Canadian WorldTour star Svein Tuft (Orica-Scott) returned to Canada just to regain the time trial title he lost last year at the national championships, winning his tenth TT title and his 12th overall with two road race titles.
The course in the Gatineau Park outside Ottawa takes the riders through stunning forest, with the road climbing for the first half before competitors turn around for an equally long descent back to the finish line. Elite/Under-23 men did 36 kilometres.
The men's race began with wet roads but no rain, however, that changed to torrential rain and even some hail at one point. The rain backed off for a little while but then came back on the upper parts of the course while the finish area was starting to dry out.
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Nigel Ellsay (Silber Pro Cycling), the ninth rider to start, took the lead with a time of 48:18, only three seconds off the winning time last year by his team mate Ryan Roth in dry conditions. Ellsay's time held up as riders continued to finish and was starting to look unbeatable as the conditions worsened. Rob Britton (Rally Cycling) was closest at 17 seconds with three riders left to finish, but that next rider was Tuft, who has dominated the time trial like no other rider in Canadian history. Tuft swept across the finish line five seconds faster than Ellsay to take the lead. Defending champion Ryan Roth, the final finisher, could only manage 12th. Adam Roberge (Silber Pro Cycling) finished fourth overall to take the Under-23 title.
"On a course like this, it's more of a grind," said Tuft, "so rain or shine it doesn't make a difference; it's just a tough course. For sure, I had motivation [to get back the title]. The level has come up so far in Canada. It was a personal ambition for me to keep my form after the Giro [d'Italia] and have a good ride here. I'm happy I came and made the effort."
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