Race Results

Tour du Grand Montréal 2004

Tour of Greater Montréal 2004 

4 stages in 3 days, May 31st - June 2nd

Click here to go to other Stages >  Stage 1A  Stage 1B  Stage 3  

                                                        Stage Result     General Classification

Click here to read Team Rona's review of the stage

JUDITH ARNDT WINS THE STAGE 

AND TAKES THE YELLOW JERSEY

Petra Rossner transferred the yellow leader's jersey of the Tour of Greater Montreal on the shoulders of her Nurnberger-Versicherung teammate Judith Arndt today. Arndt won the 111-km stage in 3 hours, 36 minutes, 10 seconds at an average speed of 30.8 km/h. Norwegian Anita Valen finished second, in the same time as the winner, while Teodora Ruano Sanchon, of the Spanish National Team, took third place 2 seconds behind Arndt.

Thanks to the 10 seconds bonus that this victory earned her, Arndt now has a short 11 seconds advantage over T Mobile's Dede Demet Barry, who finished fourth in today's stage. Canadian Lyne Bessette (Quark) is third in general classification, 12 seconds down. Bessette finished the stage in semi-hypothermia 2 seconds behind Arndt. The race unfolded under a cold, often hard rain. Outside temperature was around 11-12° Celsius.

Today's course was tough, but it did not produce the expected time differences. Mostly rolling, it went three times up the hard Bourget hill, a 2-kilometre climb that gets steeper as the top gets nearer. But the hill did not explode the pack, which remained relatively quiet during most of the race.

Today's action came from a break that started at kilometre 37 and lasted for 70 kilometres. L'animation de la journée est venue d'une échappée au long cours lancée vers le 37ème kilomètre. In a relatively flat portion of the race a few kilometres after the first time up Bourget hill, Australian Alison Wright (Nobili Rubinetterie) declared the hostilities. Her fellow Australian from RONA, Helen Kelly, jumped on her wheel followed by Canadian Amy Moore (Quark). They quickly created a gap and then worked effectively together. The three teams represented in the break did not have to work. As for Nurnberger, down to three racers after Jessica Phillips did not start today, they could not afford to. So the peloton did not react.

The threesome's lead reached 2 minutes 40 seconds at one point. It started to erode when the leaders reached Bourget for the third time. Kelly and Wright started to fade and Moore left them behind. "I felt good today, I had good legs and I was comfortable climbing. It's always easier in a break, when you can pace your climb."

The peloton got to work in the last 20 kilometres, under the impulsion of Dede Demet Barry and her T Mobiles. Moore stayed away longer than her breakaway mates, but she still was reeled in 4 kilometres from the finish line.

So in spite of the course profile, it was gruppo compacto for the final stretch. Arndt attacked from the 200-metre line, on a long, ascending false flat. "The sort of profile where you have to go for an early sprint", said Arndt after the stage.

Tomorrow's stage, the last of the Tour, is 8 times around a 10-kilometre road circuit. Like the two previous years, it should finish in a massive sprint. So the final general classification will be a matter of bonus sprints.

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