July 21, 2009 (Val-d’Or, QC) – After having led a breakaway for almost 25km at the start of the race, Austria would finally win the first stage of the Tour de l’Abitibi/Coupe des Nations 2009. A young Abitibi rider by the name of Pierrick Naud, however, challenged for the honors right to the finish line.

In what can be qualified as a closely fought race, Austrian Marco Haller finished ahead of Pierrick Naud (Team Canada) and Mikael Bilodeau (Espoirs Saputo) in a time of 2 hours, 12 minutes and 28 seconds. Spectators were elated at the end of the 96.4km stage from Preissac to Val-d’Or as four riders from the province of Quebec finished among the top ten.

Austrian Stephan Rabitsch captured everyone’s attention right from the start. The 128 riders had barely crossed the 4km mark when Rabitsch took the lead. He had a 1 minute, 25 second lead over his compatriots after just 9 km. The exploit earned him the first “Grand Prix de la Montagne.“

Exhausted by the effort, Rabitsch was quickly reeled in by the peloton before he could reach Highway 117. The rest of the race saw a few, short attempts by riders from different countries to break from the pack. Three teams led the peloton for most of the remaining race. Denmark, Canada and Austria took turns in the lead.

A race that had unfolded without incident saw four riders crash as the peloton arrived in Val-d’Or. A second group of three riders also fell in the second lap of the urban circuit. Luckily, there were no major injuries.

The second stage of the Tour de l’Abitibi/Coupe des Nations 2009 will be held tomorrow. St-Mathieu-d’Harricana will be host to the start of the race, which will end in front of City Hall in Val-d’Or, 117 km later.

Full results here.
GC after Stage 1 here.

Results

1. Marco Haller (Autriche) 2:12:28
2. Pierrick Naud (Canada)
3. Mikael Bilodeau (Espoir Saputo)
4. Ty Magner (Florida Velo Devlopment)
5. Jordan Brochu (Équipe Québec)
6. Juan Carmona (Young Medalist Team)
7. Pierre-Étienne Boivin (Équipe Québec)
8. Ryan Eastman (USA National Team)
9. Ryan Aitsheson (Canada)
10. Stuart Wight (Canada)

Brown Jersey:
Marco Haller Autriche

Orange Jersey:
Pierrick Naud Canada

Blue Jersey:
Jean-Samuel Deshaies Équipe Québec