Grand-Prix Cycliste de Sainte-Marie

Beauce, 15 au 17 août 2008
Maitre A – homme 30-39 ans : Carl Dessureault (Opus-PowerWatts)
Maitre B – homme 40-49 ans : Éric Provost (Opus-PowerWatts)

Championnat du Québec de cross-country

« Le Championnat du Québec de cross-country en vélo de montagne avait lieu la fin de semaine dernière au Massif du Sud en Bauce. La course s'est déroulée sur un parcours boueux et glissant mais sous une belle température rarement vue au Québec cet été.
Chez les Juniors Femme Andréanne Pichette a fait une très bonne course pour finir 2ieme à 40 secondes de la garante du jour.
Chez les Juniors Expert homme Jonathan Boucher, après une course chaudement disputée, a terminé lui aussi deuxième.
Caroline Villeneuve, chez les Élites Femme, a fait abstraction des conditions de piste difficile pour remporter la victoire. Caroline était très contente de sa course et se disait très bonne dans les sections techniques.
Léni Trudel était dans une lutte pour la 3ieme et 4ieme position toute la course et a terminé a la 4ieme position.

Prochaine course au programme de l'équipe Opus/OGC est la finale de la coupe Québec à St-Félicien. »

Olivier Laprade
Opus/Outdoor Gear Canada

Quebec cup XC finals in St-félicien

Last weekend was the Quebec cup XC finals in St-félicien with two races on the program. Saturday was the time trial and the Opus team did pretty good.

Caroline Villeneuve won the elite women. Jonathan Boulanger, even with back pain, finished second in a super tight race and Léni Trudel got seventh just a couple second back in elite men. Jonathan Boucher end up second in junior expert men. Andreanne Pichette in Junior women just missed the podium in 4th place. The tone was set for the last race XC of the year on Sunday. The weather was perfect for racing, sunny and cool. The first one's on the start line were the Senior elite men, right at the start two Opus rider Jonathan Boulanger and Marc-André Daigle got to the front and set a fast pace in the start loop and first lap. On the second lap Marc-André was comfortable in 4th place where he would finished and Léni was felling the effects of the time trials and battling around the 10th place.

Next up was the Junior expert category, again fast start with Jonathan Boucher and Steve Caillé up front. Jonathan would fade quickly and settled for 5th but different story for Steve. He was ridding up front with the race leader, Steve put in is best race of the year but would eventually fade in the last lap and finished 4th. Next was the senior elite women with Caroline Villeneuve, she got up front right away in the start loop, then back luck, her right pedal broke and couldn't get clipped in at all. She stopped and we change the pedals but the commissar wouldn't let her get back in the race since the technical assistance is not allowed in the Quebec Cup series. With the points lead she had and the extra 50 points just to start the final her first place overall was still safe. Last but not the least was the junior women, Andreanne Pichette rode well but it was not enough to get on the final podium.

In the end, Caroline won the overall senior elite women, Jonathan Boucher won as well the overall in Junior expert men and Léni got third in Senior elite men.

That conclude the Opus mtb racing season, with some up's and down's this season our team turn out pretty good results in the end. We had 3 of our 6 riders on final podium in the Quebec Cup overalls and we had the best presence at all the events. We also had Jonathan Boucher racing is Opus at the World championships in Italy.

Olivier Laprade
Opus / Outdoor Gear Canada
www.opusbike.com

A spin on the Cervin

Wendy McLellan takes a spin on the Cervin
Photo: Sam Leung

See the original article from "The Province"

A spin on the Cervin 09

It's a bike that demands a wicker basket filled with fresh flowers. And do they make helmets yet that look like wide-brimmed hats?
I was riding around the driveway of a North Vancouver hotel, but Opus's new urban bike, the Cervin, had me imagining I was cruising a cobbled street in Europe on the way to a cafe.
The colour -- "creme brulée with a sand finish" according to the bike's designer Stéphane Le Beau -- is too pretty for spandex. Luckily, the bike comes outfitted with a chain guard so riding in a skirt is a possibility.

The upright frame is a comfortable change from the forward-leaning posture typical of North American bikes, and it's kind of nice to see the scenery while you ride.
The fenders and rack come with the bike, and are painted the same creamy colour. To make it even more irresistible to the stylish neighbourhood cyclist, it has soft, brown stitched-leather handles and a matching brown leather seat.
It looks great, but it's also got potential as a commuter bike with 24 gears, high-quality components and an attractive retail price of about $575.

