September 15/24 18:15 pm - Pogacar Dominates in Montreal, Woods Finishes Eighth

Posted by Editoress on 09/15/24
 

Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) took a solo win at GP Montreal on Sunday, riding away from the remnants of the field with a lap and a half to go, his second win on the circuit after a victory in 2022. Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) finished second, while Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal Quick-Step) won the small field sprint for third, with Canadian road champion Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech) finishing eighth in that same sprint. Pogacar won the KoM award, with Woods winning the Top Canadian award. In other Canadian results, Derek Gee (Israel-Premier Tech) was 48th, Hugo Houle (Israel-Premier Tech) 51st, Quentin Cowan (Team Canada) 63rd and Michael Leonard INEOS Grenadiers) 78th

The Montreal circuit is considered to be quite a bit harder than the one used in Friday's GP Quebec, with each lap featuring a long climb up Mont Royal and a shorter, steeper Polytechnique climb. The race is also longer, with 17 laps of a 12.3 kilometre circuit, compared to Quebec's 16 laps. This is why it usually comes down to either a solo winner or a small group, unlike Friday's field sprint.

The usual early break was established by the second lap, with Canadian Michael Leonard (INEOS Grenadiers) joined by Gil Gelders (Soudal Quick-Step) and Dries De Bondt (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale). They took the lead out to nearly six minutes before Pogacar's team went to the front to pull it back to under four minutes by Lap 5. The gap then yo-yo'd between roughly two and a half and three and a half minutes until six laps to go, when the chase picked up the pace as the leaders began to tire.

As the leaders began five laps to go (61.5 kilometres), the gap was hovering around 1:25, but UAE sent four riders to the front and it was down to 30 seconds at the top of the Mont Royal climb. De Bondt was dropped from the front trio, and Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious) jumped off the front of the rapidly shrinking peloton to join the front of the race with 50 kilometres remaining. Mohoric took over the pace making, and it proved to be too much for Leonard, who came off the next time up Mont Royal (four laps to go). Mohoric and Gelders pushed the gap back out to 36 seconds, but they barely managed to hold on until the start of the third to last time up Mont Royal, when they were caught.

The bunch was down to less than 30 riders on the next lap (two to go), when Rafal Majka (UAE Team Emirates) went to the front at the bottom of the Mont Royal climb, setting a torrid pace that set up Pogacar to launch halfway up the climb. No one could go with him, and the Giro and Tour champion quickly opened a 20-plus second gap over the top.

He went into time trial mode for the rest of the race, taking his gap to over a minute before backing off in the final kilometre to accept congratulations from the pits and fans. Behind, Neilson Powless (EF Education-Easypost) jumped on the Polytechnique climb with a lap and a half to go, but was quickly brought back.

Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal Quick-Step) then attacked and was joined by Alex Aranburu (Movistar Team), Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) and Bart Lemmen (Team Visma | Lease A Bike). They were 30 seconds behind Pogacar at the start of the final lap, and 15 seconds ahead of the roughly 20 riders left in the bunch. Bilbao attacked up Mont Royal, dropping the others, who dropped back to the peloton. Bilbao managed to maintain a 15 second lead over the chasers to take second. Woods challenged for third in the sprint, but faced in the final 75 metres as Alaphilippe came to the front.

"It was a great race today and we made it difficult in the final laps," says Pogacar. "My team was up to the task, my team mates prepared my attack with two laps to go, it was perfect. The atmosphere was incredible, it was different two years ago when I first came here. I enjoyed the enthusiasm of the crowd on the finishing straight, during the last kilometre. There were people all over the circuit, and I'm very happy to be riding in this atmosphere in Canada."

"My team and I went through some pretty difficult times this season, with results that didn't live up to our expectations," says Pello Bilbao. "But since the Tour of Britain, the curve has been turning and we arrived in Canada with confidence and a strong team. The team rode perfectly today and this second place is a just reward. I'm really enjoying being here, and it's important for us to gain confidence for next season."

"I'm really pleased to finish third in the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal," says Julian Alaphilippe. "I've never been on the podium before, either in Quebec or in Montreal. These are races I'm particularly fond of, and it's always a special atmosphere. I think we rode a perfect race, tactically and in terms of positioning in the final laps. It was the legs that made the difference. I couldn't do better than third today, so I'm very happy with my performance."

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