July 22, 2007 (Val-d’Or, QC) – The final day of this year’s Tour de Abitibi featured a 54.6 km circuit race through the streets of Val d’Or, Quebec. Japan National team rider Kazushige Kuboki leaped from the field with two laps to go and benefiting from the hardwork of a teammate claimed Japan’s second win of the 2007 tour.

Today’s stage promised to be exciting as Taylor Phinney (USA National) and Tom David (New Zealand National) were only separated by four seconds overall. The winner of today’s stage stood to gain ten seconds, second place six seconds and third place four seconds. There were many different race scenarios that could have played out. For example if David placed in the top three, and Phinney was off the podium, David would have equaled Taylor Phinney’s GC time and due to the fact he’d won two stages and Phinney only one, David would take the brown jersey. The USA also had to watch Guilliaume Blais-Dufour (Equipe de Quebec) in third place, as he was only 14 seconds back. If he were to escape in a break and take the win, he was also capable to taking the overall win.

Knowing this, USA riders were consistently seen at front of the field and had riders in every break. Teams further down on the GC were aware that the US squad was not going to let any break with a Quebec or New Zealand rider get away, and knowing this they were quite active at the front.

Team Ontario, lower on GC but brimming with confidence after snagging the Best Climbers jersey yesterday, was one of the teams off the front. Team Ontario’s Evan Mundy was active with teammate Kyle Fry blocking at the front of the pack in order to help him stay away. Riders from IScorp, Andrecycle/IdCad, Major Moition and CIBC Wood Gundy were also quite aggressive throughout today’s stage.

With two laps to go and the USA national riders not allowing any break to stick, it looked as if today’s stage would end in a field sprint. Aware of this, Japan’s National riders pulled off an amazing piece of teamwork. Taking notice of the slightly slower pace as teams tusseled for position at the front, a Japanese rider launched an attack and was quickly bridged up to by his teammate.

Working together they quickly put 15 seconds into the field within a lap. Japan then launched Kazushige Kuboki to take the win. With no one break gaining more then ten seconds all day, it was really a testament to their teamwork and timing that Kuboki was able to roll across the finish line 26 seconds up on the field.

Jose Blonco (Major Motion) took a furiously contested field sprint for second with Guillaiume Blais-Dufour finishing third on the day. American rider Taylor Phinney rolled across the line in 12th place, secure in the knowledge that his team has successfully defended the Brown Jersey of overall best rider. Based on his results all week, Guillaume Boivin (Equipe de Quebec) easily took the points jersey and did not contest the sprint.

Yellow Jersey (overall winner) – Taylor Phinney (USA) USA National
Blue Jersey (best 1st year rider) – Taylor Phinney (USA) USA National
Orange Jersey (points) РGuillaume Boivin (Can) Qu̩bec
KoM – Devon Novakowski (Can) Ontario

