Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Sunday, September 15, 2024

Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary | Our YouTube page
2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia

An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind. - Mahatma Gandhi

---

Bill & Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, Vol 1: 1903 - 1975 is available in print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Current racing:

• September 15: Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal
• September 15: Trofeo Matteotti

Upcoming racing:

• September 18 - 22: Tour de Luxembourg
• September 18: GP de Wallonie
• September 20: Kampioenschap van Vlaamnderen
• September 21: Super 8 Classic
• September 22 - 29: World Road Cycling Championships
• October 12: Il Lombardia

Latest completed racing:

• September 14: Memorial Marco Pantani
• September 13: Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec
• September 12: Coppa Sabatini
• September 11: Giro della Toscana
• September 8: GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano
• September 8: GP de Formies
• August 17 - Sept 8: Vuelta a España
• September 3 - 8: Tour of Britain
• September 8: Bemer Cyclassics
• September 8: Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec
• August 28 - September 1: Renewi Tour
• August 25: Bretagne Classic Ouest-France
• August 20 - 23: Tour du Poitou-Charentes en Nouvelle Aquitaine
• August 12 - 18: Tour of Poland

---

GP Cycliste de Québec team reports

We posted the report from winner Michael Matthews' Team Jayco AlUla with the results.

Nearly all GP de Québec team reports came too late to post yesterday. So here they are:

Here's the report from second-place Biniam Girmay's Team Intermarché-Wanty:

On Friday, September 13th, Intermarché-Wanty kicked off their long Canadian Classics weekend with a podium finish by Biniam Girmay, who placed second at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec.

Intermarché-Wanty immediately took control for their leader, controlling the peloton for most of the sixteen laps of the Quebec circuit, each including the Côte des Glacis and the Côte de la Montagne climbs. Despite multiple attacks in the final laps, including those by Tadej Pogacar and Julian Alaphilippe, a small group sprint decided the outcome.

Biniam Girmay (on right) finishing second to Michael Matthews.

The Tour de France green jersey winner has now secured his second consecutive podium finish in a World Tour classic, five days after his third-place finish at the Hamburg Cyclassics. This time, it was at the end of an uphill sprint that the Eritrean rider climbed to second place behind Michael Matthews, improving his previous result in this race and his third-place finish in 2022.

Biniam Girmay: “It was a particularly difficult edition of the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec, harder than the previous two. But I always felt supported by my team, who did a huge amount of work all day. From the start, we controlled the race. In the last two laps, I really suffered with the pace of UAE and Pogacar, but I didn’t panic and kept my rhythm so I wasn’t in the red. It was a special sprint, everyone was going full gas in the last kilometer. I think I maneuvered well in the last 500 meters to gain places, unfortunately, Matthews was the fastest today. I’m happy to reward my team with a nice podium.”

Here's the report from third-place Rudy Molard's Team Groupama-FDJ:

He wasn’t probably the one who was expected, but at the end of the long, slightly uphill finish at the Grand Prix de Québec, his tenacity paid off. Not a coincidence, eight months after his serious crash at the Tour Down Under. For the very first time in his career, on Friday, Rudy Molard climbed on the podium on a WorldTour Classic, thanks to a long and resisting sprint on the first Canadian round won by Michael Matthews. This is the first podium for Groupama-FDJ in Québec since Anthony Roux in 2016 (3rd).

On the banks of the St. Lawrence River, there were no surprises for the riders on Friday for the 13th Grand Prix de Québec. The traditional 12.6-kilometre circuit, including the short but explosive climbs of La Montagne, La Potasse and La Fabrique, was once again on the menu, with the last kilometre averaging 4% on the “Grande Allée”. This route, usually suitable to the punchers and sprinters, had to be covered sixteen times and a six-man breakaway quickly took the lead. Frank van den Broek, Artem Shmidt, Félix Hamel, Jonas Walton, Antonio Polga and Filippo Ridolfo gained up to six minutes, then as the final approached, the leading group was reduced to Van den Broek and Shmidt only.

The peloton easily managed the chase, then controlled the first attacks six kilometres from the finish. With two laps to go, the bunch was still quite big, Matteo Jorgenson then went solo in the final lap, but the pack was right behind him when they approached the final climbs. “We were riding for Romain and Valentin, but we had an issue two laps from the finish when things started to get lively,” said Yvon Caër. “Romain had to change bikes due to a puncture and that disorganized us a bit. Olivier and Clément repositioned him, but probably a bit too fast. Eventually, when the attacks occurred on the last climb, Romain and Valentin were not in a good enough position at the corner. On the other hand, thanks to his experience and his condition, Rudy managed to position himself quite well.”

