Tour of Terra Cotta’s break that stayed away

On Monday, Travis Samuel (Jet Fuel-Norco) out-sprinted three others to win the Tour of Terra Cotta. After escaping early in the 104 km race, the winning foursome that included former elite men’s national champion Aaron Fillion (Ride with Rendell ), 2012 Ontario men’s champion Yuri Hrycaj (Jet Fuel-Norco) and Braydon Bourne (Stevens Racing presented by the Cyclery), the peloton was left to chase Samuel and his breakaway companions the entire race. It was a fantastic win for 19 year old Samuel after he was left off the Ontario team for the Canada Summer games.

Ed Veal (RealDeal-Gears) enlisted his strongest men for the chase to no avail as the break won by a clear margin of 1:30 over the field. As a consolation, Veal was able to take the field sprint to finish fifth. “RealDeal and a few others were chasing so hard, but Fillion, Yuri, Samuel and Bourne rode amazing,” said Stephen Welsh (La Bicicletta) who finished 18 in the peloton. “The race wasn’t slow, 42 km/h, and they broke away in the first 4 km.”

Jamie Gilgen (Infinit Canada/Cyclepower) won the women’s race ahead of Jennifer Stephenson (MVP Healthcare Cycling). The two broke away from the main field to win the race. Julia Bradley (MVP Healthcare Cycling) finished third 2:33 behind.

Ontario bike racing will go on a hiatus after Terra Cotta. The next major event will be the Ontario time trial championships on Aug. 31. More information can be found on the Ontario Cycling Association’s calendar.