Results

1. Kazushige Kuboki (JPN) Japon National 1:15:44
2. José Blonco (MEX) Major Motion 0:26
3. Guillaume Blais-Dufour (Can) Québec
4. Benjanmin Barsi-Rhyne (USA) Arizona Select
5. Jesper Asselman (NED) Hollande
6. Christophe Premont (BEL) Belgique VC Ardennes
7. Ricardo Cruz (USA) Major Motion
8. Simon Lambert-Lemay (Can) Québec
9. Grant Van Horn (USA) USA National
10. James Williamson (NZL) Nouvelle-Zélande National
11. Jarno Gmelich Beijling (NED) Hollande
12. Taylor Phinney (USA) USA National
13. Quentin Gougeon (FRA) France Pôle Espoirs
14. Martin Pirlet (BEL) Belgique VC Ardennes
15. François Chabot (Can) Garneau-Crocs-Ogilvy Renault
16. Weston Luzadder (USA) Iscorp Junior Cycling
17. Marc Allard (Can) Abitibi
18. Vincent Quirion (Can) Garneau-Crocs-Ogilvy Renault
19. Daniel Summerhill (USA) USA National
20. Benjamin King (USA) USA National
21. Guillaume Boivin (Can) Québec
22. Nicolas Chollet (FRA) France Pôle Espoirs
23. Jonathan Eijssens (NED) Hollande
24. Azamat Turaev (UZB) Ouzbékistan
25. Lawrence Warbasse (USA) Borah Development
26. Erik Meier (USA) Baraboo Sharks
27. Arnaud Papillon (Can) André Cycle/IdCad
28. Carter Jones (USA) USA National
29. Pierre-Yves Vromen (BEL) Belgique VC Ardennes
30. Garrett Mcleod (Can) Garneau-Crocs-Ogilvy Renault
31. Simon Gagnon-Brassard (Can) R̩gionnale Eva РDevinci
32. Simon Honour (NZL) Nouvelle-Zélande National
33. Rico Wientjes (NED) Hollande
34. Connor Sallee (USA) North East Regional
35. Nick Keller (USA) Arizona Select
36. Hugo Houle (Can) Québec
37. Thacker Reeves (USA) Hotel San Jose
38. Ismailjon Karimov (UZB) Ouzbékistan
39. Danny Finneran (USA) Major Motion
40. Scotty Tickemyer (USA) Major Motion
41. Spencer Smitheman (Can) Alberta
42. C̩drik Dion-Poitras (Can) R̩gionnale EVA РDevinci
43. Joseph Tokarski (USA) Hotel San Jose
44. Tom David (NZL) Nouvelle-Zélande National
45. David Boily (Can) Garneau-Crocs-Ogilvy Renault
46. William Garneau (Can) Québec
47. Nolan Froese (USA) Baraboo Sharks
48. Yuya Aoyama (JPN) Japon National
49. Lucien Pirotte (BEL) Belgique VC Ardennes
50. Kazuto Komaki (JPN) Japon High School
51. Alfredo Cruz (USA) Major Motion
52. Joey Rosskopf (USA) South Eastern Regional
53. Micah Herman (USA) South Central Development
54. Mac Brennan (USA) Borah Development
55. Masanori Noguchi (JPN) Japon High School
56. Harrison Harb (USA) North East Regional
57. Jun Shimizu (JPN) Japon High School
58. Wade Mangham (NZL) Nouvelle-Zélande National
59. Fran̤ois-Charles Malo (Can) R̩gionnale EVA РDevinci
60. Pier-Alexandre Marquette (Can) André Cycle/IdCad
61. Nicolas Lefrançois (Can) CIBC/Wood-Gundy
62. Chikayoshi Uoya (JPN) Japon High School
63. Dustin Andrews (Can) Alberta
64. Danny Zagay (Can) Abitibi
65. Oscar Clark (USA) South Eastern Regional
66. Thomas Devisscher (Can) CIBC/Wood-Gundy
67. Cody Campbell (Can) R̩gionnale EVA РDevinci
68. Eiichi Hirai (JPN) Japon High School
69. Christopher Allard (FRA) France Pôle Espoirs
70. Yannick Bédard (Can) CIBC/Wood-Gundy
71. Ryan Zupko (USA) Arizona Select
72. Devon Novakowski (Can) Ontario
73. Joseph Kukolla (USA) USA National
74. Christian Parrett (USA) South Eastern Regional
