Lyne Bessette, riding for Team Québec,
today won the Canadian Bicycle Road Race Championship, in front of her
teammate Manon Jutras and Team RONA's Erinne Willock.
The Canadian Road Championship was
held in Kamloops, B.C. The race consisted of 12 laps of a 10-kilometre
course with one major climb. The climb operated an early selection in the
field, as Bessette, Jutras, Willock and Sue Palmer-Komar (Genesis Scuba)
dropped the rest of the pack on the very first climb. The rest of the field
quickly exploded and a chase group of six to eight racers formed behind the
four leaders.
In the fifth lap, Jutras launched an
attack and Bessette was the only one to respond. The pair distanced Willock
and Palmer-Komar, who stayed together for the remainder of the race. As the
two leaders climbed the hill for the 12th and last time of the day, Bessette
attacked and dropped Jutras and rode to victory. A few minutes later, it was
Willock's turn to attack Palmer-Komar in the climb and take the third step
on the podium.
" I'm happy with my race",
said Erinne Willock after the finish. "Lyne and Manon raced super hard
and there was nothing we could do against them today. Sue had a great race
as well, I sat on her wheel a good deal, and I'm not sure she gave it all
she could when I attacked her in the end", concluded RONA's youngest
rider.
WomensCycling.net