Grands Prix Cyclistes de Québec 2016 [LAST 90 KM]

September 09, 2016

Grands Prix Cyclistes de Québec 2016– Quebec City – 201,6 km

The WorldTour heads to Canada for two rounds of one-day events held in Quebec City and Montreal, respectively, on September 9 and 11 in the province of Quebec.

Quebec City will host the first of the two races with a challenging 201.6km race held over 16 laps of a 12.1km circuit. The course is littered with puncheur-style climbs, particularly over the steep Rue de la Montagne (the KOM) and a long drag to the finish line along the Grande Allée.

World champion Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) sprinted to the finish line to take the victory at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec City. He caught late-race attacker and defending champion Rigoberto Uran (Cannondale-Drapac) just metres from the finish line to take the win ahead of Olympic gold medallist Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) and Anthony Roux (FDJ).

“I felt like I didn’t need to go full gas on the last two climbs because the end is so hard. The last kilometre was a headwind, Rigoberto tried like last year, but today it was different,” Sagan said at the finish line.

“The last kilometre was very fast after 200km. I saw Rigoberto go, and I thought maybe we would play for second place, but he slowed toward the end because it was so hard. The FDJ rider [Roux] started the sprint and I was there, OK. It was unbelievable.”

After a valiant effort by Orica-BikeExchange to keep all breakaways in check for much of the 201.6km race, it was Tinkoff, Team Sky and FDJ that lead the intact field into the final decisive climb over the Rue de la Montagne with roughly four kilometres to go.

Matteo Trentin (Etixx-QuickStep) forced an attack, and was quickly followed by Gianni Moscon (Team Sky) and Etixx teammate Julian Alaphilippe. Etixx had the numbers but neither of the two were strong enough to hold Moscon in line, and the Italian powered away from them to take a small lead, along with the the top-weighted KOM points to win the mountain classification with under two kilometres to go.

Uran made a familiar surprise attack, which netted him the day’s victory last year, and it looked as though he was going to repeat that success as he powered passed Canada’s iconic Chateau Frontenac with a clear gap and only 500 metres to go. But the uphill drag, which presented a headwind to boot this year, was too much for the Colombian.

He desperately tried to make it to the finish line, but the bunch sprint ensued behind.

Roux started the gallop with 200 metres to go but only succeeded in providing a spring board for both Sagan and Van Avermaet to drag race to the line. In the end, it was Sagan who proved fastest, leaving Van Avermaet in second and Roux in third.

How it happened

It has become a tradition at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec City for an all-day breakaway to be caught in the closing two laps, while the bunch sets up for a nail-biting finale, and this year’s edition proved to be another exciting one.

A decisive break set off early and included eight riders: Valerio Agnoli (Astana), Lars Bak (Lotto-Soudal), Maxim Belkov (Katusha), Twan Castelijns (LottoNL-Jumbo), Matt Brammeier (Dimension Data), Alexandre Pichot (Direct Energie), Jan Barta (Bora-Argon 18) and Nicolas Masbourain (Canada).

They worked together for two-thirds of the race, gaining a maximum of 3:30. Barta and Masbourain battled for the first sets of lower-level KOM points on offer over the Rue de la Montagne, a steep 10 per cent grade climb each lap, and it looked as though Barta had built a solid lead in the classification, if not for the more heavily weighted sets of points offered on the last two laps.

A relatively subdued field rolled along behind, largely led by the efforts of five riders: Christian Meier (Orica-BikeExchange), Laurens De Plus (Etixx-QuickStep), Manuel Senni (BMC), and Evgney Petrov and Michael Valgren Andersen (Tinkoff).

Bak made a last-ditch attack to shed his breakaway companions, but when push came to shove Orica-BikeExchange closed it down with roughly 40km to go, setting up the true race for the day’s glory over the last three laps.

Attacks came from Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx-QuickStep) and Luke Rowe (Team Sky), and although they gained a quick 40 seconds, Orica snuffed out that move on the next climb over the Rue de la Montagne with 30km, two and half laps, to go.

