July 16, 2007 (Val d’Or Quebec) — It might have been the equipment choice or it may have been have been his good genes. Either way, Taylor Phinney (USA National Team) left little doubt in peoples’ mind as to his strength coming into the first stage of the 39th edition of the Tour De L’Abitibi.

Today’s first stage was a 400m head-to-head sprint down the main street of Val d’Or, Quebec. Riders rolled down the steep start ramp to the cheers of fans and gave it their all as they dashed towards the line. Many riders rolled around the starting area wondering what gear their competitors were starting in or what pressure they should put in their tires. Over the short span of 400 metres the tiniest of errors or advantages is magnified, so every little detail counts.

Most competitors chose their normal road bike and some chose to augment this with an aero helmet. The US national team noticeably differed in that they chose to ride their time trial bikes. Team Director Barney King remarked that the riders who did well last year, did well on time trial bikes so that’s what he had his riders use, “If they know how to ride it, they’ll go faster,” he commented.

With junior riders restricted to a top gear of 52-14, most competitors were spinning out by the time they were halfway down the course. Phinney noted that by riding his time trial bike he was able to get up to speed while standing then once seated he could shift down to his harder gears and spin faster. His aero advantage was significant enough to put a full second into second place finisher Guillaume Boivin of Team Quebec. To put this in perspective, 2nd through 10th place were separated by just over a second.

Phinney, who hails from Boulder, Colorado is in just his third year of racing, and already has had some solid results amassing 23 wins in his first year of racing. However many readers will likely recognize his name as his parents are Davis Phinney (Tour de France stage winner in 1986) and Connie Carpenter-Phinney (gold medalist in the road race at the 1984 Olympics).

Mechanics had to be on their game preparing their riders’ bikes as a 400-metre sprint places a lot of strain on the drivetrain. Many competitors attempting to shift under the heavy load created by sprinting saw their chains fly off into their spokes or frame. Several riders were forced to run across the line with their bikes after shearing the derailleur from the frame.

Evan Mundy (Team Ontario) was happy to learn of his eventual 8th place finish but was quick to note that knocking his pedal on the starting ramp may have cost him a top-five finish, as less then 3/10ths of a second separated 5th place from 10th. Guillaume Boivin (Equipe de Quebec) was happy with his second place result but added, “It is a great show and people love to see the sprints, but it doesn’t mean much when it comes to the GC.”

Riders will have a chance to improve on their GC position on Tuesday, a double-stage day – in the morning riders will contest a 114km road stage from Rouyn-Noranda to Val-d’Or, and in the afternoon they’ll tackle an 8.6 km team time trail around the streets of Val-d’Or.

