Rain preceded the start of the final stage, held exceptionally this year in Quebec City to commemorate its 400th anniversary.
Happily, for the riders as well as the spectators lining the route, the clouds parted just in time. The riders thus took
off on a reasonably dry road with 125 kilometres in front of them, with France’s Miguel Martinez (Amore E Vita-McDonald’s)
as the leader. The peloton didn’t lose time in neutralizing the early attack.
The Frenchman meanwhile inspired 7 other riders to do the same during the first lap. Several other short-lived chase groups
preceded a 5-man group formed on the fourth lap. One of these riders didn’t waste time in trying to join the lead group.
A second attack followed, which managed to briefly merge with the first. The 11-member chase group, forming different combinations,
never managed to make up the gap between them and the break. Behind, no rider who could threaten the overall ranking was allowed
to leave the peloton.
The winner of the stage, meanwhile, went to Australia’s Matt Wilson (Team Type 1). Second to cross the finish line
was Germany’s Philipp Mamos (Team Sparkass), followed by American Neil Shirley (Jittery Joe’s) in third place.
For Matt Wilson (Team Type 1), it was his second victory of the year and his
first in North America. The former Australian national road race champion had been slowed this season by a broken wrist suffered
in a training accident. But in Sunday’s 77.7-mile (125 km) circuit race in Quebec City, Wilson played team tactics to
perfection by escaping out of the main break to claim the win by four seconds over Mamos.
“We knew Symmetrics would try to ride a slow pace today and that the field
would probably let them go,” Team Type 1 sports director Ed Beamon said. “So we gambled that they might let the
break get the five minutes Chris (Jones) needed to move into the top three overall. We got to almost four minutes, but some
of the guys in the break would not cooperate and it started coming back.”
Svein Tuft and Bernado Colex Tepoz (Tecos Trek Uga) crossed the finish line at the same time. The Mexican, who nonetheless
fought hard, gave the yellow-jersey holder a pat on the back to show his camaraderie. The revelation of the Tour, Tepoz, finished
in second place in the overall standing, behind by only 7 seconds.
Tuft struggled to believe what had happened to him. 'It was an unbelievable race. I can never say it enough, but I believe
that the guys don’t realize how important it is that each teammate believes in the goal that we make. Nothing can work
unless that’s done. They raced in an unbelievable fashion, each of them giving all they had. And in the end, they let
me do what I had to. I could have never hoped for more!'
A dream come true? 'I participated in my first Tour de Beauce in 2001, and since then, I’ve won a few stages. That
said, I always thought it would be great to win the Tour. For us Canadians, it’s even more wonderful. It’s our
first win in a European-style race, and it’s opened our eyes and made us realize what a true race is really like', he
said.
This star of the 23rd Edition of the race, hopes to secure a place on the Olympic team. 'Winning certainly doesn’t
hurt my chances in the selection process. But the decision is up to the selection committee. I came here to do my best, and
ideally win. That’s what I concentrated on. I ignored the rest', admitted the three-time Canadian Time Trial Champion.
As to the jerseys, South African Johann Rabie (South African U23 National Team) was the best young rider, New Zealander
Glen Chadwick (Team Type 1) took the KOM jersey, and Mexican Moises Aldape (Team Type 1) was the best sprinter.
