Riders braved cold and rainy conditions Wednesday for the individual time trial at the Tour de l’Abitibi. Ezra Brown of the American Vantaggio Fitness and Nutrition team claimed the win, edging out U.S. national team rider Beckam Drake by just two seconds. Canadian Maxime Bourassa rounded out the podium in third.
France’s Paul Hawrylak held onto the polka-dot jersey, while his countryman and teammate Alban Picard retained the white jersey as best young rider. Nikolas Malovic of the U.S. squad kept the sprinter’s jersey, but leadership changed hands once again in the general classification. Drake now wears the brown leader’s jersey—marking the third different wearer in as many days.
Later in the day, the peloton took on a second stage in Malartic over 58 km. France’s Gabin Giquel narrowly took the win, beating teammate Picard in a tight sprint. Zach Martinez of the American team took third.
The peloton, unwilling to let any breakaway stick, kept the pace high. How high? 47 km/h. The result came down to a final sprint, where the French duo proved strongest. Abitibi native Louis Croteau shone in front of the home crowd, sweeping all the intermediate sprints.
Riders will face the longest stage of the Tour on Thursday—a 140-km route from Senneterre that includes the climb up Mont Bell. It’s expected to be one of the most decisive stages of the week.
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