Grands Prix Cyclistes de Montréal 2019 [LAST 25 KM]

September 15, 2019

Grands Prix Cyclistes de Montréal 2019 – Montréal – Montréal : 219,6 km

On the banks of the Saint Lawrence river comes one of the great points of confluence of the season. Now in their 10th year of existence, the Grands Prix Cyclistes de Québec and Montréal have firmly established themselves on the WorldTour calendar, drawing a broad congregation of Classics specialists and Grand Tour riders to Canada each September. The two races’ proximity to the World Championships is an important part of the attraction, of course, as is their format. Each race sees riders tackle multiple laps of a circuit worthy of the Worlds – literally, in the case of Montreal, which was the site of Eddy Merckx’s triumph in 1974 – but it would be remiss to view the events solely as a dress rehearsal for the main event in Yorkshire in a little over a fortnight’s time.

Greg Van Avermaet (CCC Team) showed his form is bang on ahead of the UCI Road World Championships, putting out a powerful, well-timed surge to win the Grand Prix de Montréal.

The Olympic champion shot out of a reduced bunch late on the climb up the Avenue du Parc to overhaul Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates), with Ivan Garcia (Bahrain-Merida) in third.

It was Van Avermaet’s third win of 2019 after stages in the Tour de Yorkshire and Volta a la Communitat Valenciana, and follows a dry spell in the Tour de France where his best stage placing was third.

Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quickstep) animated the closing kilometres, chasing down compatriot Benoit Cosnefroy (AG2R La Mondiale) and heading out of the last turn with a small gap on the bunch led by Jack Haig (Mitchelton-Scott).

But a bit too much cat and mouse scuttled the Frenchmen’s advantage, and with the surge of Ulissi they faded from contention. The Italian looked to have the win in his sights until the bright orange jersey of Van Avermaet shot out to the side and surged past to snatch the victory.

How it unfolded

The 2019 edition of the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal saw the race extended by two laps of the demanding 12.2km circuit in the striking Parc du Mont Royal, bringing the total distance to 221km and the total climbing to 4,734 metres.

The arduous road ahead did not dissuade the an early quintet of attackers, with Guy Sagiv (Israel Cycling Academy), Ryan Anderson (Rally UHC Cycling), Matteo Dal-Cin (Rally UHC Cycling), Charles-Étienne Chrétien (Canada National Team) and Nick Zukowsky (Canada National Team) forging clear on the first of the day’s 18 laps.

Within two laps, the escapees had a buffer of 10:45 on the peloton, but as the day wore on, the efforts of Sunweb and Bora-Hansgrohe at the head of the bunch gradually whittled down that sizeable early lead. In time, Julian Alaphilippe’s Deceuninck-QuickStep squad joined the chase effort, and with 60km remaining, the gap was back down to just over 2 minutes.

The race took on different guise with five laps remaining when Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck-QuickStep) accelerated on the Côte Camillien-Houde and set off in lone pursuit of the break. The Belgian didn’t quite make it all the way across, but his aggression did encourage 20 or so riders to bridge across to him, which in turn triggered a sudden injection of pace in the peloton to bring the counter-attack to heel.

By that point, only Zukowsky was alone at the head of the race, having distanced his flagging Canadian teammate Chrétien. Jan Polanc (UAE Team Emirates), Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-Scott) and Sep Vanmacke (EF Education First) were the next to try their luck by attacking from the peloton, but they were recaptured before they saw the head of the race. Zukowsky survived a little longer, but he, too, was swept up with a little under 3 laps remaining.

Dan Martin (UAE Team Emirates) triggered new frissons when he danced clear on the Côte de Polytechnique with 31km to go, bringing a group of 15 or so riders with him over the other side, but they never quite managed to put daylight between themselves and the peloton.

On the penultimate lap, Nathan Earle (Israel Cycling Academy) succeeded in forcing clear alone just as the rest of the move was swept up, but despite some bold resistance, he could never quite put daylight between himself and his pursuers. The Australian led up the climb to Mont-Royal with 15km to go, but as the bell approached, a reduced bunch was almost within touch distance.

With 10km to go it was AG2R La Mondiale’s Nans Peters off the front with a surge that shattered the peloton behind. He was joined by Michael Woods (EF Education First) and Enric Mas (Deceuninck-Quickstep) but Mitchelton-Scott mowed them down before the crest of the Côte Camillien-Houde.

Benoit Cosnefroy (AG2R La Mondiale) countered the move and got a 13 second gap until Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) put in a blistering move on the Cote de Polytechnique, marked again by Mas.

The chasers scrambled to minimize the danger, with plenty of descending before the final kick to the line. With 5km to go Cosnefroy’s advantage was down to the single digits when Peter Sagan came across to Wellens. Alaphilippe made the move, bridged across the Cosnefroy and then sat on his compatriot on the long descent to the finishing stretch.

Behind, Sagan led on the descent, tucked low on the top tube and got the duo nearly in sight as the road straightened out.

But with a U-turn allowing the bunch to see the pair, Jack Haig nailed them back and Ulissi opened the sprint a tad too soon to hold off Van Avermaet at the line.

