August 5, 2008 – Well, the cat’s finally out of the hat. Columbian climber Flober Pena Pena showed the rest of the pack what he’s capable of after hiding for four days. Today’s Stage 4 marked the entry in the real mountains. Not to say the initial stages had been over flat and easy roads, but today, and until Thursday, the Tour de la Guadeloupe enters three mountain stages.

Race photos here.

For us, with Cameron Evans in yellow, we had to bring him to the mountain safely – the climbing started after 90km. From the start, attacks would come from everywhere and that made our job really hard. Our tactic was to be very selective at to who we’d chase down and who we’d let go. With only four riders left on our team the job would be tough with that many days to go if we decided to try and totally control the race.

As expected, Pena Pena went to work very early as soon as the roads went up. After 20km, the selection was made and he was up the road with six other guys. Being 13 minutes behind on GC, we figured it would be ok to let him go early on the flatter roads. Unfortunately for us absolutely no other team, or rider, was willing to ride with us.

Ryan Belliveau had to do a lot of work in the first 40km before the first two KoMs. Unfortunately he had to pay the price and got dropped on those super steep climbs and had to ride home alone. Then André Tremblay took over, and with some help from Dustin MacBurnie, managed to get Cam to the foot of the climb with a gap of about 3:45 to the Pena Pena group. It was time for Dustin to take care of the climbs. He did very well helping Cam considerably as they dropped the gap on everyone but the eventual solo winner of the day, Pena Pena.

The Columbian flew over those mountains and gained another three minutes over the yellow jersey – slicing his deficit in half in one stage. “I was ready to give him three or four minutes today, but he earned seven. Every team ganged up on ours and would not work for us. They don’t seem to care if Pena Pena wins the Tour and steals a spot on the podium. Some of them lost a lot more time than we did by not riding. They all had interest to ride the flats with us, but I have yet to figure out all of the local tactics,” commented the Canadian team’s directeur sportif, Luc Arseneau.

So Evans now enjoys a lead of 4:38 but Pena Pena will be looking to change that over tomorrow’s Stage 5, also 120km long and goes over the toughest mountains on the island, the Mamelles.

On a side note, we were happy to be using our Giant and Shimano bottles today, along with our Gu products. Our mechanic, TJ Woodburn-Rogers was also very happy to find his tools (and clothes) at the Pointe-à-Pitre airport last night. Every thing had been held up at customs since Friday!

This project is made possible under the Centre’s Selection program, sponsored by Giant, Nelsons, Yakima, Croissant Soleil, Université de Moncton, Shimano and Gu. For this special project, we also want to send a special thank you for some very special donations which made it possible for us to get here:

– Terry Tomlin Sport Marketing
– Nick and Cory Jay
– Gavin Giles
– Mike’s Bike Shop (who also supplied TJ – Woodburn-Rogers as a mechanic)
– Velo NB
– Cycling PEI
– Bicycle NS

