Mardis Lachine Stage 8 report: Naud wins again

On Tuesday evening, Pierrick Naud (Garneau-Quebecor) won his third stage of the 2014 Mardis Lachine criterium series. Naud was able to out kick Elliot Doyle (Silber Pro Cycling) and his teammate Simon Lambert-Lemay to win the stage, a 50-km criterium. The overall standings remain unchanged with two stages remaining. Lambert-Lemay remains atop the leader board, while Naud is placed second overall. Stephen Keeping of Transports-Lacombe is in third.

The evening was not a record setting evening, nevertheless the speeds were high. The peloton averaged 49.2 km/h. The high speed may have been the main catalyst to a major pile-up towards the end of the stage. The crash almost took out second place finisher Elliot Doyle who said he was lucky to have not crashed.

There was a notable guest of honour in the men’s race. One of the 98 cyclists who started the elite men’s race was Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies rider Joëlle Numainville who finished in the main bunch. The 2013 Canadian women’s road champion used the evening as a high-speed training session. There are not many ladies who are allowed to race in the men’s race. However given Numainville’s status as one of Canada’s top female riders and exception was made.

Full results can be found at Mardis Lachine.