08.11.10 - Arnaud Papillon flirted with victory in Namur

Montreal, Aug. 11, 2010 (Sportcom) - Arnaud Papillon (Canadian team) finished third in the fifth and final stage of the Tour de Namur on Wednesday, in Belgium. The Longueuil cyclist completed the race with the same time as the winner, Dutchman Diermen Jaron Van (Van Hemert Groep-De Jonge Renner) after 153 km of the stage contested between Ciney and Namur.

Hugo Houle (Canadian team) finished 56th in the main pack, while Michael Joannisse (Canadian team) finished 127th (12 min 03 s).

The Belgian Edwig Cammaerts (Bodysol-Lotto) won the Tour, while Papillon, 24th (42 s) was the top Canadian. Houle (1 min 58 s) finished 35th rank while Joanisse (32 min 06 s) was 101st. Simon Lambert-Lemay fell earlier in the Tour and was not able to go back on the saddle.

"The final was a hill and the eventual winner pulled up front with 500 meters to go," said Papillon, Canadian champion in the U23 category. "We tried to react immediately, but got a bit stuck in the last corner. I still managed to position myself well off the corner and I'm still happy to finish the tour as strong. "

The series of events in the coming weeks will guide the Canadian team leaders in their athlete selection to participate at the U23 World Championships.

"We are a group of eight riders and I think my performance in this tour will give me a boost," said Papillon.

Route de France
Meanwhile, in the women of the Route de France, Montreal's Anne Samplonius was the top Canadian, finishing in 14th place in the fourth stage (116 km) between Bonneval and Cloyes sur le Loir. The veteran of the Canadian team was 14 seconds behind the winner, Annemiek van Vleuten (Netherland Bloeit).

Joelle Numainville (37th, Team Canada) and Karol-Ann Canuel (52nd, Vienna-Futuroscope), both finished in the main peloton, which was 3 min 09 sec behind the gold winner.

With three more stages to go, Van Vleuten holds the leader jersey. Samplonious (1 min 38 sec) is 11th, Numainville (3 min 48 sec) 16th and Kanuel (4 min 46 sec) 42nd.