Rudy Molard at the 2023 Tour Down Under. Sirotti photo

The last, strong attacks were made by Julian Alaphilippe and Tadej Pogacar, a group of six men broke away slightly, but in the last few hundred metres, a larger bunch got back together for the sprint. As often. “It was quite an intense final,” explained Rudy. “UAE set a fast pace to tire everyone out and, in the end, it was to my advantage, because the pure sprinters struggled a bit. I know I can be fast on this kind of finish, but the goal was to lead Romain out. I had to save myself to be his last man, but when I turned around with one kilometre to go, I didn’t see him. At 800 metres, I took another look, and I didn’t see him coming back. In the meantime, it opened up in front of me and I said to myself: go for it, take your chance, and he might come back a little later in the sprint. Once I got going, I gave it my all until the line.”

By taking the initiative to start early, the 34-year-old French puncher immediately got into the top positions, and he didn’t leave them from there on. In contact with Michael Matthews for a bit, he eventually took a superb third place on the line. “He delivered a very high-level sprint,” praised Yvon Caër. “He was very smart in the final, thinking that it was up to Romain to come back, and not up to him to go and get him. When he saw that it was getting difficult given the race dynamics, he took the initiative to sprint. Great riders know how to make good decisions and stand out when necessary.”

After thirteen years in the pro peloton, and two weeks after welcoming his first child, Rudy Molard thus conquered his first podium in a WorldTour Classic, in what was a very unusual season. “This result ranks in the top 5 of my performances after the victory at Paris-Nice and my two red jerseys at the Vuelta”, he said. “Finding myself next to the best sprinters in the world in this kind of finish, it says a lot about my performance. I am a little surprised, but I also feel a lot of satisfaction. I have come a long way with this difficult start to the season and this crash at the Tour Down Under. It took me more than three months to come back, and it is a great revenge for what happened. I feel 100% again, it is behind me once and for all, and I just want to enjoy it. Being able to finish on the podium here, in a WorldTour Classic, feels extremely good.” “I want to point out that he hasn’t raced for eight weeks, with the exception of Hamburg last week,” added Yvon. “He’s really an example because he trained to reach WorldTour level and he’s ready straight away. Hats off to him. We also think back to his start to the season, which proved very hard because of this crash. He never gave up mentally. It’s a lesson of persistence, patience, and hard work.”

Romain Grégoire also made it into the top 20 (19th) in this first Canadian round. The team is now heading to the second one in Montreal on Sunday, hoping it will be just as good. “On paper, it suits us better,” concluded Yvon. “We are very confident, Romain and Valentin will probably want to shine also, and Rudy can also achieve a good performance with the confidence and form he has.”

Here's the Québec Race report from fourth-place Tiesj Benoot's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:

Team Visma | Lease a Bike delivered a solid team performance in the GP de Québec. In the race won by Michael Matthews, Tiesj Benoot (fourth) and Per Strand Hagenes (fifth) finished among the best. Matteo Jorgenson also played a key role with an attack in the final.

After some work in front by Jan Tratnik in the closing phase, Matteo Jorgenson was quick to respond to an attack by Belgian rider Tim Wellens. The American from Team Visma | Lease a Bike initially neutralized the attack and later went on the offensive himself. Jorgenson opened a gap of about fifteen seconds and rode solo in the lead for a while but was caught just a few kilometers before the finish.

As is often the case in Québec, a sprint from a reduced peloton became inevitable. For a moment, Benoot reached out for the victory. The Belgian rider pulled up alongside Matthews, who had launched his sprint early, but Benoot ultimately couldn’t crown the strong work of Team Visma | Lease a Bike with victory. He gave it everything until the line, resulting in a fourth-place finish, just ahead of teammate Hagenes.

Tiesj Benoot earlier this year at the Amstel Gold Race. Sirotti photo

"This was a really strong race from the team," Benoot said. "When Matteo launched his attack, it created a great situation for us. We were able to sit back and let it play out. I didn’t want to start my sprint too early because of the headwind. Suddenly I saw Matthews start his sprint, and I felt like I still had something left, so I decided to go for it. Unfortunately, my effort stalled about a hundred meters from the line. I think I could have finished on the podium if I had stayed in the slipstream a little longer, but I chose to go all-in. Per also managed to sprint well behind le. I think we can be satisfied with having two riders in the top five. This strong team performance gives us confidence heading into the GP de Montréal on Sunday."

