Mark McCormack (Saturn) and Genevieve Jeanson (Rona/Esker) left little doubt Monday as each won their fourth consecutive stage of the Mad River Valley Green Mountain Stage Race in Vermont.

The Voler Burlington Criterium offered little if any rest to the riders, as the unique general classification points format required racers to stay aggressive throughout this final stage. Certainly that was true in McCormack’s case as he countered a brief early attack with Mark Walters (Navigators) and went clear to stay.

McCormack and Walters rode a very smart race, working well together and maintaining a half a lap lead throughout the second half of the race.

Walters started the day in fourth place overall on GC, so his effort was a good one, putting pressure on Cameron Hughes (LeMond Fitness/Cra-Z Soap) and his slim two point advantage for the final podium spot.

The LeMond boys tried their best, but lots of little attacks from the hard-charging field stifled any attempts to get Hughes up to the break or to bring the break back entirely. At the finish, McCormack attacked Walters out of the last corner and took the stage to win all 4 days, the first time it’s happened in the men’s race. The field wound up for the massive 15-wide field sprint that Burlington is famous for, with Ciaran Power (Navigators) benefiting from his teammate Justin Spinelli’s leadout to take it and third in the stage.

McCormack won the overall general classification, and Walters’ efforts on the day vaulted him over Hughes and Tim Johnson (Saturn) into second overall. Johnson was third, Hughes fourth, and Power fifth.

The women’s race was not what anyone had expected, as last year Jeanson lapped the field twice on her way to the stage win. But this year she was content on sitting in and letting her teammates set a blistering pace, which knocked out a third of the field in the first 10 laps of the race.

After the dust settled, Katheryn Curi went to the front and was the workhorse for the rest of the race, setting the table to Jeanson to snag all but one of the points sprints and eventually setting her up for the final dash to the line. Jeanson won the final sprint, with Curi able to hold her position and take second, and Amy Moore (Team Ontario) taking third on the day.

Jeanson won her second consecutive GMSR, and team Rona took the first four podium spots for the second year in a row as well, placing Katheryn Curi, Shani Block, and Kristen Lasasso in second, third, and fourth. Sara Bresnick (Dansko/Wheelworks) took fifth overall.

Men
1. Mark Mccormack, Saturn, 1:06:44
2. Mark Walters, Navigators, s.t.
3. Ciaran Power, Navigators, at 0:25
4. Kevin Lacombe, Canadian National development
5. Shawn McCormack, Sago Tea Café-Bicycle Alley, all s.t.Final overall
1. Mark Mccormack, Saturn
2. Mark Walters, Navigators
3. Tim Johnson, Saturn
4. Cameron Hughes, LeMond Fitness-Captain Cra-Z Soap
5. Ciaran Power, Navigators
6. Mike Dietrich, Fiordifrutta-Wheelworks
7. Kevin Bouchard-Hall, Hawley ATA-Cycles
8. Peter Hult, Giant-ProCycles
9. Justin Spinelli, Navigators
10. Jon Hamblen, Fiordifrutta-WheelworksWomen
1. Geneviève Jeanson, Rona-Esker
2. Katheryn Curi, Rona-Eskar
3. Amy Moore, Team Ontario
4. Julie Hutsebaut, Équipe du Québec
5. Kristen Lasasso, Rona-EskerFinal overall
1. Geneviève Jeanson, Rona-Esker
2. Katheryn Curi, Rona-Eskar
3. Shani Block Rona-Eskar
4. Kristen Lasasso, Rona-Esker
5. Sara Bresnick, Dansko-Wheelworks
6. Anna Milkowski, Gearworks-Spin Arts
7. Johanna Buick, Rona-Esker
8. Amy Moore, Team Ontario
9. Émilie Roy, Canadian Cycling
10. Katrina Davis, Richard Sachs