Wild wins, Numainville second: 2015 Grand Prix Cycliste Gatineau road race report

The 2015 Grand Prix Cycliste Gatineau road race, the sixth edition of the event, was exactly what a good, hard cycling competition looks like.

The race started under almost perfect conditions: sunny skies, with a slight wind from the west at 8 km/h. Although it had previously been an morning event, this year’s race was somewhat of an anomaly by past standards, taking place in the early evening. Shortly after 5 p.m., the 22 teams — comprising 117 total competitors — began to gather at the start line. They were under peak late-afternoon heat ahead of a gruelling loop through Gatineau Park, followed by six spins around the southern circuit.

Before setting out, a moment of silence was held in memory of Ross Chafe, a member of the National Cycling Team, who represented Canada at three world championships in 1979, 1980 and 1986. Additionally, he was also a competitor during the 1983 Pan American Games, as well as the 1986 Commonwealth Games. Chafe was one of three cyclists killed when a drunk driver collided with them near Pemberton, B.C.

After that moment of remembrance, the race was off.

Almost immediately, Team Ukraine experienced the Grand Prix’s first mechanical problem. Olena Demydova was cast out of the bunch before the ride’s initial long haul toward the first turn, heading north into Gatineau Park on what became a long, hard climb. Eight kilometres into the race, though, the peloton mounted that uphill grind still intact, despite some riders struggling against the steep and steady grade. Roughly 4.5 km later, the group was still together.

By the 15th kilometre, though, riders were beginning to drop. Passing Penguin Point, three dropped off the back of the peloton, including Melissa Hiller of QCW Breakaway Bikes p/b Felt Bicycles. By then, riding towards Champlain Lookout and another, even steeper grade, the group was averaging a speed of 34.7 km/h.

Near the 20th kilometre, the group was reaching the highest elevation. By that point, 28 riders had gone off the back. Among those who succumbed were Anna Grace Christiansen of Visit Dallas Cycling p/b Noise For Good, as well as Olivia Baril of Team Quebec. They were joined, as it were, by 12 other cyclists who also dropped off the main group, but had managed to catch up somewhat, yet were still well behind the team cars at the back of the peloton. With a few crashes by this point — one of them, Meredith Bunkers, finding herself in a ditch — the race had passed its first hour of action, averaging a speed of 35.9 km/h. Once passing the 39 km mark of the race, the peloton was out of Gatineau Park, beginning the trek back toward the final six loops of the race, each roughly 8 km each.

With 46 km left in the race, Adriane Provost of SAS-Mazda began her attack, putting herself ahead of the peloton by about 15 seconds. As would become a veritable see-saw battle throughout the competition with many attempts going off the front, though, her breakaway attempt didn’t last for long — and nor did anyone else’s. Miriam Bjornsrud of Hitec Products and Ellen Watters of Team Opus-The Cyclery tried to bridge to Provost, but all three were brought back.

The next breakaway attempt belonged to another teammate of Provost’s: Catherine Dessurealt, also of SAS-Mazda. Putting herself ahead by five seconds, she was caught, putting an end to her powerhouse drive to get ahead. Once the 67-km mark had been passed, the peloton was whole again, with just four laps to go.

Elise Delzenne of Velocio-SRAM was the next to go on the offensive, opening a lead of 10 seconds for herself before Alison Jackson, of the Canadian National Team, managed to catch up. Their 12 second gap, though, wasn’t to be enjoyed for long. Four members of Team Hitec managed to bring them back, catching the Delzenne/Jackson break.

As the race neared the final laps, those attempts at breaking away continued to be stymied by the frenetic pace of the race itself. Loren Rowney, also of Velocio SRAM, got away, breaking 20 seconds ahead with three laps — just 30 km — left to go. As before, however, it was Hitec who commanded the chase, eventually dropping Rowney from that comfortable 20 second lead to just 10 seconds ahead of the pack. Once Rowney was consumed by the peloton again, those attacks kept coming fast. But as before, nothing stuck.

With 20 km still to go in the Grand Prix Cycliste Gatineau road race, those attacks didn’t add up to much. The peloton, despite further breakaway attempts continuing, stayed together. With the applauding cowbells of observing spectators at the start/finish line ringing out, the peloton entered its final stretch. Seeing the end in sight, about 60 riders sat up, strategizing their next move.

