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Quick thinking and teamwork propel Team Canada up Epic Israel rankings

Gagné and L'Esperance go in move with world champions to finish seventh on Queen Stage

Epic Israel
Raphaël Gagné before Stage 2 of the 2018 Epic Israel

Quick thinking, proactive racing, and a bit of teamwork propelled Team Canada to a seventh place finish on the Queen stage of 2018 Epic Israel.

Facing a big day, 96km and  2,300m of elevation gain, Gagné and L’Esperance chose to put their nose in the wind instead of hiding and waiting.

“We started the day confident in our capabilities to do well after a hard Day 1,” says Gagné, “and we quickly put that confidence to execution launching an early move after a long singletrack descent that we had led.”

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Leaders after 22km – Gagne/L'esperence (CAN)

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“We were coming up on the first main descent of the day,” adds L’Esperance. “Raph suggested we lead the descent and this ended up being a key decision for the day.”

The descent led into a long section of single-track, stretching the lead group out. “A small gap opened due to some indecision in the group and we rolled with it.” Soon a gap had formed, and the two Canadians were alone out front in the desert.

With 90km total on the course that day, and with Olympic gold medallist Jaroslav Kulhavy among the chasers, the race wasn’t over just yet. “We were alone in the front for about 40 minutes until Kulhavy and his teammate caught us,” says Gagné.

With Kulhavy was a small group of six. The Czech rider and his teammate quickly attacked the group, leaving Gangé and L’Esperance with a decision. Ride safe? Or chase the powerhouse, and winner of the 2018 Cape Epic stage race?

We hesitated slightly,” L’Esperance says, “but finally made it on their wheel after Raph gave me a quick push to close the small gap.” With a little teamwork, the Canadians were in the front group once again. With the Kulhavy train going full steam, it was full gas to the finish.

It was the smart move, Gangé says. “We were strong enough to follow them when they attacked past us and then we were with them for most of the race until 10km to the finish.” At that point, the Czech’s attention turned to the stage win.

“Coming up towards the end of the stage, with about 15 km to go Jaroslav put in a big attack on a pavement climb and we quickly covered it and neutralized it,” says L’Esperance. “With about 10 km to go the Czech team put their move in and we couldn’t hold the pace.”

The pair was now alone in second, with the rest of the pack chasing. “I was suffering from the effort and couldn’t follow the Czech teams attack,” says L’Esperance. “We did our best with damage control up the last climb to finish 7th on the day.” The excellent day two result jumps the Canadian’s into the top-10 overall, with one day of racing remaining. 

Epic Israel 2019

“I feel like we made a lot of good decisions today, riding our own pace leading and then steady pace in a group trying to somewhat save energy, safe bike handling to stay upright and mechanical free,” Gagné says. “The last long climb to the finish is where we lost time but we are excited to give it everything we have tomorrow. Overall, an amazing day on the bike with a strong 7th place finish”

“I am really happy with how we raced today,” agreed L’Esperance on the duo’s Day 2 effort. “We stayed positive with the bad luck from stage 1 and went in knowing we could have a good day today. Being in the lead from early on until about 10 km to go was a really cool experience. We got to ride with Kulhavy and his teammate Matous [Ulman] for most of the race. There was a helicopter for the live coverage and you know, its pretty cool racing with a heli overhead.”

And it wasn’t all just hammering, admits the Forward-Racing Norco rider. “This stage took us through beautiful terrain with nice views of the Jerusalem Mountains and we even had a few moments throughout the day to look up and enjoy the views.”

L’Esperance’s Norco after a full 90km in the desert dust

Epic Israel 2018 Stage 2 – Men’s Results (Top 7)
CZE
Specialized
Dina Márton Attila Valter 03:53:43
Maximilian Branbl George Eger 03:54:04
Palumby Zsombor Parti Andras 03:55:53
Chenaux Adrien Chenaux Florian 03:56:18
Raggl Gregor Markt Karl 03:56:43
CAN
Canadian National team
Epic Israel 2018 Stage 2 – Men’s Results (Top 5)
Hungarian National Team – Ghost Factory Racing
Beeri Dafna Goldblatt Carin 08:21:20
Michiels Githa Crnogorac Jovana 04:48:36
Daubermann Antonia Noyman Naama 04:58:14
Mourao Jaqueline Montambault Cindy 05:01:38