Final World Tour one-day races of the season held outside of Europe are scheduled this week.
We are back in North America for the two exciting races taking place in Canada, which have been part of the calendar since 2010. The first of these events will be the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec, which will see the peloton cover 18 laps of a 12km circuit that includes three demanding climbs, for a total elevation gain of 2600 meters. As the last two of these hills come in quick succession, an attack late into the race has a strong chance of making it to the finish of this 14th edition.
Just two days later, the bunch will take on the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal (209.1 kilometers), another race run on a local circuit, this time 12.3 kilometers in length and suited to the climbers, who’ll take on a total of 68 hills, the most important of which will be the long Voie Camillien-Houde and the Avenue du Parc (560 m, 4%). Given the profile in Montreal – host of next year’s World Championships – attacks are guaranteed to come, meaning the race could open up before the final lap.
Soudal Quick-Step will be present at the start of the two World Tour events with a strong squad comprising Mattia Cattaneo, Pascal Eenkhoorn, Gil Gelders, Antoine Huby, Luke Lamperti – who had an impressive outing in Quebec last season – Valentin Paret-Peintre, the man who tamed the slopes of the mythical Mont Ventoux at the Tour de France, and Pieter Serry.
“Quebec could once again come down to a reduced bunch sprint, and if this will be the case, then Luke will be our man, but we also have riders who can be prominent by going on the attack early in the race. Montreal is harder, suited to a guy like Valentin. We’ll see what he can do there, with the support of a strong and motivated team”, said sports director Wilfried Peeters.
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