After Sara Headley and Ellen Watters crashed at the roundabout, Team Optum found itself in control of the race. With 10 km left, and Headley and Watters back in the pack, Karol-Ann Canuel — bearing the Velocio SRAM colours — gapped, putting her 15 seconds ahead of the peloton with 100 km of the race down. By the final kilometre of the race, it became a titanic battle between Team Optum and Velocio SRAM, each vying for the forward position.

In the end, though, it was the Netherlands’ Kirsten Wild, riding for Hitec Products, who finished the Grand Prix Cycliste Gatineau first, followed by Team Canada’s Joelle Numainville in second, with Christine Marjerus of Team Luxembourg in third. For Numainville, it was her second such Gatineau finish, having also finished second during the 2013 race.

It was Wild’s first time at Gatineau. “It was a nice race,” said the Dutch rider. “I thought before that this would be my biggest chance [for a win]. We went all the way for it with the team and we made it.”

As Hitec showed on the road, they wanted the race to come down to a sprint. “We tried to close all of the attacks. The girls did a really good job,” Wild said. “When everybody was attacking, my team was closing. It was really good to see, and I’m really proud of the girls.”

For Wild and her team, Sunday’s Philadelphia International Cycling Classic is next. Wild felt the team has a good chance at that event, too, possibly from a breakaway.

After the Gatineau road race, Numainville was happy with her second-place finish. She has raced every Gatineau event except for the 2014 edition as she was still affected by a concussion she sustained. In 2013, she was also second in the road race.

“To be back here, and I worked really hard to get back, and to really show that I’m 100 per cent back — yeah, I couldn’t be happier,” she said.

When Numainville last rode the event, the run into Gatineau Park was not part of the parcours. “As much as I like the circuit before, I really liked this new circuit, with the uphill finish and the part in Gatineau. It’s really pretty there. The circuit is quite technical now, so it’s challenging. It made the race different. I think the organization did a good job.”

Numainville was part of the Canadian National Team, which only had four riders. One of whom, Alison Jackson, was part of one of the day’s many breakaway attempts. “I was quite impressed that she went,” said Numainville of her teammate. “She did a good attack. She followed her instinct and went out there. It could have worked, it could have not worked. She gave it her best.”

As for the finale, Numainville had to be an opportunist. “I tried to stay calm and focused,” she said. “I knew which wheel I had to be on. Velocio is really strong so I tried to be on their wheel and follow the train in. It worked out. Kirsten took the jump for the sprint, so I stayed on her wheel.”

