Gesink, Voeckler win in Canadian races
The inaugural Canadian ProTour races were held over the weekend in the province of Quebec. The two one-day races, held on Friday in Quebec City and Sunday in Montreal, were the first ProTour races to be held in the Americas. Robert Gesink, for Team Rabobank, finished the first race on the podium and went on to a solo win in Sunday’s race, four seconds ahead of Peter Sagan and Canadian Ryder Hesjedal.
"This is the greatest victory so far in my career. It's my first win in a ProTour race and my first victory on a course like this. Above all though, I dug very deep,” said Gesink. “Five laps before the end, the race really got going. In the finale, we had to work hard, but the boys did very well. I felt good the whole time, but I had to stay quiet. It was hard to be patient again."
The races were a veritable who’s who of professional cycling. In the final nine kilometres, Gesink was chased by as little as eight seconds by a six-rider group including the podium finishers plus Edvald Boasson Hagan, Samuel Sanchez, Mauro Santambrogio, Haimar Zubeldia and Maxime Monfort.
"Robert was already too far ahead when it was time to sprint," said Sagan. "There were four or five in my group but I think it was pretty obvious that Robert had already won the race."
Boasson Hagen, the runner-up in Friday’s race, crashed 500m from the finish line, paving the way for Sagan’s second place. Hesjedal finished third, an improvement from his fourth-place finish in the first of the events.
"This weekend has been more than good and a real learning experience for me," said Hesjedal. "To have the honour of wearing the number one bib here, what can I say? I rode as best as I could. My team was amazing and helped to control the race. They left it all out there for me."
Friday’s race was won by Frenchman Thomas Voeckler and has left him with a boost of confidence which has him considering changing his plan to sit out the World Championships. He said that the atmosphere of the races was something he would like to see recreated at the Worlds, held in Geelong and Melbourne, Australia, and that the course in Quebec City is similar to that in Geelong, but more challenging.
"I don't want to make a decision right away after such a great victory but obviously this might change my feeling," said Voeckler. "I will discuss it with the French team coach, Laurent Jalabert, and see what he thinks."
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