A larger breakaway formed next with the likes of Fabio Aru (Astana), Rui Costa and Matej Mohoric (Lampre-Merida), Brent Bookwalter (BMC) and Sean De Bie (Lotto Soudal). It looked to have the makings of a promising move if it weren’t for Lampre-Merida having two riders represented, and in the end the others weren’t willing to work together.

Mohoric tried to go alone, but he wasn’t strong enough to hold off the chasing peloton on his own and was caught by a field led by Daryl Impey (Orica-BikeExchange).

That led the way for Bora-Argon18’s Paul Voss. A move that was later countered by Oliver Naesen (IAM Cycling) but they, too, were reeled back in before the last climb up the Rue de la Montagne.

Tradition held true as the field made the left hand turn onto the Rue de la Montagne one last time, setting up the fireworks for the last kilometres of the race through old Quebec City.

Full Results :
1 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff Team 5:07:13
2 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team
3 Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ
4 Alberto Bettiol (Ita) Cannondale-Drapac
5 Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica-BikeExchange
6 Nathan Haas (Aus) Dimension Data
7 Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre – Merida
8 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
9 Petr Vakoc (Cze) Etixx – Quick-Step
10 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Cannondale-Drapac
11 Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Team Katusha
12 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
13 Rui Costa (Por) Lampre – Merida
14 Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal
15 Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac
16 Yoann Offredo (Fra) FDJ
17 Guillaume Boivin (Can) Canadian National Team
18 Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal
19 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team
20 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:08
21 Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin
22 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
23 Martin Elmiger (Swi) IAM Cycling
24 Frank Schleck (Lux) Trek-Segafredo
25 Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Cannondale-Drapac
26 Hugo Houle (Can) AG2R La Mondiale
27 Michael Woods (Can) Cannondale-Drapac
28 Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
29 David Tanner (Aus) IAM Cycling
30 Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre – Merida
31 Mikel Nieve (Spa) Team Sky
32 Sam Oomen (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
33 Bruno Langlois (Can) Canadian National Team 0:00:14
34 Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team
35 Jasha Sütterlin (Ger) Movistar Team
36 Antoine Duchesne (Can) Direct Energie
37 Diego Rosa (Ita) Astana Pro Team
38 Tom Boonen (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step 0:00:16
39 Alexey Vermeulen (USA) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:00:18
40 Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team
41 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team
42 Serge Pauwels (Bel) Dimension Data
43 Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar Team
44 David Drouin (Can) Canadian National Team
45 Oliver Zaugg (Swi) IAM Cycling
46 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling 0:00:23
47 Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:29
48 Gianni Moscon (Ita) Team Sky 0:00:33
49 Timo Roosen (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:00:35
50 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
51 Paul Voss (Ger) Bora-Argon 18
52 Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Argon 18 0:00:39
53 Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
54 Andre Cardoso (Por) Cannondale-Drapac 0:00:47
55 Cyril Gautier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:53
56 Simone Petilli (Ita) Lampre – Merida
57 Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Tinkoff Team
58 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Tinkoff Team 0:00:59
59 Nikolas Maes (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step 0:01:02
60 Grégory Rast (Swi) Trek-Segafredo
61 Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data
62 Jon Izaguirre (Spa) Movistar Team 0:01:24
63 Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team 0:01:56
64 Matteo Trentin (Ita) Etixx – Quick-Step 0:02:03
65 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Etixx – Quick-Step
66 Jan Polanc (Slo) Lampre – Merida 0:02:24
67 Moreno Hofland (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
68 Oliver Naesen (Bel) IAM Cycling
69 Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
70 Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Argon 18
71 Aleksei Tsatevich (Rus) Team Katusha
72 Adam Yates (GBr) Orica-BikeExchange
73 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky
74 Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Team Katusha
