Peace Cup of Cycling crowns its champions

Esteban, who'll represent Columbia at the Beijing Olympic Games racked up 620 points. Ironically, he won none of the four legs of the championship. He beat out Tim Hucker (570 points) and the winner of the first stage in Laval, Arnaud Papillon (530 points).

In women's competition, Joëlle Numainville of France finished second with 540 points, 50 behind Vancouver's Jenny Trew. Although she finished second, Numainville took two of the four legs, one in Laval, the other in Blainville. "I messed up, especially in Montreal North (third stage). I was thinking more of winning than of the points I should be accumulating. Emotion got the best of me. When I realized I could not win the sprint, I slacked off. It wasn't the best decision to make, because I could still have scored some good points," the 20-year-old athlete admitted. "I'm very proud of my performance and my two wins," she added.

Peace Cup of Cycling president Léa Chermanne said she was happy with the level of participation by athletes and the support from the people who turned up to watch the four-day races.