Optum’s Guillaume Boivin claims first Canadian title at the 2015 National Elite men’s road race

In a sprint to the finish, Guillaume Boivin of Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies took the Elite men’s road race at the 2015 Global Relay Canadian Road Championships in Quebec, just ahead of teammate Ryan Anderson. Ryan Roth, riding for Silber Pro Cycling, ended the race in third.

Boivin’s finish came at the end of 4:34:00 of racing.

As with the Elite women’s race the day before, it was another race involving repeated attacks early in the competition. Almost from the outset, a breakaway including Kris Dahl of Team Smartstop, Derek St-John of Silber, Michael Woods of Optum, and H&R Block Pro Cycling’s Adam de Vos took off from the main group.

It was momentum that the four riders were able to maintain for much of the race, building a four minute lead on the main peloton at times.

That group was eventually joined by AG2R La Mondiale’s Hugo Houle, Optum’s Will Routley, Alex Cataford of Silber, and Team Smartstop’s Rob Britton, powering the breakaway to last until the race’s final 40 kilometres.

With the race’s kilometre count getting into the lower double-digits, Routley and St-John attacked, with a second chase group forming out of the peloton in response. A bridge attempt followed, with Boivin, Anderson, Roth, Antoine Duchesne of Team Europcar, Zach Bell of Team Smartstop, and Christian Meier of Orica Greenedge all joining the main chase group.

In all, 12 riders made for the finish line in the race’s final thrilling stretch, driving hard for the coveted Red and White jersey and the privilege of representing Canada internationally. By just over a bike length, Boivin prevailed, taking his first official Canadian road race title in the process.

Through the grueling 186.2 km race, the competition’s average speed was clocked at 40.7 km/h. Full results of the race can be viewed here.

Podium – Elite Men – Road Race
1. BOIVIN, Guillaume (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 4:34:00
2. ANDERSON, Ryan (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies) +0:00
3. ROTH, Ryan (Silber Pro Cycling) +0:00

Podium – U23 – Road Race
1. PERRY, Benjamin (Silber Pro Cycling) 4:34:02
2. DE VOS, Adam (H&R Block Pro Cycling) +0:00
3. CATAFORD, Alex (Silber Pro Cycling) +0:00