Caja Rural’s Pello Bilbao wins the 30th Tour de Beauce

After turning in one strong performance after another at the Tour de Beauce, it was Spain’s Caja Rural that came out on top, with Pello Bilbao taking the yellow jersey as the tour’s overall winner—his first major career victory.

Winning both the overall standings and three of the Tour’s six stages, it was a remarkable finish not just for the team, but even as a notably unique moment in the history of the Tour de Beauce itself. There have only been a handful of times that the yellow jersey has changed hands during the last stage of the Tour, and during its final minutes. As riders sped toward the Tour’s conclusion during the sixth stage, though—an urban stage, set against the city backdrop of Saint-Georges, Que.—all bets, it seemed, were suddenly off.

Despite a powerful effort from Tom Skujins and Dion Smith of Hincapie, Skujin saw the yellow jersey slip from his grasp as Caja Rural turned up the pressure. “We did everything the right way,” recalled Smith, the third-overall finisher, as well as the jersey winner in the best young rider category. “When [Bilbao] took the break, we did not panic, we just wanted to keep the gap to less than a minute to protect the jersey. Caja Rural worked hard in the last four laps.”

“Personally,” he said, “I’m glad I won two jerseys and we are second and third in the general classification.”

The other jersey Smith claimed during the last day of the Tour de Beauce was in overall points classification, totalling 53 for Hincapie Racing Team. Amets Tzurruka Ansola of Caja Rural and Bilbao came in second and third, with 49 points and 47 points, respectively.

“Hincapie worked very hard until two laps to go, and they controlled the race,” said Bilbao, looking back at his career-besting win. “We took advantage of a moment of weariness from them to attack, because we saw a great opportunity. I am impressed by our performance. I had some doubts about my form and after the time trial on Friday, which was not very good for us, I didn’t know what to expect.”

It was Benjamin Perry of Silber Pro Cycling, though, who won the day’s stage—something easy to miss amid the dramatic, high-energy action of Stage 6. “I played my cards and I expected good opportunities,” he said. “I was well positioned in the last two laps, so as not to tire me.”

“This is my career’s best result, and I am very happy for my team to be able to win the stage.”

2015 Tour de Beauce – Standings

General Classification
1. Bilbao Lopez de Armentia, Pello (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) 17:03:18
2. Skujins, Tom (Hincapie Racing Team) +0:15
3. Smith, Dion (Hincapie Racing Team) +0:22
4. Txurruka Ansola, Amets (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) +0:24
5. Roth, Ryan (Silber Pro Cycling) +0:42

Points Classification
1. Smith, Dion (Hincapie Racing Team) 53 pts
2. Txurruka Ansola, Amets (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) 49 pts
3. Bilbao Lopez de Armentia, Pello (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) 47 pts

King of the Mountain
1. Ortega, Mauricio (Orgullo Antioqueno) 48 pts
2. Boivin, Guillaume (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) 28 pts
3. Txurruka Ansola, Amets (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) 25 pts

Best Young Rider
1. Smith, Dion (Hincapie Racing Team) 17:03:40
2. Oram, James (Axeon Cycling Team) +1:10
3. Guerreiro, Ruben Antonio Almeida (Axeon Cycling Team) +1:54