Univest GP win by Roth caps strong performance by Canadian team
Ending the season with a morale-boosting win that will motivate its riders over the winter months, Team Spidertech and Ryan Roth triumphed in the Grand Prix Univest at the weekend.
The Ontario rider reached the finish with Frank Pipp (Bissell Pro Cycling) and Tom Zirbel (Jamis/Sutter Home), then got his tactics precisely right to beat both to the line.
“I was nervous about Pipp (Frank – Bissell). He’s a fast sprinter and I didn’t want to have to go to the line with him,” he said. “I tried to attack him on the last climb-the feedzone hill. But I couldn’t get away. When Zirbel caught us on the KOM hill inside the final kilometre, that was good for me. It took Frank’s focus off me a bit. The extra confusion helped me figure out the sprint.
“Zirbel just came straight through. I was able to drift back on the descent to the finish and time my final kick perfectly. Having done well here, on this finish, in the past really helped me in the sprint today.”
Roth’s result wasn’t the only big showing from the team, with Francois Parisien netting both the King of the Mountains jersey and the most aggressive rider award. He was part of the day’s break and achieved those two classification wins thanks to that.
Both he and Roth had honed their preparation by competing in the recent WorldTour races in Canada. The team is from there and the GP Cycliste de Quebec and the GP Cycliste de Montreal were of big importance.
The physical and mental benefits of riding against the world’s best paid off Saturday, where the team shone individually and as a group in the 1.2-ranked event.
Directeur sportif Kevin Field said that the targets were achieved. “We had two goals today: win the race and win the team classification. In the end the boys won four classifications, the race, team, aggressive and KOM. We’re really happy. And I’m super proud of how the guys raced.”
The team stepped up to Pro Continental level this team and is motivated to keep expanding in the future. Thanks to the Univest GP results, the riders have ended the season on a high. The memories of that will fuel them during tough winter weather ahead.