75. Ludovic Fleury (Can) Garneau-Crocs-Ogilvy Renault
76. Shunsuke Horiuchi (JPN) Japon National
77. Phillip Baxter (USA) South Eastern Regional
78. Kevin Young (USA) Borah Development
79. Jordan Marquet (BEL) Belgique VC Ardennes
80. Thomas Vaillant (FRA) France Pôle Espoirs
81. Dmitriy Melikov (UZB) Ouzbékistan
82. Dave Hackworthy (USA) Iscorp Junior Cycling
83. Tony Guinhut (FRA) France Pôle Espoirs
84. Michael Midlarsky (USA) Arizona Select
85. David Maltais (Can) R̩gionnale EVA РDevinci
86. Denis Chernukhin (UZB) Ouzbékistan
87. Evan Mundy (Can) Ontario
88. Jamie Riggs (Can) Ontario
89. Kyle Fry (Can) Ontario
90. Shotaro Iribe (JPN) Japon National
91. Cameron Lasky (USA) Arizona Select
92. James Dobson (NZL) Nouvelle-Zélande National
93. Stephen Housley (USA) South Eastern Regional
94. Christopher Dale (USA) South Eastern Regional
95. Brice Ward (USA) Arizona Select
96. Batthew Huseboe (USA) Iscorp Junior Cycling
97. Roland Dijkhuizen (NED) Hollande
98. Louis-Phillipe Leclerc (Can) CIBC/Wood-Gundy
99. Alex Hetherington (USA) South Central Development
100. Dominic Cantin (Can) Abitibi
101. Hayato Yoshida (JPN) Japon National
102. Hophra Gerard (BEL) Belgique VC Ardennes
103. Ryoma Nonaka (JPN) Japon National 1:06
104. Alex Wieseler (USA) Iscorp Junior Cycling 1:19
105. Jérôme Boucher (Can) André Cycle/IdCad 1:19
106. Gabriel Leboeuf (Can) CIBC/Wood-Gundy 6:52
107. Cody Hall (USA) Mid-South Development 6:52
108. Chris Hurst (USA) Baraboo Sharks 6:52
109. Reed Taylor (USA) Mid-South Development 6:52
110. Mitch Gantz (USA) Baraboo Sharks 6:52
111. Draye Redfern (USA) South Central Development 6:52
112. Logan Cornel (Can) Ontario 7:24
113. Antoine Matteau (Can) Garneau-Crocs-Ogilvy Renault 7:56
114. Travis Troxtell (USA) Hotel San Jose 7:56
115. Evan Bybee (USA) South Central Development 7:56
116. Anthony Olson (USA) Borah Development 7:56
117. Veilleux-Lessard (Can) Vincent CIBC/Wood-Gundy 7:56
118. Peter Mayrhofer (USA) Mid-South Development 7:56
119. Allen Morris (USA) Mid-South Development 7:56
120. Marco Cote (Can) Ontario 7:56
121. Michael Talley (USA) South Central Development 7:56
122. Frédérick Montplaisir (Can) Abitibi 7:56
123. Logan Von Bokel (USA) Borah Development 8:17
124. Tomohiro Toriumi (JPN) Japon High School 10:22
125. Graham Lang (USA) North East Regional 10:22
126. Kyle Cochran (USA) Mid-South Development 10:41
127. Taylor Kuphaldt (USA) Major Motion 11:58
128. Charlesalexandre Cloutier (Can) André Cycle/IdCad 12:04
129. Cedrick Bourgeois (Can) André Cycle/IdCad 12:04
130. Guillaume Dubois (Can) Abitibi 12:58
131. Travis Burandt (USA) Hotel San Jose 13:16
132. Carmi Schulman (USA) Hotel San Jose 13:16
133. Lenny Dion (Can) R̩gionnale EVA РDevinci 14:16
134. James Mollison (Can) Alberta 14:16
135. John Caldwell (USA) Iscorp Junior Cycling 14:16
136. Ryan Bibko (USA) Mid-South Development 14:16
137. Sherwood Plant (Can) Alberta 14:16
138. Lloyd Sutton (USA) Borah Development 18:28
139. Ryan Crawford (Can) Abitibi 30:39:00
DNF Brett Jacoby (USA) Iscorp Junior Cycling
DNF Joshua Brown (NZL) Nouvelle-Zélande National
DNF Nikita Abramov (UZB) Ouzbékistan