Results

1. Taylor Phinney (USA) USA National 26.350
2. Guillaume Boivin (Can) Québec 0.860
3. Tony Guinhut (Fra) France Pôle Espoirs 0.900
4. François Chabot (Can) Garneau-Crocs-Ogilvy Renault 1.290
5. Guillaume Blais-Dufour (Can) Québec 1.370
6. Arnaud Papillon (Can) André Cycle/IdCad 1.430
7. Nicolas Chollet (Fra) France Pôle Espoirs 1.510
8. Simon Honour (NZl) Nouvelle-Zélande National 1.530
9. Evan Mundy (Can) Ontario 1.540
10. Alex Wieseler (USA) Iscorp Junior Cycling 1.660
11. Hayato Yoshida (Jpn) Japan National 1.660
12. James Williamson (NZl) Nouvelle-Zélande National 1.700
13. Guillaume Dubois (Can) Abitibi 1.770
14. José Blonco (USA) Major Motion 1.800
15. Daniel Summerhill (USA) USA National 1.850
16. Danny Finneran (USA) Major Motion 1.880
17. François-Charles Malo (Can) Régionnale EVA-Devinci 1.900
18. Garrett McLeod (Can) Garneau-Crocs-Ogilvy Renault 1.970
19. Simon Lambert-Lemay (Can) Québec 1.990
20. Scotty Tickemyer (USA) Major Motion 2.060
21. Quentin Gougeon (Fra) France Pôle Espoirs 2.090
22. Quentin Desman (Fra) France Pôle Espoirs 2.120
23. Weston Luzadder (USA) Iscorp Junior Cycling 2.1300
24. Cedrick Bourgeois (Can) André Cycle/IdCad 2.140
25. Logan Cornel (Can) Ontario 2.140
26. Vincent Quirion (Can) Garneau-Crocs-Ogilvy Renault 2.170
27. Simon Gagnon-Brassard (Can) Régionnale EVA-Devinci 2.190
28. Michael Talley (USA) SouthCentral Development 2.200
29. Sherwood Plant (Can) Alberta 2.270
30. Filip Capala (USA) North East Regional (USA) 2.280
31. Ricardo Cruz (USA) Major Motion 2.290
32. Wade Mangham (NZl) Nouvelle-Zélande National 2.290
33. Joseph Kukolla (USA) USA National 2.310
34. Peter Mayrhofer (USA) Mid-South Development 2.340
35. Connor Sallee (USA) North East Regional (USA) 2.340
36. Hugo Houle (Can) Québec 2.340
37. Christophe Premont (Bel) Belgique VC Ardennes 2.360
38. Devon Novakowski (Can) Ontario 2.370
39. Thomas Vaillant (Fra) France Pôle Espoirs 2.380
40. Benjamin Barsi-Rhyne (USA) Arizona Select 2.390
41. Jamie Riggs (Can) Ontario 2.420
42. Tom David (NZl) Nouvelle-Zélande National 2.440
43. Marc Allard (Can) Abitibi 2.480
44. Maik Wensink (Ned) Hollande 2.490
45. Pier-Alexandre Marquette (Can) André Cycle/IdCad 2.500
46. Brett Jacoby (USA) Iscorp Junior Cycling 2.510
47. Spencer Smitheman (Can) Alberta 2.520
48. Jonathan Eijssens (Ned) Hollande 2.550
49. Travis Troxtell (USA) Hotel San Jose 2.560
50. Alfredo Cruz (USA) Major Motion 2.610
51. Hophra Gerard (Bel) Belgique VC Ardennes 2.650
52. Rico Wientjes (Ned) Hollande 2.670
53. Stephen Housley (USA) SouthEastrn Regional 2.680
54. Ryan Crawford (Can) Abitibi 2.720
55. Chris Hurst (USA) Baraboo Sharks 2.720
56. Chikayoshi Uoya (Jpn) Japan High School 2.740
57. Antoine Matteau (Can) Garneau-Crocs-Ogilvy Renault 2.750
58. Joseph Tokarski (USA) Hotel San Jose 2.750
59. Dave Hackworthy (USA) Iscorp Junior Cycling 2.750
60. Neal Gregory (Can) Alberta 2.770
61. Phillip Baxter (USA) SouthEastrn Regional 2.770
62. Marc Dugas (Can) André Cycle/IdCad 2.780
63. David Boily (Can) Garneau-Crocs-Ogilvy Renault 2.800
64. Azamat Turaev (Uzb) Ouzbékistan 2.800
65. Roland Dijkhuizen (Ned) Hollande 2.870
66. Joshua Brown (NZl) Nouvelle-Zélande National 2.880
67. Jérôme Boucher (Can) André Cycle/IdCad 2.890
68. Evan Bybee (USA) SouthCentral Development 2.910
69. Dustin Andrews (Can) Alberta 2.920
70. David Maltais (Can) Régionnale EVA-Devinci 2.940
71. Nick Keller (USA) Arizona Select 2.950
72. Jarno Gmelich Beijling (Ned) Hollande 2.950
73. Masanori Noguchi (Jpn) Japan High School 2.960
74. Pierre-Yves Vromen (Bel) Belgique VC Ardennes 2.990
75. Reed Taylor (USA) Mid-South Development 2.990
76. Lenny Dion (Can) Régionnale EVA-Devinci 3.010
77. Ludovic Fleury (Can) Garneau-Crocs-Ogilvy Renault 3.010
