Despite being hampered by COVID-19, Movistar cyclist Olivia Baril still drove eight hours to take part in the Grand Prix de Plouay-Lorient-Agglomeration Trophée CERA, a one-day World Tour race on Saturday in France. The sacrifice was worth it, as her German teammate Liane Lippert was in the running for the win and finished third.
Dutchwoman Mischa Bredewold (SD Worx-Protime) won this race for the second year in a row, beating American Chloe Dygert (Canyon/SRAM Racing) in the sprint.
“I have COVID-19 and I’ve been positive for about three days. But hey, that’s normal, because my whole team had it at the last stage of the Tour de France [dimanche dernier]”My team told me that I didn’t have to do the race, but as long as I’m here, I’m going to do it,” said the Rouyn-Noranda athlete, without being at all worried about her state of health.
“I helped my teammates as much as I could, especially in the shots at the beginning of the race and then I positioned Liane in the circuit,” continued the Canadian champion who was the 78the (+7 min 22 s) to reach the finish.
The other registered Quebecer, Florence Normand (Winspace), did not complete the race.
It was the Dutch rider Amber Kraak (FDJ – Suez) who led the way in the final part of the 158-kilometre race when she broke away from the leading group in a solo move. Her lead grew to almost 2 minutes over her closest pursuers. The Lidl-Trek riders did most of the work to close the gap, which narrowed as the kilometres went by.
PHOTO PETER DEJONG, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Liane Lippert, Olivia Baril’s teammate, before a stage of the Tour de France, on August 16
Liane Lippert broke away from the chase group 5 kilometres from the line and caught Kraak to be alone in the lead before being joined by Bredewold and Dygert 1.5 kilometres later.
“Now I’m going on vacation for three days with my dog Moose!” concluded Baril.
On Sunday, it will be the men’s turn to take on the Plouay course as part of the 88e edition of the Classic Bretagne – Ouest-France (World Tour). Hugo Houle and Guillaume Boivin, both from the Israel – Premier Tech team, are the two Canadians on the starting list.
Nickolas Zukowsky back in the saddle at the Tour of Germany
Meanwhile, in the third stage of the Tour of Germany (2. Pro men), Quebecer Nickolas Zukowsky (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) took 69e rank (+55 s) of the 211-kilometre stage between Schwäbisch Gmünd and Villingen-Schwennigen which was won in a sprint by the Italian Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), who had already won the prologue and the first stage.
This event marks the return to competition of the 2023 Canadian champion who had been on the sidelines since last spring due to an operation to cure endofibrosis in the iliac artery of his right leg.
Former world champion Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) of Denmark retains the lead in the provisional general classification with a 12-second lead over Norwegian Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility). Zukowsky is 63e rank (+4 min 58 s) of the Tour which will conclude on Sunday.