75 Olivier Le Gac (Fra) FDJ
76 Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff Team
77 Winner Anacona (Col) Movistar Team
78 Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) FDJ
79 William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ 0:02:46
80 Julien Berard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:02:52
81 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) IAM Cycling
82 Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale
83 Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Giant-Alpecin
84 Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
85 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team
86 Matej Mohoric (Slo) Lampre – Merida
87 Dominik Nerz (Ger) Bora-Argon 18
88 Andreas Schillinger (Ger) Bora-Argon 18
89 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Orica-BikeExchange
90 Philip Deignan (Irl) Team Sky
91 Toms Skujins (Lat) Cannondale-Drapac
92 Sean De Bie (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:03:01
93 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Soudal
94 Francisco Ventoso (Spa) Movistar Team 0:03:48
95 Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ 0:03:57
96 Antonio Pedrero (Spa) Movistar Team 0:04:07
97 Jarlinson Pantano (Col) IAM Cycling
98 Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Orica-BikeExchange 0:04:52
99 Michael Valgren (Den) Tinkoff Team
100 Peter Stetina (USA) Trek-Segafredo
101 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Argon 18
102 Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre – Merida 0:05:00
103 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Tinkoff Team
104 Bryan Coquard (Fra) Direct Energie 0:05:02
105 Adrien Petit (Fra) Direct Energie 0:05:14
106 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:05:36
107 Laurens De Plus (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step
108 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Soudal 0:06:00
109 Joseph Rosskopf (USA) BMC Racing Team
110 Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
111 Benjamin Perry (Can) Canadian National Team
112 Steve Morabito (Swi) FDJ
113 Natnael Berhane (Eri) Dimension Data
114 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Direct Energie
115 Pim Ligthart (Ned) Lotto Soudal 0:08:40
116 Bert De Backer (Bel) Team Giant-Alpecin
117 Angel Vicioso (Spa) Team Katusha
118 Jesus Herrada (Spa) Movistar Team 0:09:17
DNF Oscar Gatto (Ita) Tinkoff Team
DNF Michal Kolár (Svk) Tinkoff Team
DNF Lawson Craddock (USA) Cannondale-Drapac
DNF Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Lotto Soudal
DNF Adriano Malori (Ita) Movistar Team
DNF Sebastian Henao (Col) Team Sky
DNF Andrew Fenn (GBr) Team Sky
DNF Luke Rowe (GBr) Team Sky
DNF Xabier Zandio (Spa) Team Sky
DNF Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team
DNF Manuel Senni (Ita) BMC Racing Team
DNF Peter Velits (Svk) BMC Racing Team
DNF Maxim Belkov (Rus) Team Katusha
DNF Vladimir Isaychev (Rus) Team Katusha
DNF Simon Spilak (Slo) Team Katusha
DNF Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Team Katusha
DNF Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step
DNF Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Etixx – Quick-Step
DNF Michael Albasini (Swi) Orica-BikeExchange
DNF Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-BikeExchange
DNF Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica-BikeExchange
DNF Christian Meier (Can) Orica-BikeExchange
DNF Julian Arredondo (Col) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Stijn Devolder (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Jérémy Maison (Fra) FDJ
DNF Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Astana Pro Team
DNF Maxat Ayazbayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
DNF Eros Capecchi (Ita) Astana Pro Team
DNF Twan Castelijns (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
DNF Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
DNF Luka Pibernik (Slo) Lampre – Merida
DNF Fredrik Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Giant-Alpecin
DNF Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
DNF Albert Timmer (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
DNF Lars Van Der Haar (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
DNF Jonathan Fumeaux (Swi) IAM Cycling
DNF Matt Brammeier (Irl) Dimension Data
DNF Youcef Reguigui (Alg) Dimension Data
DNF Songezo Jim (RSA) Dimension Data
DNF Adrien Niyonshuti (Rwa) Dimension Data
DNF Yohann Gene (Fra) Direct Energie
DNF Fabien Grellier (Fra) Direct Energie
DNF Angelo Tulik (Fra) Direct Energie
DNF Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Direct Energie
DNF Jan Barta (Cze) Bora-Argon 18
DNF Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Argon 18
DNF Alexander Cataford (Can) Canadian National Team
DNF Matteo Dal-Cin (Can) Canadian National Team
DNF Nigel Ellsay (Can) Canadian National Team
DNF Nicolas Masbourian (Can) Canadian National Team