Tadej Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates posted this report:

Tadej Pogačar marked his return to racing since victory in the Tour de France with a solid 7th place after an aggressive team display at the GP Quebec in Canada.

The race took in a circuit around the city of Montreal over 200km with UAE lighting up the race around the 50km mark. Pogačar was attentive to attacks as the sprinters teams tried to keep things together on the flat punchy circuit. With -1km to go Pogačar found himself off the front with 3 riders from the Lotto Dystny squad including defending champion Arnaud De Lie.

A small hesitation saw the quartet swepped up by a chasing bunch and it was Quebec veteran Michael Matthews (Jayco AlUla) who took the sprint.

Tadej Pogacar after the first stage of 2024 Paris-Nice. Sirotti photo

Pogačar: “It was a really good race , the team did a very good job to set it up. We managed to do a really hard last couple of laps but I was not sure of my last kilometre if I would attack or not, but I made the wrong decision, waited for the sprint and I was boxed in.

"I wasn’t expecting such good legs so soon back after my break. I thought we might stay away when we were with three guys from Lotto but the group was coming back very fast. But I’m super happy to be back, the legs were turning good and I cannot wait for Sunday.”

Here's the GP Québec report from Luke Lamperti's Team Soudal Quick-Step:

For the second time in the space of just one week, Luke Lamperti came close to cracking the top ten in a World Tour one-day race. After finishing last Sunday’s BEMER Cyclassics in 13th place, the American neo-pro – a stage winner at the Czech Tour this season – was again Soudal Quick-Step’s top finisher, this time on Canadian soil.

The Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec, which consisted of 16 laps of a hilly circuit comprising four climbs, was animated by a five-man breakaway which remained off the front until the penultimate lap. Our team made its first move in the last hour of racing, when Gil Gelders attacked together with another rider, staying away until 30 kilometers to go. Then, just a couple of kilometers from home, Julian Alaphilippe opened up the race with a fierce acceleration that split the peloton, leaving only six men in the lead.

They stayed there until under the flamme rouge, where the peloton – who had regrouped in the meantime – overhauled them, making sure this edition would come down to a bunch gallop. On the uphill drag to the line, Luke Lamperti left everything out there, concluding the race won by Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla) in 11th place, a result that underlines the 21-year-old’s potential for demanding one-day races.

Paul Magnier wins stage 3 of the 2024 Tour of Oman while his teammate Luke Lamperti (in white jersey) takes over the GC lead. ASO photo

“It was a really nice race and I enjoyed it. It was similar to a US criterium, but only 200km-long and with a World Tour peloton at the start. We rode well as a team, especially the hard last four laps. Julian attacked on the climb not far from the finish, and when they were caught, I came back with the second group. I just needed a little bit more in the sprint, but I did everything I could, and I look forward to Sunday, with the confidence that the team can get a good result”, Luke explained after the race.

And here's the GP de Québec report from Frank van den Broek's Team dsm-firmenich PostNL:

The Canadian double header got underway on Friday with the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec. Taking place on a circuit around the city, a few punchy hills in the finale of the loop would punctuate the day; having previously helped launch winning moves or decimate the peloton in earlier editions of the event.

From the flag drop Team dsm-firmenich PostNL aimed to be involved in the race, with Frank van den Broek making it into the break of the day. Building up an advantage that topped out at just over five minutes, Van den Broek and his breakaway companions rode well, although their group thinned down over the course of the day and he was left out alongside Shmidt for the final 60 kilometres. Some counter attacks flew in the peloton but nothing was able to stick and in the end the high pace saw Van den Broek caught just ahead of the start of the final lap. Good teamwork by Romain Bardet and Warren Barguil saw Sean Flynn and Kevin Vermaerke come into the finale well, but unfortunately the duo just ran out of steam, with Flynn leading the squad home in the brutally long and tough sprint.

Frank van den Broek winning stage 6 of the 2024 Tour of Turkey.

Team dsm-firmenich PostNL coach Matt Winston expressed: “We wanted to be active today and try and have a hard race, so we had Frank in the break which was good. In the end though it was the two of them in there for a lot of the race so it wasn’t hard enough which then played a bit into the peloton’s favour and they could control it, even though Frank did a really good ride out front. Coming into the final we were looking to set up Kevin but he just tied up a bit in the last 500 metres there and couldn’t sprint for a top result.”

Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary