Peter Sagan bounced back in perfect fashion after withdrawing from his last race due to sickness by taking an emphatic win at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec today in Canada. It’s Sagan’s second Canadian WorldTour win after claiming the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal in 2013.
“We started pulling from early on as we had a clear idea for the race – to try to win with Peter – even though we didn’t really know exactly how his form would be after Plouay,” explained Directeur Sportif Patxi Vila after the race. “The guys stuck to the plan and worked really hard throughout the race and then Peter finished it off with an awesome sprint. I did think that Moscon might hold on at the end but it was a superb finish from Peter.”
An early eight rider move moved clear of the field, building up an advantage of several minutes, but the peloton, led by Tinkoff amongst other teams, was keeping a close eye on their gap. The repetitive rolling circuit gradually took its toll on the peloton as the pace increased with riders sliding off the back as the break’s advantage shrank. Then with 20km it all came back together, sparking a flurry of attacks.
Despite a strong push from several small groups in the final kilometres, including a big solo effort that looked like it would take the victory, the race came back together as the sprint was launched. Sagan then proved fastest in the sprint for the line to take his latest WorldTour victory.
After the race, the UCI world champion said: “After 200km the last kilometres were very fast. I saw Rigoberto in the front and I thought that we would maybe be playing for second place. In the end he slowed before the line as it was really hard. The guys from FDJ started early and that set the sprint up for me.
“I am very happy and must thank all my teammates as they worked really hard today. It was unbelievable because I didn’t feel very good during the race, and I was getting cramps in the legs but they passed and I’m really happy to take the win. For sure I didn’t expect that I could win today.”
The action continues on Sunday with the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, the second of the WorldTour double header, with nearly the same field as we saw in Québec. On a harder parcours the team will be watched closely, but after their display of strength today they can take confidence into the one-day race.
Vila continued: “Sunday is another race, and it’s a harder parcours. Of course after today people will look to us but we know that it’s already a hard race so we’ll go out with the same objective, to win, and do our best together.”
Been for a guided tour for heritage day of a masonic lodge. I learnt it doesn’t matter what race or faith you are as long as you are a bloke. They aren’t religious, Prince Harry is one and they support every hospice in the country. Very informative – no mention of nipples & knees.