Results

1. Flobert Pena Pena (Col) Union Cycliste Capesterrienne 2:56:15
2. Andreï Medyannikov (Kaz) Matouba Rayon d’Argent 2:36
3. Jean-Claude Luce (Fra) Lynx Optique Eafit / UVN 5:16
4. Martin Haring (Svk) ZP Sport 6:15
5. Quentin Legrand (Fra) AS Police 6:37
6. Nelson Ismael Sanchez Jimenez (Dom) Matouba Rayon D’argent 6:49
7. Josef Palcak (Svk) ZP Sport 6:50
8. Serge Nipau (Fra) AS Police 7:01
9. Fremin Jérôme (Fra) Ste-Austreberthe Pavilly Barent 7:06
10. Martial Gene (Fra) Excelsior
11. Eddy Lembo (Fra) Espoir du Sud
12. Niv Libner (Isr) Tel-Aviv Cycling Club
13. Robert Glajza (Svk) ZP Sport
14. Philippe Palmiste (Pol) Lynx Optique Eafit / UVN
15. Timo Scholz (Ger) Italie
16. Clément Magne (Fra) AS Police
17. Valéry Derby (Fra) Union Cycliste Capesterrienne
18. Edwin Sanchez Anzola (Col) Union Cycliste Capesterrienne
19. Cameron Evans (Can) Centre Nal Cyclisme Atlantique
20. Adam Pierzga (Pol) Lynx Optique Eafit / UVN
21. Leonard O Grullon Garcia (Dom) AS Baie-Mahault
22. Maurizio Vandelli (Ita) Italie
23. Marechaux Régis (Fra) Digicel JCA
24. Holger Sievers (Ger) Italie
25. Frédéric Attaud (Fra) AS Baie-Mahault 7:52
26. Jean-Charles Arethus (Fra) Club Région Guadeloupe
27. Dustin Macburnie (Can) Centre Nal Cyclisme Atlantique
28. Jean-Louis Pheron (Fra) Excelsior
29. Juan Emilio Féliz Salvador (Dom) AS Baie-Mahault
30. Christophe Cospar (Fra) Orange
31. Marek Canecky (Svk) ZP Sport
32. Jean-Marc Dollin (Fra) Vélo Club Trois-Rivières
33. Frédéric Theobald (Fra) AS Baie-Mahault
34. Freddy Hamlet (Fra) Excelsior
35. Julien Barbier (Fra) Ste-Austreberthe Pavilly Barent 8:33
36. Giovani Rousseau (Fra) Orange
37. Blevinal Cédric (Fra) Orange
38. Damien Wojciechowski (Pol) Union Cycliste Capesterrienne
39. Pierre Theophile (Fra) Digicel JCA 10:03
40. Florent Gougeard (Fra) Ste-Austreberthe Pavilly Barent 10:04
41. Emrick Cornelie (Fra) Pédale du Centre
42. Miguel Cuirassier (Fra) Vélo Club Saintannais
43. Aitor Azpiazu (Isr) Tel-Aviv Cycling Club 10:26
44. Bernard Gene (Fra) Lynx Optique Eafit / UVN
45. Jean-Louis Varo (Fra) Union Cycliste du Moule
46. Ramothe Cédric (Fra) Club Région Guadeloupe
47. Adrien Gorand (Fra) Espoir du Sud 10:46
48. Cornelie Cédric (Fra) Pédale du Centre
49. André Tremblay (Can) Centre Nal Cyclisme Atlantique
50. Yarden Gazit (Isr) Tel-Aviv Cycling Club
51. Johan Baptiste (Fra) Vélo Club Saintannais
52. Romuald Claude Claudeon (Fra) Digicel JCA
53. Jean-Christophe Mergirie (Fra) Sélection Martinique
54. Rodrigue Lond As (Fra) Sélection Martinique
55. Lars Pria ROM Tel-Aviv Cycling Club 11:23
56. Jean-Francois Tabar (Fra) Sélection Martinique 11:30
57. Ruddy Jeremie (Fra) Union Cycliste Capesterrienne 12:07