Final GC

1. Taylor Phinney (USA) USA National 11:30:05
2. Tom David (NZL) Nouvelle-Zélande National 0:04
3. Guillaume Blais-Dufour (Can) Québec 0:10
4. Guillaume Boivin (Can) Québec 0:24
5. Benjamin King (USA) USA National 0:33
6. Nolan Froese (USA) Baraboo Sharks 0:51
7. François Chabot (Can) Garneau-Crocs-Ogilvy Renault 0:54
8. Garrett Mcleod (Can) Garneau-Crocs-Ogilvy Renault 0:54
9. Daniel Summerhill (USA) USA National 0:58
10. James Williamson (NZL) Nouvelle-Zélande National 1:02
11. Simon Lambert-Lemay (Can) Québec 1:14
12. Christian Parrett (USA) South Eastern Regional 1:30
13. Wade Mangham (NZL) Nouvelle-Zélande National 1:31
14. Grant Van Horn (USA) USA National 1:34
15. Simon Honour (NZL) Nouvelle-Zélande National 1:41
16. Lawrence Warbasse (USA) Borah Development 1:42
17. Vincent Quirion (Can) Garneau-Crocs-Ogilvy Renault 1:47
18. Jarno Gmelich Beijling (NED) Hollande 1:49
19. Kazushige Kuboki (JPN) Japon National 1:50
20. Danny Finneran (USA) Major Motion 1:50
21. Cody Campbell (Can) R̩gionnale EVA РDevinci 1:53
22. Hugo Houle (Can) Québec 1:53
23. Jesper Asselman (NED) Hollande 1:55
24. William Garneau (Can) Québec 1:56
25. Ricardo Cruz (USA) Major Motion 2:03
26. Ryan Zupko (USA) Arizona Select 2:04
27. Spencer Smitheman (Can) Alberta 2:04
28. Alfredo Cruz (USA) Major Motion 2:05
29. Joseph Kukolla (USA) USA National 2:07
30. Arnaud Papillon (Can) André Cycle/IdCad 2:08
31. Carter Jones (USA) USA National 2:09
32. David Boily (Can) Garneau-Crocs-Ogilvy Renault 2:11
33. Joey Rosskopf (USA) South Eastern Regional 2:11
34. Quentin Gougeon (FRA) France Pôle Espoirs 2:13
35. Hayato Yoshida (JPN) Japon National 2:24
36. Tony Guinhut (FRA) France Pôle Espoirs 2:27
37. Azamat Turaev (UZB) Ouzbékistan 2:29
38. Stephen Housley (USA) South Eastern Regional 2:32
39. James Dobson (NZL) Nouvelle-Zélande National 2:36
40. Shotaro Iribe (JPN) Japon National 2:44
41. Thomas Devisscher (Can) CIBC/Wood-Gundy 2:44
42. Joseph Tokarski (USA) Hotel San Jose 2:46
43. Christophe Premont (BEL) Belgique VC Ardennes 2:49
44. Hophra Gerard (BEL) Belgique VC Ardennes 2:51
45. José Blonco (MEX) Major Motion 2:52
46. Thacker Reeves (USA) Hotel San Jose 2:57
47. Weston Luzadder (USA) Iscorp Junior Cycling 3:08
48. Shunsuke Horiuchi (JPN) Japon National 3:09
49. Rico Wientjes (NED) Hollande 3:12
50. Nicolas Chollet (FRA) France Pôle Espoirs 3:12
51. Scotty Tickemyer (USA) Major Motion 3:20
52. Thomas Vaillant (FRA) France Pôle Espoirs 3:27
53. Evan Mundy (Can) Ontario 3:28
54. Fran̤ois-Charles Malo (Can) R̩gionnale EVA РDevinci 3:28
55. Michael Midlarsky (USA) Arizona Select 3:35
56. Batthew Huseboe (USA) Iscorp Junior Cycling 3:42
57. Oscar Clark (USA) South Eastern Regional 3:42
58. Christopher Allard (FRA) France Pôle Espoirs 3:43
59. Dustin Andrews (Can) Alberta 3:46
60. David Maltais (Can) R̩gionnale EVA РDevinci 3:51
61. Micah Herman (USA) South Central Development 4:26
62. Yannick Bédard (Can) CIBC/Wood-Gundy 4:25
63. Yuya Aoyama (JPN) Japon National 4:26
64. Connor Sallee (USA) North East Regional 4:28
65. Masanori Noguchi (JPN) Japon High School 4:37
66. Jun Shimizu (JPN) Japon High School 4:42
67. Pierre-Yves Vromen (BEL) Belgique VC Ardennes 4:45
68. Ryoma Nonaka (JPN) Japon National 4:47
69. Ludovic Fleury (Can) Garneau-Crocs-Ogilvy Renault 4:55
70. Marc Allard (Can) Abitibi 4:56
71. Erik Meier (USA) Baraboo Sharks 5:05
