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Race Results

Tour Of Montreal

Montreal, Canada

Stage 1     Stage 2    Stage 3    Stage 4  Final GC

80km

AMERICAN AMBER NEBEN WINS THE TOUR DU GRAND MONTRÉAL 

Terrebonne, Québec, June 4, 2003 – Neither Saturn nor RONA/Esker could take away the yellow jersey from T Mobile’s Amber Neben.  But it was not because they did not try.  At the end of the day, the general classification did not change – it was Neben, Lyne Bessette (Saturn) and Magali Le Floc’h (RONA/Esker), in that order.

 With Bessette and Le Floc’h lagging behind by 2 and 13 seconds respectively at the start of the fourth and last stage of the Tour du Grand Montréal, both teams came to Terrebonne with long teeth. 

 On a ten-km course offering merely one short hill to be climbed eight times, it was clear that time bonuses would be the key.  With a two-second deficit, Bessette had a real possibility to gain one place and win.  While Le Floc’h, with 13 seconds to gain, faced a very tall order and her chance to win seemed more theoretical – she had to win both hot spot sprints AND the stage if she wanted to have a shot at the yellow jersey.  Margin for error:  zero.  But the RONA/Eskers did try and the team supported the French champion.

Besides general classification, which exacerbated the rivalry between T Mobile, Saturn and RONA/Esker, many teams wanted the stage so they would not leave Montreal empty-handed.  So from start to finish, it was attack upon attack. 

 Jeanson, who was protecting her Queen of the Mountain jersey, won the first QOM sprint, and then started to work to lead out Le Floc’h to the first hot spot sprint.  The French champion won decisively and grabbed a three-second bonus.  But Neben placed second, reducing Le Floc’h’s net gain to one second. 

 T Mobile controlled the field perfectly and nobody could get out who wore RONA/Esker’s blue or Saturn’s yellow.  They merely let a few S.A.T.S and Basis Women’s take more than 7 or 8 seconds on the pack.  In the end, it was Lithuanian Diana Ziliute (Acca Due o Pasta) who managed to win the final sprint and the stage, in front of Regina Schleicher (German Nationals) and Australian Rochelle Gilmore (Ausra Gruodis-Safi).  It was not enough to change anything in general classification, and the list of leaders remained unchanged from yesterday. 

 Jeanson confirmed her green Queen of the Mountain jersey, and Ziliute won the points classification; Canadian Sue Palmer Komar earned the “best 35-years old or more” jersey.

 “We had a good Tour”, said Jeanson after the race. “The team did an awesome quantity and quality of work, and we have a lot to show for it:  two RONA/Eskers among the top five in G.C., two stage wins out of four, the mountain jersey, nothing to be ashamed of.  If you add our performance at the World Cup, we had an excellent week in Montreal, in fact much better than last year!” 

The race’s web site is at www.worldcupmontreal.org.

Fourth stage:  Terrebonne

Stage Rankings

Final General Classification

 Team RONA/Esker is one of only two Canadian women’s cycling teams in the Elite Category that are recognized by the International Cycling Union. The team is made up of four Canadian racers (Geneviève Jeanson, Andrea Hannos, Carrie Tuck and Erinne Willock), French racers Catherine Marsal and Magali Le Floc’h, New Zealander Melissa Holt, German Karen Bockel and American Kristen LaSasso.

 RONA is Canada’s leading hardware and home renovation retailer (www.rona.ca). Esker is a natural spring water from the north of Canada, sold in North America and Asia (www.eskerwater.com).

 The team also receives equipment and service sponsorships from many companies, including Colnago, Biemme, Shimano, Michelin, Mavic, Diadora, Limar, Selle Italia, ITM, Look, CatEye, Tacx, Finish Line, Cane Creek, Saris, Power Tap, Cycles Lambert and Club Médico-Sportif. 

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