2026 Tour de Beauce, another overall win for Colombia
Plus ça change, it seems, at the Tour de Beauce. Another year full of incredibly tough racing and another Colombian rider is leaving Beauce with the biggest prize. In 2025 it was Diego Andrés Camargo (Medellín-EPM) who won Canada’s oldest UCI race. The 2026 edition goes to his teammate Wilmar Andrés Paredes.
He wrapped up overall victory at the 38th Tour de Beauce on Sunday, winning the final stage in Saint-Georges while wearing the yellow jersey. It was a helluva way to finish off the week of racing. Especially when the final day’s challenging city circuits are known to shake up the G.C. — it’s no parade stage.
Stage 5 of the Tour de Beauce
The 30-year-old cyclist benefited from strong teamwork throughout the day before delivering the finishing touch himself on the demanding 132.6-km circuit race. The 13-lap stage was completed in 3:17:00 at an average speed of 40.4 km/h. Another quick day, considering the undulating course and challenging descents.
Paredes stayed near the front all afternoon and made his move coming out of the final tight corner with just over 300 metres remaining. Once clear, he held off the chasers to take the win and secure the overall title.
Canadians fare well in finale
Jérôme Gauthier (Project Echelon) finished second on the stage after a late sprint to close the gap, while Dutch rider Boris Van der Voort crossed the line in third.
“When Paredes went with 300 metres to go, I saw it was going to be difficult, but I gave everything hoping he would slow down. That didn’t happen! I’m still happy to finish second,” Gauthier said.
The Project Echelon rider felt Medellín-EPM controlled much of the final day. As usual, there were dozens of riders who called it a day early, showing the high attrition rate of the final day.
“It was a bit more controlled than usual, especially on the main climb. They were stronger than everyone else. Nobody could beat them,” Gauthier said, who leaves Beauce with the red jersey as the race’s top under-23 rider for a second straight year.
A tough finish to a tough week
Medellín-EPM made sure nothing ever got too clear. There was only a four-rider breakaway that managed to gain any meaningful advantage, and it never stretched beyond 90 seconds.
Early attacks from 47-year-old Bruno Langlois (Vélo Cartel) and Laurent Gervais (Project Echelon) were quickly neutralized. (But hey, chapeau Bruno, for going for it!)
Later, Robin Plamondon (Vélo Cartel) featured in the day’s main escape, but the group’s hopes disappeared with two laps remaining.
As the podium ceremony unfolded, Colombian fans gathered along 120th Street in Saint-Georges, singing and waving flags as their national anthem echoed through downtown.
This year, the G.C. remained largely unchanged after the final stage. Last year’s winner Camargo finished second overall. Tim McBirney (Project Echelon), whose long-range solo ride on Mont Mégantic was absolutely stunning, completed the overall podium in third. He came so close to winning the storied stage.
Léo Roy (Bluebird Storage) was the top Québécois rider, finishing fifth overall. Roy has been racing well all year in France, even taking two wins there.
Given his multiple podiums at Beauce, in addition to the yellow jersey, Paredes also took the points classification. Samuel Couture won the mountains title after a strong week on home roads.
Although the Tour de Beauce is over, there’s still lots of racing in the region coming up. In two weeks Canada’s elite, junior and under-23 riders head there for the 2026 national road championships. The action begins on June 26 and lasts until June 28.
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