July 13, 2003 (Grouse Mt, Vancouver, BC) – Roel Paulissen (Siemens/Cannondale) was one happy guy when he rolled across the finish line at Grouse Mountain for the last time today. After a long and grueling race, (a course described as one with no time for recovery) he won his first World Cup ever with thirty-five seconds to spare.
It was an exciting race at Grouse Mt., the weather started off quite mild, with rolling fog climbing over the mountain and a nice breeze in the air. The calm weather didnÃt stay long and halfway through the men's race the skies opened up and the rain came down. Out of 112 starters only 23 men survived the terrain, the course, and the weather to finish the race.
In second place was Jose Antonio Hermida (Motorex Bianchi) who worked with teammate Julien Absalon (FRA) for the majority of the race. In the end, Hermida broke away from Absalon in the final lap, opening up thirty seconds on his teammate.
Absalon's finish gave him enough points to move into the overall leaders jersey in the series. With one race left in the World Cup series, this rider is just fifty-five points ahead of recent leader Christoph Sauser, (SUI, Siemens/Cannondale) now in second place.
Canada's top rider was Ryder Hesjedal (Gary Fisher Subaru), rolling across the finish line in 4th place. After crashing twice, Hesjedal had a rough ride. Roland Green (Trek/Volkswagen) finished in 8th place.
Of the few riders that toughed out the race, a large percentage of them were Canadians. Besides Hesjedal and Green, there was Geoff Kabush (Kona/Clarks) in 10th, Chris Sheppard (Haro/Lee Dungarees) in 16th, Andreas Hestler (Rocky Mountain/Crystal Decisions) in 21st, and Peter Wedge (Kona/Clarks) in 23rd.
Next stop on the circuit is almost two months away in Kaprun, Austria this September. The overall results may still shift around with one event left. If Paulissen wins the final event, he could steal the overall leaders position and capture the series title.
Official Results1. Roel Paulissen (BEL, Siemens/Cannondale) 2:32:25
2. Jose Antonio Hermida (ESP, Motorex/Bianchi) 2:33:00
3. Julien Absalon (FRA, Motorex/Bianchi) 2:33:36
4. Ryder Hesjedal (CAN, Gary Fisher/Subaru) 2:35:48
5. Filip Meirhaeghe (BEL, Specialized MTB) 2:36:07
Other Canadians:
8. Roland Green (Trek Volkswagen) 2:39:00
10. Geoff Kabush (Kona-Clarks) 2:40:19
16. Chris Sheppard (Haro Lee Dungarees) 2:44:10
21. Andreas Hestler (Rocky Mountain-Crystal Decisions) 2:48:09
23. Peter Wedge (Kona Clarks) 2:54:15