Race Report - Tour de Beauce
By Neil Shirley
They say the third time is a charm and it definitely was for me at Canada’s premier stage race, Tour de Beauce. This is the third time I’ve done the race and the first time I’ve actually enjoyed it. With my season starting later this year and my first set of targets changing from March/April to May/June I was in a position this year to really capitalize on some great form. Coming off of a good ride at Philly I was totally pumped to try and make amends in Quebec.
This year is the 24th year of Tour de Beauce and continues to be the highest ranked UCI race in Canada. Kelly Benefit Strategies had Beauce on the A-list of races that we would be focusing on. We planned on sending a solid team but due to a couple of crashes the week before in Philly a couple of the guys weren’t quite 100%.
With Beauce being a UCI race we were going to be racing against a handful of International Pro teams from the UK, Latvia, Columbia, Australia, and of course Canada.
We also had some familiar competition with the likes of Team Type 1, Fly-V, BMC, Felt-Holowesko-Garmin, Trek-Livestrong, and DLP.
Neil Shirley (Kelly Benefit Strategies) a the Tour de Beauce.
photo © Lyne Lamoureux
The weather wasn’t looking so good for the week. Temperatures were going to be in the upper 50’s and wet the first couple of days. I wasn’t really excited about the prospect of racing in the wet and cold during the middle of the summer but it is what it is. Fortunately day one stayed dry but it was definitely chilly. I actually kept my leg warmers on for the first two stages. The euro’s must have thought I looked pretty funny all bundled up when they were in short-sleeves.
Stage 1 was 100 miles of tough rolling terrain. The plan was to try and set Zwizanski and me up in a break since the breakaways generally stay away on this first stage. Zwiz managed to get into the break of the day and after trying in vain to bridge across I realized it wasn’t to be. The 11-man break stayed away until the end and took 4.5 minutes out of what was left of the field. Zwiz got 5th on the stage with BMC taking the stage win.
Stage 2 was another 100 mile stage but a little easier than the previous day. The climbs were smaller and made things easier for a team to control. BMC rode tempo until a few teams decided to try to set things up for a field sprint. I was able to chill out most of the day and save my energy.
Stage 3 was the Queen stage of Tour de Beauce. The stage was 95 miles with three KOM climbs before heading up the 3-mile grind to the finish atop Mt. Megantic. The first two miles of the climb is 11% grade before it “levels” out to a mere 7% for the final mile. Mid-way through the stage Zwizanski, Erker, and myself found ourselves in an 18-man break that some of the other top GC riders missed out on. This was the opportunity we were waiting for. Erker drilled it on the front with the help of the Columbians who were happy with the move. I had to start riding on the front the last 20 miles since every time it went uphill the Columbians would attack so I set a hard tempo on the hills to discourage them. Erker slayed himself on the front leading into Megantic and then it came down to Zwiz and I to see what we had left. At the very base of the climb two Columbians attacked so hard all we could do is watch them ride away. I tried to set pace for Zwiz on the climb so he could limit his losses. He was climbing very well on his own so I got the OK to ride for myself. I rode back up to Chris Jones (Team Type 1) and Phil Zajicek (Fly-V) who were not having much luck bringing back the Columbians. Zajicek fell off the pace half way up to just leave Jones and me to fight out the final podium spot. I was able to drop Jones in the last kilometer to take 3rd on the stage. The Columbians put over a minute into me by the top but nevertheless I was happy to go so well on an epic stage. Zwiz finished 6th to move up to 3rd overall, behind the two Columbians.
Stage 4a was a 20K Time Trial. It was an ugly morning with rain dumping down.
I put in a good warm-up to see what I could do in the TT. The first part of the course was technical so I took it nice and easy in the wet corners and by the end felt like I had only had an average ride. I was pleasantly surprised to end up 9th, which is one of my best TT’s ever as far as results go. But, the big news of the day was Zwiz crushing everyone! He beat Zajicek by more than 30 seconds to win the stage but more importantly he ripped the Columbians a new one and took the leaders jersey from them. He now had a 51 second lead over second on GC.
Stage 4b was a 90-minute criterium in downtown Saint-Georges. The crit was not counted towards GC so we saved the whole team and rode as easily as possible without getting involved in breaks or the sprint. We knew we would need every bit of energy to defend the last two days.
Stage 5 was an 85-mile circuit race in Quebec City. We would be doing nine laps on a course that included a short but very steep hill. As expected the Columbians attacked every time up the climb. Luckily they attacked so hard that no one could follow them. We would just keep the team together and roll the Columbians back over the top each time. Going into the last lap the group was down to 25 riders and it was only Zwiz and I left from Kelly but we were able to keep things controlled and by the end Zwiz lost less than 10 seconds to one of the Columbians by the finish. We did a good job but I was nervous because the final days circuit was a lot harder.
Stage 6 was going to be the final showdown. Another 85-mile circuit race but this time it had a 1,200-meter sustained climb each of the 12 laps. The very first time up the climb it went ballistic. We lost one Kelly rider immediately and a couple others were already in trouble. By lap 4 we were down to just Zwiz, Candelario, Erker and me. Zwiz couldn’t follow the accelerations on the climb so we had to bring back the front group over the top of the climb and the descent. We were doing a lot of work but there wasn’t any other option. With 4 laps to go it was only Zwiz and I left in a group of about 25. It was looking a little grim but I knew I had to keep brining things back together or else it was over. I was feeling really strong all day but I also think that the pressure I felt helped me step up to another level. Each lap that passed I thought might be the last one for me but I was always able to keep pacing Zwiz up the climb and then drill it for the next few miles to close the groups down. Finally, with two laps to go I think the Columbians were actually getting tired. I wasn’t expecting that they would get tired but it was a welcome surprise. That’s when Zwiz realized that he really was going to win the Tour de Beauce and he climbed stronger the last two laps than he did the whole race. Going into the last lap it was everything I could do to follow the GC riders last ditch efforts to get away. At the finish Zwiz and I finished in the front group of 15 riders. It was an amazing day but it was also one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do on a bike. I ended up 13th overall when it was all said and done. I’m proud that I was able to do my job 100% and still be there at the end each day. It was a great week by the whole team and wouldn’t have been possible without good direction and all the riders turning themselves inside out.
This was Kelly Benefit Strategies third UCI stage race win this season on three different continents. We’ll be going to France this July so maybe we can make it four wins on four continents. I’m looking forward to a week off the bike this week before I start ramping back up for our Euro trip, USPRO RR and Tour of Missouri.
Thanks for reading,
Neil Shirley
