Woods, Fortin win their weight in maple syrup after the inaugural Appalachian Classic in Quebec

With the inaugural Appalachian Classic done and dusted, Mike Woods and Veronique Fortin, the winners of the men’s and women’s categories, are drowning in maple syrup. So, too, are the second- and third-place finishers, with 4 litres of the sweet, gooey substance distributed to those finishing second, and a litre each for the third, fourth and fifth-place riders.

Thankfully, of course, we don’t mean that literally. Still, the $5,500 in purse prizes would have likely earned a good, thorough bath, if that were the case.

For the men, the race’s momentum was set early on, when four riders broke free of the main pack to presage a fierce, race-ending battle between Woods and Antoine Duchesne, riding for Team Europcar. The Appalachian Classic was Duchesne’s first major competition since the 24-year-old Canadian cyclist ended the 2015 Vuelta a Espana, taking 94th in points classification and 138th in GC. In Victoriaville, Quebec, Duchesne was holding on hard throughout much of the 135-kilometre course, leading the four-man breakaway through more than 120 kilometres of grinding, hard climbs.

Attempts at driving up the race’s tempo weren’t enough to shake the other three riders, though — especially Woods. Having banked up his reserve strength, the powerhouse Canuck climber poured it on through the race’s steepest, most windswept climbs, managing to push the break to a more intense tempo of competition. Duchesne, tenacious as ever , matched Woods’s pace, though. Holding fast to his rear wheels but unable to get past him, Duchesne eventually conceded the win to Woods, while Remi Pelletier-Roy prevailed in a man-on-man struggle with James Piccoli for third place.

With Piccoli in fourth, fifth place went to Timothy Rugg of the United States, while Adam De Vos — riding for H&R Block Pro Cycling — took sixth at the end of the competition.

When competition wrapped up, Duchesne looked back on the race as a taxing one. “It’s an incredibly tough race which leaves no time to recuperate,” he said. “The dirt sections were fast and I have to admit that this is the breakaway in which I suffered the most this year. I really tried to catch Mike [Woods] and crack him at the end, but I fell short.”

Woods, of course — coming out of the competition, like Fortin in the women’s race, with his weight in maple syrup — was decidedly more enthusiastic.

“It is a great feeling to win this very difficult race today,” Woods exclaimed. “The fact that I am winning my weight in maple syrup is fantastic and I just can’t wait for my next pancake breakfast!” Also claiming the winning syrup in the women’s race was Lex Albrecht and Elizabeth Albert, who finished second and third, respectively.

“This is a race that I know is going to take off in the years to come,” said Albrecht, whose runner-up finish got her 5.3 kg of syrup. “Just the first edition was spectacular. The fact that the organizers are offering equal prize money for the men and women is a big deal for me, and many of the other female riders. It’s a race that I want to have on my fall calendar for years to come, and this gesture from the organization has solidified my plans. My season is toning down since returning from the last race in France, and I’ve mostly been doing coffee shop rides. I couldn’t miss this one though, so I put my game face on. It felt great to be on the podium at such a great race to finish off the season.”

With the first edition of the Appalachian Classic finished, the competition has thoroughly established itself as being a race for Canada’s toughest, hardiest riders. The 135-km course is, for the most part, one big climb. An average 2% grade keeps riders on their toes through much of it, while its steepest climb maxes out at about 19%. This year, the stiff, early fall winds of September in the Quebec region made the physical effort of competition that much more interesting, with a prevailing 20 kph wind for most of the race. Ninety kilometres of that race was on asphalt, while graded dirt roads accounted for the remaining 45 — all adding up to an elevation change of 2,700 m.

Rugg, for one, very enthusiastically stated his intention to be back next year.

“The course was just fantastic,” the American cyclist and fifth-place finisher remarked. “It is by far the best race I took part in in my career.”