58. Didier Dougaparshad (Fra) Vélo Club Saintannais
59. Emerick Jean -Jacques (Fra) AS Police
60. Julian Rammler (Ger) Italie
61. Arnaud Girard (Fra) Ste-Austreberthe Pavilly Barent
62. Patrice Perrot (Fra) Vélo Club Saintannais
63. Rony Rex (Fra) Rixxom РV̩lo Club Petit-Bourg
64. Alexandre Bosquain (Fra) Ste-Austreberthe Pavilly Barent
65. David Nagapin (Fra) Rixxom РV̩lo Club Petit-Bourg
66. Vidian Bordin (Fra) Union Cycliste Capesterrienne
67. Jean-Marie Marimoutou (Fra) Matouba Rayon d’Argent
68. Jean-Robert Manne (Fra) AS Police
69. Christophe Palie (Fra) Vélo Club Saintannais 12:41
70. Laurent C̩dric (Fra) Rixxom РV̩lo Club Petit-Bourg
71. Willy Belgio (Fra) Excelsior
72. Zachi Boygen (Isr) Tel-Aviv Cycling Club 13:27
73. Jonathan Louis (Fra) Club Région Guadeloupe 14:11
74. Amos Wolff (Isr) Tel-Aviv Cycling Club
75. Steven Mapolin (Fra) Pédale du Centre
76. Stéphane Rieux (Fra) Sélection Martinique
77. Mickaël Clarico (Fra) AS Police
78. Denis Permayie (Fra) Vélo Club Trois-Rivières
79. Aurélien Moyon (Fra) Espoir du Sud
80. Viktor Ulzen (Ger) Italie
81. Wilfrid Noyon (Fra) Union Cycliste du Moule
82. Fabrice Cornelie (Fra) Club Région Guadeloupe 14:52
83. William Bondot (Fra) Club Région Guadeloupe
84. Adrien Alidor (Fra) Orange
85. Ritchi Miatti (Fra) Orange
86. Steeve Promeneur (Fra) Matouba Rayon d’Argent
87. Cyril Narcisse Theophile (Fra) Digicel JCA
88. Luis Sablon (Fra) Union Cycliste du Moule
89. Miroslav Keliar (Svk) ZP Sport 17:26
90. Ruddy Clavier (Fra) Union Cycliste du Moule 17:36
91. Omer Ram Saha-Samlall (Fra) Union Cycliste du Moule
92. Alexandre Lami (Fra) Pédale du Centre 17:59
93. Hervé Antonides (Fra) Pédale du Centre
94. Yannick Claudeon (Fra) Excelsior 19:06
95. Yvan Boos (Fra) AS Baie-Mahault
96. Olivier Hebreu (Fra) Espoir du Sud 20:17
97. Martin Frano (Svk) ZP Sport 23:11
98. Jean-Daniel Damas (Fra) Rixxom РV̩lo Club Petit-Bourg 25:39
99. Sony Eleore (Fra) Lynx Optique Eafit / UVN 27:49
100. Huaca Hector Ruben Chiles (Ecu) Matouba Rayon d’Argent 32:04
101. Ryan Belliveau (Can) Centre Nal Cyclisme Atlantique 38:46
102. Sylvain Menerville (Fra) Rixxom РV̩lo Club Petit-Bourg 39:33
DNF Thierry Chateaubon (Fra) Vélo Club Saintannais
DNF Patrice Damo (Fra) Rixxom РV̩lo Club Petit-Bourg
DNF Louis Teplier (Fra) Excelsior
DNF Anthony Tissot (Fra) Espoir du Sud
DNF Richard Bethelmy (Fra) Espoir du Sud
DNF Kenny Darmyn (Fra) Union Cycliste du Moule
DNF Teddy Landre (Fra) Digicel JCA
DNF David Maire (Fra) Matouba Rayon d’Argent
DNF Didier Lake (Fra) Vélo Club Trois-Rivières
OTL Wilfrid Noyon (Fra) Union Cycliste du Moule
DNS Johan Baptiste (Fra) Vélo Club Saintannais

