The Tour de l’Abitibi Femmes is done and dusted, and Canadians absolutely dominated the second edition of the four-day stage race.
Canada capped off a commanding run at the Tour de l’Abitibi race on Sunday. Élodie Malois took back the overall title after winning the event’s final stage, a 7.9-km individual time trial around Rouyn-Noranda’s Osisko Lake. That is her third win at the race. The
The national TT champ stopped the clock in 11:13.46, finishing 21 seconds ahead of teammate Elly Moore. Eve Buczkowski of Milton Revolution Racing rounded out the stage podium, 34 seconds behind Malois.
Canada sweeps podium
Malois’s dub also meant that Canada went one-two-three on the GC. Moore, who won Stage 3, finished second overall, while Sandrine Veilleux claimed third to complete the all-Canadian top three.
The final stage saw the lead change hands several times as track star Buczkowski and then Moore posted the fastest provisional times before Malois delivered the quickest ride of the day to take the win.
The Canucks’ run extended beyond the overall classification. Canada also took the team competition, while Veilleux earned the best young rider jersey. Julia Lehmann of Milton Revolution Racing claimed the mountains classification.
Although the women’s race is over, now it’s time now for the men’s Tour de l’Abitibi Glencore, with the 56th edition set to begin on Tuesday in Rouyn-Noranda. It’s a long-running race that has seen many future champions–Steve Bauer, even–win as juniors before going on to great things as pros. Abitibi for the junior men runs for six stages.