Results :
1 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) CCC Team 6:09:38
2 Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
3 Ivan Garcia (Spa) Bahrain-Merida
4 Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal
5 Michael Valgren Andersen (Den) Dimension Data
6 Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) Israel Cycling Academy
7 Rui Costa (Por) UAE Team Emirates
8 Michael Woods (Can) EF Education First
9 Nans Peters (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
10 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
11 Jack Haig (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
12 Mathias Frank (Swi) AG2R La Mondiale
13 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep
14 Adam Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott
15 Carlos Betancur (Col) Movistar Team 0:00:05
16 Enric Mas (Spa) Deceuninck-QuickStep
17 Benoit Cosnefroy (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:12
18 Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
19 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb 0:00:50
20 Kasper Asgreen (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep
21 Timo Roosen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
22 Nathan Haas (Aus) Katusha-Alpecin
23 Toms Skujins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo
24 Rudy Molard (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
25 Alex Howes (USA) EF Education First
26 Matej Mohoric (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
27 Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data
28 Hugo Houle (Can) Astana Pro Team
29 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
30 Kevin Geniets (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
31 Anthony Roux (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
32 Davide Villella (Ita) Astana Pro Team
33 Eduard Prades (Spa) Movistar Team
34 Daryl Impey (RSA) Mitchelton-Scott
35 Jonathan Castroviejo (Spa) Team Ineos
36 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
37 Alexander Cataford (Can) Israel Cycling Academy
38 Jonas Gregaard Wilsly (Den) Astana Pro Team
39 Adam De Vos (Can) Rally UHC Cycling
40 Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
41 Jan Polanc (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
42 Krists Neilands (Lat) Israel Cycling Academy
43 Ruben Fernandez (Spa) Movistar Team
44 Gavin Mannion (USA) Rally UHC Cycling
45 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Soudal
46 Jan Bakelants (Bel) Team Sunweb
47 Joseph Rosskopf (USA) CCC Team
48 Valentin Madouas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
49 Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
50 Tom-Jelte Slagter (Ned) Dimension Data
51 Alberto Bettiol (Ita) EF Education First
52 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
53 Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
54 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
55 Lucas Hamilton (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
56 Jay Mc Carthy (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe
57 Magnus Cort Nielsen (Den) Astana Pro Team
58 Marc Hirschi (Swi) Team Sunweb
59 Daniel Martin (Irl) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:10
60 Jasha Sütterlin (Ger) Movistar Team 0:01:26
61 Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) EF Education First
62 Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
63 Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Mitchelton-Scott
64 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:01:38
65 Louis Vervaeke (Bel) Team Sunweb 0:01:40
66 Brent Bookwalter (USA) Mitchelton-Scott 0:02:38
67 Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) UAE Team Emirates 0:02:55
68 Laurens De Plus (Bel) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:03:09
69 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:03:35
70 Jai Hindley (Aus) Team Sunweb
71 Paul Martens (Ger) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:04:57
72 Simon Geschke (Ger) CCC Team
73 Julien Duval (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:05:07
74 Aurélien Paret-Peintre (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
75 Nathan Earle (Aus) Israel Cycling Academy 0:05:25
76 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Ineos 0:05:49
77 Jaime Castrillo (Spa) Movistar Team
78 Michael Schär (Swi) CCC Team
79 Rui Oliveira (Por) UAE Team Emirates
80 Grega Bole (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
81 Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:08:38
82 Nicolas Zukowsky (Can) Canata
83 Nathan Brown (USA) EF Education First
84 Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Team Jumbo-Visma
85 Olivier Le Gac (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:09:38
86 James Piccoli (Can) Canada 0:10:26
87 Stan Dewulf (Bel) Lotto Soudal
88 James Whelan (Aus) EF Education First
89 Mikkel Frølich Honoré (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep
90 Antoine Duchesne (Can) Groupama-FDJ
91 Ryan Gibbons (RSA) Dimension Data
92 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Katusha-Alpecin
93 Nikolas Maes (Bel) Lotto Soudal
94 Jasper Philipsen (Bel) UAE Team Emirates
95 Ryan Anderson (Can) Rally UHC Cycling
96 Guy Sagiv (Isr) Israel Cycling Academy 0:12:33
97 Laurent Gervais (Can) Canada 0:15:37
DNF Julius van den Berg (Ned) EF Education First
DNF Luis Mas (Spa) Movistar Team
DNF Josef Cerny (Cze) CCC Team
DNF Guillaume Boivin (Can) Israel Cycling Academy
DNF Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Dimension Data
DNF Kristoffer Halvorsen (Nor) Team Ineos
DNF Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Sunweb
DNF Simon Spilak (Slo) Katusha-Alpecin
DNF Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
DNF Matteo Dal-Cin (Can) Rally UHC Cycling
DNF William Bonnet (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
DNF Michael Gogl (Aut) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Gino Mäder (Swi) Dimension Data
DNF Charles-Étienne Chrétien (Can) Canada
DNF Christopher Lawless (GBr) Team Ineos
DNF Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
DNF Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin
DNF Alexis Gougeard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Rob Britton (Can) Rally UHC Cycling
DNF Lawrence Naesen (Bel) Lotto Soudal
DNF Julien Bernard (Fra) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Daniel Oss (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF José Gonçalves (Por) Katusha-Alpecin
DNF Robin Plamondon (Can) Canada
DNF Jordan Cheyne (Can) Canada
DNF Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Ineos
DNF Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Ineos
DNF Robert Stannard (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
DNF Lukasz Wisniowski (Pol) CCC Team
DNF Svein Tuft (Can) Rally UHC Cycling
DNF Davide Ballerini (Ita) Astana Pro Team
DNF Nicola Conci (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Marcus Burghardt (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Marco Haller (Aut) Katusha-Alpecin
DNF Richie Porte (Aus) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Evan Burtnik (Can) Canada
DNF Leonardo Basso (Ita) Team Ineos
DNF Danny van Poppel (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
DNF Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Movistar Team
DNF Serge Pauwels (Bel) CCC Team
DNF August Jensen (Nor) Israel Cycling Academy
DNF Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Dimension Data
DNF Pello Bilbao (Spa) Astana Pro Team
DNF Pieter Serry (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
DNF Rick Zabel (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin
DNF Thomas Leezer (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
DNF Nigel Ellsay (Can) Rally UHC Cycling
DNF Lennard Kämna (Ger) Team Sunweb