GC after Stage 4

1. Cameron Evans (Can) Centre Nal Cyclisme Atlantique 14:19:26
2. Martial Gene (Fra) Excelsior 4:37
3. Jean-Claude Luce (Fra) Lynx Optique Eafit / UVN 5:51
4. Flobert Pena Pena (Col) Union Cycliste Capesterrienne 6:12
5. Marechaux Régis (Fra) Digicel JCA 6:50
6. Andreï Medyannikov (Kaz) Matouba Rayon d’Argent 7:04
7. Leonard O Grullon Garcia (Dom) AS Baie-Mahault 8:49
8. Fremin Jérôme (Fra) Ste-Austreberthe Pavilly Barent 9:08
9. Nelson Ismael Sanchez Jimenez (Dom) Matouba Rayon D’argent 9:40
10. Eddy Lembo (Fra) Espoir du Sud 9:52
11. Valéry Derby (Fra) Union Cycliste Capesterrienne 9:56
12. Edwin Sanchez Anzola (Col) Union Cycliste Capesterrienne 10:03
13. Serge Nipau (Fra) AS Police 10:25
14. Freddy Hamlet (Fra) Excelsior 10:27
15. Frédéric Attaud (Fra) AS Baie-Mahault 10:32
16. Frédéric Theobald (Fra) AS Baie-Mahault 11:06
17. Philippe Palmiste (Pol) Lynx Optique Eafit / UVN 11:09
18. Christophe Cospar (Fra) Orange 12:35
19. Robert Glajza (Svk) ZP Sport 13:07
20. Florent Gougeard (Fra) Ste-Austreberthe Pavilly Barent 14:35
21. Josef Palcak (Svk) ZP Sport 15:19
22. Marek Canecky (Svk) ZP Sport 15:41
23. Adam Pierzga (Pol) Lynx Optique Eafit / UVN 15:56
24. Martin Haring (Svk) ZP Sport 16:02
25. Juan Emilio Féliz Salvador (Dom) AS Baie-Mahault 16:23
26. Dustin Macburnie (Can) Centre Nal Cyclisme Atlantique 16:58
27. Bernard Gene (Fra) Lynx Optique Eafit / UVN 17:17
28. Aurélien Moyon (Fra) Espoir du Sud 17:23
29. Jean-Marc Dollin (Fra) Vélo Club Trois-Rivières 17:54
30. Jean-Charles Arethus (Fra) Club Région Guadeloupe 19:21
31. Ramothe Cédric (Fra) Club Région Guadeloupe 19:28
32. Alexandre Bosquain (Fra) Ste-Austreberthe Pavilly Barent 19:37
33. Damien Wojciechowski (Pol) Union Cycliste Capesterrienne 19:50
34. Quentin Legrand (Fra) AS Police 19:51
35. André Tremblay (Can) Centre Nal Cyclisme Atlantique
36. Niv Libner (Isr) Tel-Aviv Cycling Club 20:30
37. Giovani Rousseau (Fra) Orange 21:41
38. Julian Rammler (Ger) Italie 22:06
39. Adrien Gorand (Fra) Espoir du Sud 22:30
40. Emrick Cornelie (Fra) Pédale du Centre 22:46
41. Mickaël Clarico (Fra) AS Police 22:55
42. Clément Magne (Fra) AS Police 23:05
43. Jean-Robert Manne (Fra) AS Police 23:26
44. Christophe Palie (Fra) Vélo Club Saintannais 23:27
45. Jean-Marie Marimoutou (Fra) Matouba Rayon d’Argent 23:38
46. Patrice Perrot (Fra) Vélo Club Saintannais 23:41
47. Jean-Louis Varo (Fra) Union Cycliste du Moule 23:54
48. Rodrigue Lond As (Fra) Sélection Martinique 24:04
49. Lars Pria ROM Tel-Aviv Cycling Club 24:18
50. Pierre Theophile (Fra) Digicel JCA 24:27
51. Timo Scholz (Ger) Italie 24:37
52. Cyril Narcisse Theophile (Fra) Digicel JCA 24:44
53. Holger Sievers (Ger) Italie 24:56
54. Rony Rex (Fra) Rixxom РV̩lo Club Petit-Bourg 25:49
55. Julien Barbier (Fra) Ste-Austreberthe Pavilly Barent 25:50
56. Jean-Louis Pheron (Fra) Excelsior 26:15
57. William Bondot (Fra) Club Région Guadeloupe 26:28
