May 21, 2006 РJos̩e Robitaille, head coach of team Volkswagen-Trek, is currently in New Jersey at the Challenge Can-Am U19 with four Junior riders and sent this report.

Guillaume Blais Dufour Wins in New-Jersey

“The peloton had roughly fifty strong Junior riders, which made the race interesting for all. Yesterday morning, Stage 1 was an uphill 7.2 km Time Trial on a sinewy but wonderful course in Sunrise Park. The Volkswagen-Trek boys did a solid job of racing – Guillaume Blais Dufour placed 8th, Marc Allard was 13th, Stéphane Cossette was 15th, and Thomas Fortin placed 21st.

Stage 2 was held in the afternoon on the same day, a criterium consisting of 800 metres each lap with four turns and a chicane. Our main plan was to ensure our overall victory! The guys were very active participating in several break-aways. Finally, the break-away that Guillaume initiated with 15 laps to go was the one that stuck. Five other riders were with him, and with one lap to go Guillaume decided not to wait until the final sprint to attack – he accelerated off the front.

The others riders tried to catch him, but were unable to keep up, considering the strength of the acceleration as well as the strong head wind on the course. Guillaume crossed the line solo for the win with a lead of several seconds.

Behind Marc Allard gave teammate Stéphane Cossette a lead out so he could win the pack sprint. As a result, we have our first Junior team victory in the USA!

On Sunday, there is a road race in the afternoon – based on points rather than a time – so we’ll be able to see we can assure ourselves of an overall win in the General Classification.