July
12th
The Canadian branch of KBS Pro Cycling continued their hot streak in British Columbia on Sunday, with Zach Bell, David Veilleux, and Ryan Anderson forming an all-green podium at the White Spot Road Race to take the GC crown once and for all.
Bell was part of an early 10-man breakaway, then rode away during the 8km circuit laps, building a 90-second gap with two laps to go. He held off a hard-charging peloton full of some of North America's top sprinters into the final corner and crossed the line alone, with teammates Veilleux and Anderson crossing 2 and 3, nine seconds behind him, capping off the three day tour in style.
"I've never been able to win this road race from a bunch sprint so you’ve got to try another way," said Bell, who was a champion at the Tour de Delta in 2007 and 2008. "It was fun – everything except maybe coming down the last hill and around the last corner, when I saw those guys bearing down on me. I was having a good time up until then."
Even Veilleux wasn't sure Bell could stay away … [Read more]
July
12th
David Veilleux rode a last lap breakway to the finish Saturday night, adding his first ever Elite Canadian Championship title to his large collection of U23 titles. The 990 meter course, part of the 10th Annual Tour de Delta race series, gave Veilleux and his Canadian teammates Ryan Anderson and Zach Bell one last chance at a red champion's jersey after Bell finished second in the time trial championship race, and the young Quebecois did not come up empty handed.
Veilleux and Canadian ProTour star Svein Tuft broke away from the peloton with 22 laps to go on the short course through the streets of Ladner. Tuft claimed the $2400 crowd prime with eight laps to go, and Veilleux knew he had to time his move perfectly to beat the powerful Tuft.
"I knew if I went too early, Svein was way too strong and he would catch me easily," said Veilleux. "I was afraid he would just attack me, so with one lap left I thought I would just take a chance and try to stay out there."
Svein Tuft expected David Veilleux to try and make a … [Read more]
July
5th
KBS battled through hot, humid weather and a difficult, long criterium course to defend Veilleux's overall lead and win the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic for the second consecutive year.
After relentless attacking over the first two stages of the race, Veilleux was able to wrestle the lead away during the Stage 3 Time Trial, overtaking fellow French Canadian and former Saunier Duval rival Aurelien Passeron. From there, KBS only had to defend dangerous time bonuses and keep Veilleux safe during today's speedy, 50 mile criterium course through downtown Fitchburg.
"We came to this race with a very strong team and were focused on defending our win from last year." said Performance Director Jonas Carney. "The race suits our team's capabilities very well, with a good variety of racing. The guys rode perfect, were very aggressive in the road races, time trialed extremely well,
and defended the lead and protected time bonuses today. I couldn't have asked for more."
The criteirum contained three major time bonuses of ten, six, and four seconds for the top three finishers, and a victory and subsequent 10 second time bonus for Jay Thomson (Fly V Australia) could have turned the tables. … [Read more]
July
1st
David Veilleux, riding solo for some extra training before this weekend's Fitchburg Longsjo Classic, showed his wolverine tendencies on Tuesday by winning Stage 4 of the Mardis Cycliste de Lachine in Montreal.
The race series, part of Montreal's rich summer racing tradition, saw Veilleux take the stage win over the Spidertech p/b Planet Energy team's full race roster, who are gunning for the series' final GC crown.
(Head over to PedalMag.com to see photos of David's winning ways.)
Veilleux was part of a four man break that took off on the 13th of 33 laps and stayed away until the finish.
"I saw early on that the peloton was going to break up so I attacked. I think the peloton let me go because I am not dangerous in the GC. For me this race is training for Fitchburg this coming weekend," commented Veilleux to PedalMag.com after the race.
The win shows David is in top form heading into Fitchburg, where KBS hopes to repeat as champions.
"The Mardis Cycliste de Lachine has a long history and great support in the Montreal community. It's a nice series that David uses to hone his form for our major … [Read more]
June
28th
Canadian riders Zach Bell, David Veilleux, and American Cheyne Hoag competed in their respective National Championship races this weekend, putting in solid rides in the TT and road race categories.
Zach Bell put in a furious ride in the Candian TT Championship in the town of Devon, southwest of Edmonton, Alberta. He finished second behind defending champion and ProTour powerhouse Svein Tuft. Ryan Roth (SpiderTech-PlanetEnergy) finished third and held the top time before being knocked off by Bell, nearly a minute faster.
Bell and Tuft, friends and former teammates on Symmetrics, launched a few minutes apart in the TT, giving what Tuft called "the best possible rider to chase" through the course.
Tuft was unable to catch Bell, but closed the gap enough to take the top spot. The Z-Rex's second place was an improvement on his already strong efforts in previous years.
"For the last three years I've finished third," he commented. "Two years ago, Svein caught me before the turn, and last year a little after the turn, so just to avoid getting caught is a big accomplishment."
In the Elite Canadian and U23 U.S. Road Race Championships, David Veilleux and American … [Read more]
