Rory Sutherland is champion of the 27th Tour de Beauce –
Bruno Langlois wins the Saint-Georges stage
SAINT-GEORGES (Quebec), Sunday, June 17 2012 – Rory Sutherland (UnitedHealthcare) was crowned
champion of the 27th Tour de Beauce today following the final and 6th stage which took place in the
streets of Saint-Georges. He dusted off the top of the podium and won the yellow jersey in the
overall rankings. Hugo Houle (Spidertech) came in second place and won the red jersey for best
young cyclist. The 3rd spot on the podium went to Christian Meier from the Canadian National Team.
Bruno Langlois (Garneau/Québécor) put on quite a display today in the last 125-kilometre long stage
and beat Marsh Cooper (Optum), after the two riders broke away with a little more than one lap to
go. "This is my first victory in a Tour de Beauce stage, and a career best. I have been participating in
the Tour de Beauce for 14 years and this week I was patient. I did well in Mont-Mégantic stage where
I finished fifth. So I have been feeling good all week. I wasn’t thinking of the overall rankings because
I am more of a stage-winning rider."
"I was the last to perform the junction with the breakaway and the riding was tough. I saw that the
guys were beginning to be short of breath and I attempted several attacks to test them. Then, I took
advantage of a short climb and Marsh Cooper (Optum) followed me. I waited for him and we worked
together. Then, I ended up crossing the finish line ahead of him. The team did a good job. This year I
am the captain of the Garneau crew. Last year, I was a servant with Spidertech, it's very different. "
The new Tour de Beauce champion, Rory Sutherland, had heard a lot of good things about this
cycling competition, especially from his teammate Ben Day and his wife Isabelle Vachon, from SaintGeorges. "We are very good friends. They were both telling me I should take part in the Tour de
Beauce. I have no regrets. The team has done a great job for me and I am happy to have won. In the
best case scenario we would have preferred that Ben (Day) win. He has had a rough couple of weeks
with the passing of his mother. It would have been good for his spirits to win today."
Wearing the red jersey, Hugo Houle is second on the overall rankings. "This last stage went according
to plan. UnitedHealthCare did a lot of the work. There were a lot of attacks, especially from Svein
Tuft and Francisco Mancebo. I told the guys to ride up ahead to calm United down. I am very happy
with my second place finish. I have been a surprise in this competition and I have proven with the
Mont-Mégantic stage that I was the strongest of the team. Again, the guys helped me a lot."
Mancebo (Competitive Cyclist) won the white jersey (best at points classification), while Ken Hanson
(Optum) was crowned King of the mountain.