Le Beau said he designed the bike with a downtown Montreal resident in mind. (We forgive him for that -- he is from Montreal -- but the bike will likely be just as popular on the West Coast).
"I could have called it the café bike," Le Beau said. "It's really for a city person. It's not a bike to take on long tours, but it's great for commuting or for neighbourhood shopping."
It may be time to consider another set of wheels for those little neighbourhood trips.

Urban bike sets wheels a'whirring
High gas prices, green concerns have people flocking to cycle shops.

It's a good time to be in the bicycle business. High gas prices and an interest in doing something to help the planet are convincing more people to switch to two-wheelers for local transportation -- and bringing a new group of customers into bike shops that used to be populated by cycling enthusiasts and kids.
"We're selling tons of commuter bikes. It's a big market right now," said Chaz Romalis, owner of North Vancouver's Cove Bike Shop.
"Business is awesome. The price of gas is driving people to start commuting by bike. Sales are up 200 per cent for asphalt bikes -- it's just taking off."
Romalis was one of the B.C. bike retailers who attended yesterday's preview of the 2009 models of Opus bikes.
It's the first time the Montreal-based bike manufacturer has given B.C. retailers the first look at its new models, and an indication the eight-year-old company is ready to push harder in the western market.
After launching in 2001 with a small line of road bikes, Opus, which is owned by Outdoor Gear Canada, introduced 52 models across a range of styles, from entry-level bikes to all-mountain bikes and high-end, road-racing bikes you can dangle on one finger.
But it was the new line of urban bikes that grabbed the retailer's attention yesterday. The bikes, which will be priced at less than $600, have the Old-World style of traditional European bikes combined with lightweight aluminum frames and gears.

Stéphane Le Beau, a bike designer for Opus and a world champion cyclist, said he designed the two urban bikes for people who want to ride around their neighbourhood rather than drive to the shops, as well as for commuters who live less than 10 kilometres from their workplace.
"I wanted a bike to ride on the street, a perfect city bike," Le Beau said. "It's not flashy, but it has a certain style. I think it's really going to catch on."
George Inglis, co-owner of Ace Cycle Shop, said hybrids and commuter bikes are the biggest sellers at his store on West Broadway in Vancouver.
"People are looking for a bike for the neighbourhood, something to save on gas money," Inglis said. "And these bikes look good, not the same-old same-old."
Bruce Wenting, owner of Wentings Cycle in Mission, said his customers are looking for bikes to use for short trips rather than for commuting long distances, and he predicts the urban bikes will be popular.
"It's like, all of a sudden there's this new invention that's cheaper than a car for getting around," he said.

Rob White, vice-president of sales for Outdoor Gear Canada, said cycling enthusiasts remain a major part of Opus's market, but bike commuters are getting more attention from North American industry.
"People are turning to bikes for commuting to do something for the environment, for their health and to save a buck on gas," White said. "Five years ago, it was cool to show up at work in a Hummer. Nowadays, the cool people show up on bikes."

The Province
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Page: A26 / FRONT
Section: Money
Byline: Wendy Mclellan
wmclellan@theprovince.com
Source: The Province


Opus Cervin 09 - Available December 08
(large picture
photo : Marc Dussault

Coupe Québec de Hull

Coupe Québec Chelsea

Junior F XCO
1. - Stéphanie Lacoursière Cyclone dAlma 01:18:06 CAN
2. - Andréanne Pichette Opus/OGC 01:22:59 CAN
3. - Sarah Moore CVM Val-David 01:24:06 CAN

Sénior Élite M XCO
1. - Robin Seymour Indépendant 01:39:12 IRL
2. - Vincent Meunier Demers-Specialized 01:42:01 CAN
3. - Jonathan Boulanger Opus/OGC 01:43:18 CAN
4. - Léni Trudel Opus/OGC 01:44:51 CAN

Sénior Élite F XCO
1. - Caroline Villeneuve Opus/OGC 01:43:42 CAN
2. - Cindy Montambault Accro Vélo Val-dOr 01:54:21 CAN
3. - Genevieve Larouche Xprezo 02:01:24 CAN

Junior Expert M XCO
1. - Jonathan Boucher* Opus/OGC 01:26:12 CAN
2. - Simon Lalancette Devinci 01:26:35 CAN
3. - Frédéric Forgues-Lapointe CCS/Dalbix 01:26:50 CAN
...
9. - Steve Caillé Opus/OGC 01:32:31 CAN

*Lire la chronique de Jonathan Boucher sur son blogue

Régionale au Centre de Biathlon de Québec

photo ROB JONES Canadian Cyclist

Régionale au Centre de Biathlon de Québec

1er - Jonathan Boucher Opus-OGC
catégorie Junior Expert.