78. James Dobson (NZl) Nouvelle-Zélande National 3.050
79. Marco Cote (Can) Ontario 3.090
80. Dominic Cantin (Can) Abitibi 3.100
81. Christopher Dale (USA) SouthEastrn Regional 3.160
82. Logan Von Bokel (USA) Borah Development 3.220
83. Harrison Harb (USA) North East Regional (USA) 3.230
84. Nolan Froese (USA) Baraboo Sharks 3.240
85. Graham Lang (USA) North East Regional (USA) 3.240
86. Ryan Zupko (USA) Arizona Select 3.340
87. Shunsuke Horiuchi (Jpn) Japan National 3.350
88. Thomas Devisscher (Can) CIBC/Wood-Gundy 3.360
89. Jesper Asselman (Ned) Hollande 3.360
90. Carter Jones (USA) USA National 3.370
91. Draye Redfern (USA) SouthCentral Development 3.390
92. Carmi Schulman (USA) Hotel San Jose 3.400
93. Mitch Gantz (USA) Baraboo Sharks 3.450
94. Cédrik Dion-Poitras (Can) Régionnale EVA-Devinci 3.450
95. Oscar Clark (USA) SouthEastrn Regional 3.450
96. Michael Midlarsky (USA) Arizona Select 3.490
97. Gabriel Leboeuf (Can) CIBC/Wood-Gundy 3.490
98. CharlesAlexandre Cloutier (Can) André Cycle/IdCad 3.500
99. Nikita Abramov (Uzb) Ouzbékistan 3.530
100. Nicolas Lefrançois (Can) CIBC/Wood-Gundy 3.540
101. Yannick Bédard (Can) CIBC/Wood-Gundy 3.560
102. Batthew Huseboe (USA) Iscorp Junior Cycling 3.570
103. John Caldwell (USA) Iscorp Junior Cycling 3.630
104. Jordan Marquet (Bel) Belgique VC Ardennes 3.640
105. Cody Hall (USA) Mid-South Development 3.680
106. Christopher Allard (Fra) France Pôle Espoirs 3.700
107. Alex Hetherington (USA) SouthCentral Development 3.700
108. Travis Burandt (USA) Hotel San Jose 3.720
109. Micah Herman (USA) SouthCentral Development 3.760
110. Cody Campbell (Can) Régionnale EVA-Devinci 3.860
111. Kazushige Kuboki (Jpn) Japan National 3.870
112. Ryan Mimko (USA) Mid-South Development 3.880
113. Louis-Phillipe Leclerc (Can) CIBC/Wood-Gundy 3.890
114. Robert Schmidt (USA) North East Regional (USA) 3.890
115. Yuya Aoyama (Jpn) Japan National 3.910
116. Shotaro Iribe (Jpn) Japan National 3.960
117. Allen Morris (USA) Mid-South Development 3.980
118. Jun Shimizu (Jpn) Japan High School 4.000
119. James Mollison (Can) Alberta 4.010
120. Thacker Reeves (USA) Hotel San Jose 4.010
121. Joey Rosskopf (USA) SouthEastrn Regional 4.030
122. Taylor Kuphaldt (USA) Major Motion 4.040
123. Stéphane Cossette (Can) Québec 4.040
124. Mac Brennan (USA) Borah Development 4.070
125. Dmitriy Melikov (Uzb) Ouzbékistan 4.070
126. Ryoma Nonaka (Jpn) Japan National 4.240
127. Kevin Young (USA) Borah Development 4.250
128. Ismailjon Karimov (Uzb) Ouzbékistan 4.290
129. Cameron Lasky (USA) Arizona Select 4.320
130. Peter Smith (USA) Baraboo Sharks 4.370
131. Eiichi Hirai (Jpn) Japan High School 4.420
132. Jannes Wessels (Can) Alberta 4.430
133. Lucien Pirotte (Bel) Belgique VC Ardennes 4.430
134. Martin Pirlet (Bel) Belgique VC Ardennes 4.440
135. Tomohiro Toriumi (Jpn) Japan High School 4.500
136. Denis Chernukhin (Uzb) Ouzbékistan 4.620
137. Christian Parrett (USA) SouthEastrn Regional 4.810
138. Vincent Veilleux-Lessard (Can) CIBC/Wood-Gundy 4.850
139. Kyle Fry (Can) Ontario 4.910
140. Kazuto Komaki (Jpn) Japan High School 5.020
141. Lawrence Warbasse (USA) Borah Development 5.060
142. Frédérick Montplaisir (Can) Abitibi 5.070
143. Lloyd Sutton (USA) Borah Development 5.120
144. Lewis Almonte (USA) North East Regional (USA) 5.260
145. Jean-Paul Leclair (USA) SouthCentral Development 5.440
146. Kyle Cochran (USA) Mid-South Development 5.980
147. Jordan Hester (USA) Hotel San Jose 6.110
148. Jeff Rudy (USA) Baraboo Sharks 8.690
149. Anthony Olson (USA) Borah Development 8.820
150. Danny Zagay (Can) Abitibi 14.290
151. Brice Ward (USA) Arizona Select 23.080
152. William Garneau (Can) Québec 25.010
153. Benjamin King (USA) USA National 38.450
154. Erik Meier (USA) Baraboo Sharks 42.370
155. Grant Van Horn (USA) USA National 48.100