35th Tour de Beauce | Matisse Julien takes the yellow jersey
SAINT-GEORGES, June 14, 2023 – Quebecer Matisse Julien, from the Ecoflo Chronos team, won the first stage of the 35th Tour de Beauce in fine fashion after a final effort in the last meters of the event.
Winner of a stage in the 68th Ronde de l’Oise at the beginning of June in France, the 20-year-old cyclist added a victory to his 2023 record by narrowly beating American Tyler Stites at the finish line, from the Project Echelon team.
Julien threw his last strength by throwing his bike to beat his opponent at the photo finish. The young athlete did not take long to show that he is at the top of his game.
A dedicated team
“I had not been able to go to recognize the final but I knew what awaited me. The team worked very hard at the end. I knew I could do well and it was a finish for me. I’m really happy,” said the winner.
Veteran Matteo Dal-Cin, 32, an excellent climber for the Toronto Hustle team, completes the podium at the top of a long climb of 1.2 kilometers at 6.5% average, in Notre-Dame-des-Pins .
Dal-Cin, former Canadian road champion, won the queen stage of the Tour de Beauce, at Mont- Mégantic, in 2017.
Last survivor of the final breakaway, Canadian Evan Russel (Cycling BC) started the last kilometer of the race alone in the lead but the peloton was blowing dangerously in his neck as he tried to climb the final climb. At the end of his reserves, Quebecer William Goodfellow (Yoeleo) had let go a few minutes before.
In 4th place in this first stage, the Ecoflo Chronos team managed to place the Canadian Luke Valenti, teammate of the new leader.
In his first participation in the Tour de Beauce, Matisse Julien will therefore wear the yellow jersey at the start of the second stage, Thursday, in Saint-Odilon-de-Cranbourne.
Four jerseys
In addition to yellow, Julien has enriched his collection by also winning all the other distinctive jerseys. He finds himself at the top of the points classification, the mountain classification and of course the classification of the best young person under 23 years old.
The 143-kilometer-long race and three loops around Saint-Séverin took 3h21m27s, at an average speed of more than 42 km/h.
The Tour de Beauce 2023 will crown its new champion on Sunday, June 18 in Saint-Georges. American Brendan Rhim won in 2019, followed by Quebecers James Piccoli and Nickolas Zukowsky.
After an enforced three-year hiatus, the oldest and most prestigious UCI men’s road stage race in Canada features 99 riders from eight countries in 15 teams. The five stages total 673 kilometres.
Cycling BC Team Results – Stage 1
Evan Russell – 13th
Aidan Oliphant – 18th
David Olejniczak – 50th
Eric Inkster – 65th
Caleb Ney – 81st
Ethan Pauly – 86th