtown, including the Festitour and the Défi Desjardins.

Full results HERE.