58. Vidian Bordin (Fra) Union Cycliste Capesterrienne 27:32
59. Luis Sablon (Fra) Union Cycliste du Moule 27:42
60. Emerick Jean -Jacques (Fra) AS Police 27:56
61. Blevinal Cédric (Fra) Orange 28:10
62. Ruddy Jeremie (Fra) Union Cycliste Capesterrienne 28:17
63. Arnaud Girard (Fra) Ste-Austreberthe Pavilly Barent 28:27
64. Johan Baptiste (Fra) Vélo Club Saintannais 29:16
65. Alexandre Lami (Fra) Pédale du Centre 29:20
66. Hervé Antonides (Fra) Pédale du Centre 29:38
67. Jean-Franois Tabar (Fra) Sélection Martinique 30:12
68. David Nagapin (Fra) Rixxom РV̩lo Club Petit-Bourg 30:34
69. Cornelie Cédric (Fra) Pédale du Centre 30:40
70. Didier Dougaparshad (Fra) Vélo Club Saintannais 31:00
71. Yarden Gazit (Isr) Tel-Aviv Cycling Club 32:04
72. Viktor Ulzen (Ger) Italie 32:14
73. Steeve Promeneur (Fra) Matouba Rayon d’Argent 32:41
74. Fabrice Cornelie (Fra) Club Région Guadeloupe 33:30
75. Zachi Boygen (Isr) Tel-Aviv Cycling Club 34:44
76. Amos Wolff (Isr) Tel-Aviv Cycling Club 35:06
77. Romuald Claude Claudeon (Fra) Digicel JCA 35:48
78. Laurent C̩dric (Fra) Rixxom РV̩lo Club Petit-Bourg 37:01
79. Huaca Hector Ruben Chiles (Ecu) Matouba Rayon d’Argent 42:12
80. Ritchi Miatti (Fra) Orange 42:29
81. Maurizio Vandelli (Ita) Italie 44:26
82. Aitor Azpiazu (Isr) Tel-Aviv Cycling Club 44:31
83. Sony Eleore (Fra) Lynx Optique Eafit / UVN 44:35
84. Olivier Hebreu (Fra) Espoir du Sud 44:47
85. Adrien Alidor (Fra) Orange 46:17
86. Jean-Daniel Damas (Fra) Rixxom РV̩lo Club Petit-Bourg 47:55
87. Ruddy Clavier (Fra) Union Cycliste du Moule 49:40
88. Jonathan Louis (Fra) Club Région Guadeloupe 49:51
89. Miguel Cuirassier (Fra) Vélo Club Saintannais 49:58
90. Miroslav Keliar (Svk) ZP Sport 50:47
91. Steven Mapolin (Fra) Pédale du Centre 51:18
92. Denis Permayie (Fra) Vélo Club Trois-Rivières 51:58
93. Jean-Christophe Mergirie (Fra) Sélection Martinique 53:31
94. Omer Ram Saha-Samlall (Fra) Union Cycliste du Moule 53:48
95. Yannick Claudeon (Fra) Excelsior 56:47
96. Willy Belgio (Fra) Excelsior 1:00:26
97. Yvan Boos (Fra) AS Baie-Mahault 1:03:26
98. Martin Frano (Svk) ZP Sport 1:05:23
99. Ryan Belliveau (Can) Centre Nal Cyclisme Atlantique 1:08:18
100. Stéphane Rieux (Fra) Sélection Martinique 1:28:24
101. Sylvain Menerville (Fra) Rixxom РV̩lo Club Petit-Bourg 1:36:17

Teams

1. Excelsior 42:05:45
2. Union Cycliste Capesterrienne 2:54
3. AS Baie-Mahault 10:25
4. Lynx Optique Eafit / UVN 10:55
5. Ste-Austreberthe Pavilly Barenti 13:47
6. Centre National Cyclisme Atlantique 18:49
7. Argent 20:02
8. ZP Sport 20:33
9. AS Police 21:58
10. Espoir du Sud 27:16
11. Digicel JCA 27:17
12. Orange 28:57
13. Vélo Club Saintannais 35:48
14. Club Région Guadeloupe 43:15
15. Italie 46:01
16. Pédale du Centre 46:50
17. Tel-Aviv Cycling Club 47:07
18. Union Cycliste du Moule 53:41
19. Sélection Martinique 58:21
20. Rixxom РV̩lo Club Petit-Bourg 1:04:32