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The Grand Prix Cyclistes de Montréal et Québec have been positioned as World Championships preparation races ever since they had been added to the calendar in 2010, however this yr’s expedition to Canada marks a break with that trendy custom.
The Worlds have already been and gone and so, for one yr solely, the Canadian races stand alone moderately than doubling as a costume rehearsal for rainbow jersey contenders. That quirk of the calendar implies that the stardust on the beginning record is sprinkled a little bit lighter than in years previous, however the discipline stays a deep one.
“Some persons are saying the most important stars haven’t come this yr, however the huge riders all the time come right here,” organiser Sebastien Arsenault insisted in Québec on Wednesday. “It’s a who’s who of biking, and there are essential WorldTour factors on provide too.”
Certainly, now of their twelfth editions, the Quebecois races have lengthy since earned the best to be thought of lofty prizes in their very own proper. The faces within the queue for the constitution flight from Charles De Gaulle airport on Tuesday morning confirmed as a lot, with Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal-QuickStep), Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe), Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) and Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla) amongst these making the trek throughout the Atlantic.
Forward of Friday and Saturday’s races, Cyclingnews appears to be like at among the key traits to comply with in Canada.
Arnaud De Lie seeks first WorldTour win
Even earlier than the latest ructions over Caleb Ewan’s standing, it was already obvious that the way forward for Lotto-Dstny could be constructed round Arnaud De Lie, and the Belgian’s latest, prolonged contract extension solely underlined the purpose.
The 21-year-old has impressed early and sometimes over his two years as knowledgeable thus far. He hit the bottom working with victory on the Trofeo Playa de Palma at the beginning of final season and he has barely let up since. His speedy end has carried him to sixteen skilled wins, and counting, whereas he has highlighted his potential on the cobbles with second place on his Omloop Het Nieuwsblad debut in February.
It appears clear that the farmer’s son from Libramont is destined for greater and higher issues within the years forward, and so it feels nearly an aberration that he has but to select up a victory at WorldTour degree. He has had some close to misses, together with on the Renewi Tour final month, and it’s certainly solely a matter of time earlier than he rectifies the anomaly.
Friday’s GP de Québec, with its gently climbing finale on the Grande Allée, presents an apparent alternative for De Lie to attain his first win within the high flight. It’s not by probability that Lotto-Dstny opted to ship the teen right here moderately than to his Grand Tour debut on the Vuelta a España. He arrived in Canada which means enterprise.
Jumbo-Visma’s third entrance
It isn’t, admittedly, a contest that evokes a lot curiosity from the biking public at massive, however the battle for the highest spot within the UCI staff rankings continues into the ultimate weeks of the season. Jumbo-Visma have gained two Grand Excursions up to now in 2023, however the Dutch squad was dislodged from the summit of the standings in latest weeks after Tim Wellens scored Renewi Tour victory for UAE Staff Emirates.
In the interim, each squads are comparatively evenly matched on the Vuelta a España, every with three riders within the GC combine because the race approaches its midpoint. Jumbo-Visma, nevertheless, will hope to claw again some factors each on the Tour of Britain, the place Olav Kooij has been imperious, and in Canada, the place Christophe Laporte and Tiesj Benoot line up with ambition.
Laporte was a low-key determine eventually weekend’s Bretagne Traditional, however the Frenchman is an apparent favorite for the GP de Québec, notably within the absence of Wout van Aert. Benoot, in the meantime, will anticipate to determine on the hillier terrain of Montréal. UAE Staff Emirates, thoughts, haven’t uncared for the Canadian races, with Adam Yates, Brandon McNulty and the on-form Marc Hirschi all that includes in a deep roster this weekend.
Alaphilippe and a season to save lots of
2023 has not gone to plan for Julian Alaphilippe. There have been flashes of inspiration, particularly on the Ardèche Traditional and on the Critérium du Dauphiné, however since his horrific crash at +final yr’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Frenchman has but to recapture the vim that carried him to back-to-back world titles.
For a lot of this season, Alaphilippe has additionally discovered himself warding off questions on his future amid some thinly veiled criticism from Soudal-QuickStep supervisor Patrick Lefevere regardless that, as he reminded reporters in Québec on Wednesday, he nonetheless has a yr of his present contract to run.
Alaphilippe was an aggressive presence on the Tour de France, even when his endeavour there by no means got here near yielding a stage win, however he made little impression on the Glasgow World Championships. “It was essential to cease after the Worlds and take a little bit break, I wanted that,” he defined on arriving in Canada.
He returned to motion final weekend with a subdued displaying on the Bretagne Traditional, however the Canadian races current a clearer alternative to salvage one thing tangible from an ill-starred yr. “I hope to discover a degree that may permit me to carry out between now and my final races,” defined Alaphilippe, who may even line out on the Tour of Luxembourg and the Italian Classics, culminating with Il Lombardia.
The 2-time world champion isn’t the one rider in Canada on the same mission. Biniam Girmay’s crash-scarred season hasn’t yielded as a lot as anticipated both, whereas Alberto Bettiol remains to be seeking to crown his marketing campaign with a results of observe, and the Italian’s spirited World Championships show affords cause for hope. Benoît Cosnefroy, winner in Québec a yr in the past, may even look to place a distinct slant on his marketing campaign.
Mohoric appears to be like to proceed late-season surge
Nothing fairly appeared to fall into place for Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious) within the Spring. The Slovenian was constantly threatening on the cobbles however he all the time appeared to overlook a step on the essential second and was compelled to look at in frustration as the important thing strikes shaped with out him.
The temper music has modified significantly within the second half of the season, starting together with his stage win on the ultimate day of the Tour of Slovenia in June. Mohorič constructed on that basis to say a memorable victory in Poligny within the remaining week of the Tour, and he has continued in the same vein within the weeks since, claiming general victory on the Tour de Pologne and including a formidable win on the ultimate stage of the Renewi Tour.
Mohorič has been the person of the second over the previous month or so – his choice to skip the Glasgow Worlds appears ever extra questionable, regardless of his comprehensible misgivings in regards to the route – and it might be no shock if he continued that run in Canada. His observe document in Québec and Montréal is underwhelming, however at this level within the yr, kind and motivation can carry a person an extended, great distance, whatever the parcours.
2026 imaginative and prescient
Even on this novel season, it nonetheless proves not possible to come back to the province of Québec with out a thought for the World Championships. Montréal will host the 2026 Highway Worlds, in any case, and extra intensive particulars in regards to the occasion shall be introduced on Saturday afternoon.
The exact configuration of the course stays to be seen, but it surely appears troublesome to think about that the 2026 Worlds may presumably bypass Mount Royal Park, the centrepiece of the GP de Montréal – and, after all, of the 1974 Worlds and 1976 Olympics. To borrow from José Mourinho, this can be a circuit steeped in biking heritage.
Canada would be the centre of the biking universe within the Autumn of 2026, with the GP de Québec and GP de Montréal going down two weeks earlier than the lads’s highway race. No Worlds in historical past may have had a costume rehearsal fairly prefer it. However already now, three years upfront, it will likely be onerous to look at Sunday’s race with out projecting in direction of the large day in 2026.
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