07.20.11 - A successful first stage of the 43rd edition of the Tour de l’Abitibi/Coupe des Nations

AMOS (July 19, 2011) The 23 teams taking part in the 43rd edition of the Tour de l’Abitibi/Coupe des Nations left for the start line of the first stage in the municipality of Preissac early in the afternoon. The weather was nice and the wind was favorable for the cyclists.

At least 500 spectators witnessed this first sporting event of 113 kilometres between Preissac and Amos. The race resulted in a strong presence of New Zealand participants mounting the podium, namely number 42, James Oram who won gold, followed, one second later by his compatriot number 41, Dion Smith who won silver. Finally the third Agnico-Eagle medal went to number 73, Roman Semyonov from Kazakhstan who followed the leader by six seconds.

Here are the winners of the different jerseys: the Sûreté du Québec blue jersey went to number 76, Vitaliy Marayhin from Kazakhstan, followed by the Hydro-Québec orange jersey and Desjardins brown jersey both won by number 42, James Oram from New Zealand.

We should mention the performance of Charles Matte, from Abitibi, placed 10th overall by reason of his intermediate sprint which gave him a two (2) second advantage despite having fallen between Rivière-Héva and St-Mathieu.

In conclusion this was an active race up to the finish line of the urban circuit. The technical director was very pleased by the opening stage of the 2011 edition. “Already at the beginning of the week, an
impressive stage allowing us to see the quality of the participants of the race. The urban circuit gave
spectators the chance to witness the finale and the peloton’s pursuit of the early break who had a one
minute lead.

For more detailed results, visit the official Tour de l’Abitibi website at www.tourabitibi.com

For information:
Stéphanie Richard
Communication officer
Tour cycliste de l’Abitibi Inc.
Email: courrier@tourabitibi.qc.ca