72. Martin Pirlet (BEL) Belgique VC Ardennes 5:28
73. Harrison Harb (USA) North East Regional 5:53
74. Kazuto Komaki (JPN) Japon High School 6:02
75. Jonathan Eijssens (NED) Hollande 6:05
76. C̩drik Dion-Poitras (Can) R̩gionnale EVA РDevinci 6:10
77. Simon Gagnon-Brassard (Can) R̩gionnale EVA РDevinci 6:45
78. Denis Chernukhin (UZB) Ouzbékistan 7:36
79. Jamie Riggs (Can) Ontario 8:13
80. Lucien Pirotte (BEL) Belgique VC Ardennes 8:26
81. Dave Hackworthy (USA) Iscorp Junior Cycling 8:46
82. Antoine Matteau (Can) Garneau-Crocs-Ogilvy Renault 9:34
83. Eiichi Hirai (JPN) Japon High School 10:33
84. Nicolas Lefrançois (Can) CIBC/Wood-Gundy 11:25
85. Brice Ward (USA) Arizona Select 13:37
86. Nick Keller (USA) Arizona Select 13:46
87. Alex Hetherington (USA) South Central Development 13:53
88. Chikayoshi Uoya (JPN) Japon High School 13:56
89. Travis Burandt (USA) Hotel San Jose 14:11
90. Kevin Young (USA) Borah Development 14:51
91. Christopher Dale (USA) South Eastern Regional 15:09
92. Danny Zagay (Can) Abitibi 15:43
93. Reed Taylor (USA) Mid-South Development 16:39
94. Phillip Baxter (USA) South Eastern Regional 17:00
95. Dmitriy Melikov (UZB) Ouzbékistan 18:07
96. Graham Lang (USA) North East Regional 18:21
97. Dominic Cantin (Can) Abitibi 18:41
98. Cameron Lasky (USA) Arizona Select 18:48
99. Roland Dijkhuizen (NED) Hollande 19:50
100. Peter Mayrhofer (USA) Mid-South Development 20:13
101. Kyle Fry (Can) Ontario 20:45
102. Draye Redfern (USA) South Central Development 21:09
103. Chris Hurst (USA) Baraboo Sharks 21:21
104. Mac Brennan (USA) Borah Development 21:22
105. Benjanmin Barsi-Rhyne (USA) Arizona Select 22:26
106. Carmi Schulman (USA) Hotel San Jose 22:27
107. Gabriel Leboeuf (Can) CIBC/Wood-Gundy 22:34
108. Ismailjon Karimov (UZB) Ouzbékistan 22:36
109. Evan Bybee (USA) South Central Development 23:36
110. Vincent Veilleux-Lessard (Can) CIBC/Wood-Gundy 23:38
111. Michael Talley (USA) South Central Development 24:24:00
112. Jérôme Boucher (Can) André Cycle/IdCad 25:12:00
113. Frédérick Montplaisir (Can) Abitibi 26:23:00
114. Devon Novakowski (Can) Ontario 26:44:00
115. Marco Cote (Can) Ontario 26:44:00
116. Louis-Phillipe Leclerc (Can) CIBC/Wood-Gundy 29:16:00
117. Mitch Gantz (USA) Baraboo Sharks 29:30:00
118. Alex Wieseler (USA) Iscorp Junior Cycling 30:01:00
119. Cedrick Bourgeois (Can) André Cycle/IdCad 32:19:00
120. Travis Troxtell (USA) Hotel San Jose 33:32:00
121. Jordan Marquet (BEL) Belgique VC Ardennes 38:25:00
122. Taylor Kuphaldt (USA) Major Motion 39:51:00
123. Anthony Olson (USA) Borah Development 40:32:00
124. Logan Von Bokel (USA) Borah Development 40:34:00
125. Cody Hall (USA) Mid-South Development 40:50:00
126. Kyle Cochran (USA) Mid-South Development 43:10:00
127. Ryan Bibko (USA) Mid-South Development 44:07:00
128. Logan Cornel (Can) Ontario 46:58:00
129. Charlesalexandre Cloutier (Can) André Cycle/IdCad 47:33:00
130. John Caldwell (USA) Iscorp Junior Cycling 49:10:00
131. Sherwood Plant (Can) Alberta 49:28:00
132. Pier-Alexandre Marquette (Can) André Cycle/IdCad 52:10:00
133. Allen Morris (USA) Mid-South Development 52:40:00
134. Lenny Dion (Can) R̩gionnale EVA РDevinci 7:13
135. James Mollison (Can) Alberta 8:10
136. Tomohiro Toriumi (JPN) Japon High School 10:43
137. Ryan Crawford (Can) Abitibi 10:56
138. Guillaume Dubois (Can) Abitibi 20:58
139. Lloyd Sutton (USA) Borah Development 38:28:00