Full results 2015 Grand Prix Cycliste Gatineau road race

Place	Rider	Team	Country	Time	Gap
1	Kirsten Wild	Hitec Products	NED	2:45:14
2	Joelle Numainville	Equipe Nationale du Canada	CAN	2:45:14	0:00
3	Christine Majerus	TEAM Luxembourg National	LUX	2:45:14	0:00
4	Tiffany Cromwell	Team Velocio SRAM	AUS	2:45:14	0:00
5	Emily Mary Collins	Team TIBCO-SVB	NZL	2:45:14	0:00
6	Leah Kirchmann	Team OPTUM p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies	CAN	2:45:14	0:00
7	Kendall Ryan	Team TIBCO-SVB	USA	2:45:14	0:00
8	Lenore Pipes	West Quebec Wheelers	USA	2:45:14	0:00
9	Heather Fischer	DNA Cycling p/b K4	USA	2:45:14	0:00
10	Alison Jackson	Equipe Nationale du Canada	CAN	2:45:14	0:00
11	Liza Rachetto	BMW p/b Happy Tooth Dental	USA	2:45:14	0:00
12	Denise Ramsden	Trek Red Truck Racing p/b Mosaic Homes	CAN	2:45:14	0:00
13	Lauren Stephens	Team TIBCO-SVB	USA	2:45:14	0:00
14	Ganna Solovei	Équipe Nationale Ukraine	UKR	2:45:14	0:00
15	Loren Rowney	Team Velocio SRAM	AUS	2:45:14	0:00
16	Alena Amialiusik	Team Velocio SRAM	BLR	2:45:14	0:00
17	Emilie Moberg	Hitec Products	NOR	2:45:14	0:00
18	Kristi Lay	SAS-MAZDA-MACOGEP-SPECIALIZED	CAN	2:45:14	0:00
19	Erica Zaveta	BMW p/b Happy Tooth Dental	USA	2:45:14	0:00
20	Lauren de Crescenzo	DNA Cycling p/b K4	USA	2:45:14	0:00
21	Maryna Ivaniuk	Équipe Nationale Ukraine	UKR	2:45:14	0:00
22	Olivia Dillon	VISIT DALLAS Cycling p/b Noise4Good	IRL	2:45:14	0:00
23	Jacqueline Parker	Selection de la région Nationale Capitale	USA	2:45:14	0:00
24	Emma White	Zimmer Capital Orthopedics p/b Foundation	USA	2:45:14	0:00
25	Amy Charity	Team OPTUM p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies	USA	2:45:14	0:00
26	Cecilie G. Johnsen	Hitec Products	NOR	2:45:14	0:00
27	Stephanie Roorda	SAS-MAZDA-MACOGEP-SPECIALIZED	CAN	2:45:14	0:00
28	Leah Gulolen	Trek Red Truck Racing p/b Mosaic Homes	CAN	2:45:14	0:00
29	Olena Demydova	Équipe Nationale Ukraine	UKR	2:45:14	0:00
30	Karol-Ann Canuel	Team Velocio SRAM	CAN	2:45:14	0:00
31	Vita Heine	Hitec Products	NOR	2:45:14	0:00
32	Jamie Gilgen	Rise Racing p/b Cyclepath Woodbridge	CAN	2:45:14	0:00
33	Gabrielle Pilote-Fortin	DNA Cycling p/b K4	CAN	2:45:14	0:00
34	Allison Beveridge	Trek Red Truck Racing p/b Mosaic Homes	CAN	2:45:14	0:00
35	Foreman-Mackey	Team OPUS – The Cyclery	CAN	2:45:14	0:00
36	Elise Delzenne	Team Velocio SRAM	FRA	2:45:14	0:00
37	Irena Ossola	Alberta – Calgary	USA	2:45:14	0:00
38	Brianna Walle	Team OPTUM p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies	USA	2:45:14	0:00
39	Justine Clift	West Quebec Wheelers	CAN	2:45:14	0:00
40	Mehgan Grant	West Quebec Wheelers	CAN	2:45:27	0:13
41	Beth Ann Orton	VISIT DALLAS Cycling p/b Noise4Good	USA	2:45:27	0:13
42	Olga Shekel	Équipe Nationale Ukraine	UKR	2:45:27	0:13
43	Maria Luisa Calle Williams	Selection de la région Nationale Capitale	COL	2:45:30	0:16
44	Alexxa Albrecht	Team OPTUM p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies	CAN	2:45:30	0:16
45	Ellen Watters	Team OPUS – The Cyclery	CAN	2:45:30	0:16
46	Nicole Moerig	Team Ontario	AUS	2:45:30	0:16
47	Tiffany Pezzulo	DNA Cycling p/b K4	USA	2:45:30	0:16
48	Sara Bergen	Trek Red Truck Racing p/b Mosaic Homes	CAN	2:45:30	0:16
49	Jasmin Glaesser	Team OPTUM p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies	CAN	2:45:30	0:16
50	Marie Soleil Blais	Équipe du QUEBEC	CAN	2:45:30	0:16
51	Elizabeth Albert	Équipe du QUEBEC	CAN	2:45:30	0:16
52	Katherine Maine	Team OPUS – The Cyclery	CAN	2:45:30	0:16
53	Megan Rathwell	BMW p/b Happy Tooth Dental	CAN	2:45:30	0:16
54	Elise Maes	TEAM Luxembourg National	LUX	2:45:30	0:16
55	Fabienne Schaus	TEAM Luxembourg National	LUX	2:45:34	0:20
56	Shoshauna Routley	BMW p/b Happy Tooth Dental	CAN	2:45:34	0:20
57	Mia Manganello	VISIT DALLAS Cycling p/b Noise4Good	USA	2:45:34	0:20
58	Dafné Theroux Izquierdo	SAS-MAZDA-MACOGEP-SPECIALIZED	CAN	2:45:34	0:20
59	Rebecca Beaumont	Équipe du QUEBEC	CAN	2:45:34	0:20
60	Cassandra Maximenko	CRCA/Stan’s No Tubes Classic Cycling	USA	2:45:34	0:20
61	Natasha Elliott	SAS-MAZDA-MACOGEP-SPECIALIZED	CAN	2:45:34	0:20
62	Sara Poidevin	Equipe Nationale du Canada	CAN	2:45:34	0:20
63	Adriane Provost	SAS-MAZDA-MACOGEP-SPECIALIZED	CAN	2:45:34	0:20
64	Emily Spence	Selection de la région Nationale Capitale	CAN	2:45:34	0:20
65	Genevieve Krahn	Alberta – Calgary	CAN	2:45:34	0:20
66	Allison Tetrick	Team OPTUM p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies	USA	2:45:38	0:24
67	Amber Neben	VISIT DALLAS Cycling p/b Noise4Good	USA	2:45:38	0:24
68	Charlotte Becker	Hitec Products	GER	2:45:41	0:27
69	Tayler Wiles	Team Velocio SRAM	USA	2:45:54	0:40
70	Catherine Dessureault	SAS-MAZDA-MACOGEP-SPECIALIZED	CAN	2:46:27	1:13
71	Miriam Bjornsrud	Hitec Products	NOR	2:46:55	1:41
72	Alizee Brien	Team TIBCO-SVB	CAN	2:48:49	3:35
73	BrittLee Bowman	CRCA/Stan’s No Tubes Classic Cycling	USA	2:50:48	5:34
74	Sara Headley	Team TIBCO-SVB	USA	2:51:26	6:12
75	Anne Perry	DNA Cycling p/b K4	USA	2:51:28	6:14
76	Beth Ruiz	Zimmer Capital Orthopedics p/b Foundation	USA	2:53:12	7:58
77	Sarah Rasmussen	West Quebec Wheelers	CAN	2:54:18	9:04
78	Emily Flynn	Team OPUS – The Cyclery	CAN	2:59:48	Hors délai
79	Nancy Labbe-Giguere	Selection de la région Nationale Capitale	CAN	3:01:34	Hors délai
DNF	Kathryn Bertine	BMW p/b Happy Tooth Dental	SKN
DNF	Helene Pilote-Fortin	Équipe du QUEBEC	CAN
DNF	Olivia Baril	Équipe du QUEBEC	CAN
DNF	Melyssa Fortin	Équipe du QUEBEC	CAN
DNF	Anna Grace Christiansen	VISIT DALLAS Cycling p/b Noise4Good	USA
DNF	Catherine Fegan-Kim	DNA Cycling p/b K4	GBR
DNF	Ariane Bonhomme	Team OPUS – The Cyclery	CAN
DNF	Suzanne Hamilton	Trek Red Truck Racing p/b Mosaic Homes	CAN
DNF	Sarah Coney	Trek Red Truck Racing p/b Mosaic Homes	CAN
DNF	Julia Bradley	Rise Racing p/b Cyclepath Woodbridge	CAN
DNF	Ashley Barson	Rise Racing p/b Cyclepath Woodbridge	CAN
DNF	Joyce Spruyt	Rise Racing p/b Cyclepath Woodbridge	CAN
DNF	Suzie Brown	Alberta – Calgary	CAN
DNF	Jennifer Stephenson	Alberta – Calgary	CAN
DNF	Brook Noble	Alberta – Calgary	CAN
DNF	Carrie Cartmill	West Quebec Wheelers	CAN
DNF	Alex Grant	West Quebec Wheelers	CAN
DNF	Stéphanie Bester	Selection de la région Nationale Capitale	CAN
DNF	Lauren Leclaire	Selection de la région Nationale Capitale	USA
DNF	Tate Devlin	CRCA/Stan’s No Tubes Classic Cycling	USA
DNF	Meredith Bunkers	CRCA/Stan’s No Tubes Classic Cycling	USA
DNF	Kristin Lotito	CRCA/Stan’s No Tubes Classic Cycling	USA
DNF	Hayley Jones	Team Ontario	GBR
DNF	Kaitlyn Steeves	Team Ontario	CAN
DNF	Tatjana Zaharova	Team Ontario	CAN
DNF	Emily Underwood	Zimmer Capital Orthopedics p/b Foundation	USA
DNF	Ana Sirianni	Zimmer Capital Orthopedics p/b Foundation	USA
DNF	Dominique Danco	QCW Breakaway Bikes p/b Felt Bicycles	CAN
DNF	Melissa Hiller	QCW Breakaway Bikes p/b Felt Bicycles	USA
DNF	Kristie Nichols James	QCW Breakaway Bikes p/b Felt Bicycles	USA
DNF	Allyson Gillard	QCW Breakaway Bikes p/b Felt Bicycles	CAN
DNS	Tara Whitten	Team OPUS – The Cyclery	CAN
DNS	Masha Schneider	Zimmer Capital Orthopedics p/b Foundation	USA
DNS	Stefanie Sydlik	QCW Breakaway Bikes p/b Felt Bicycles	USA