CYCLING – TEAM Bahrain Victorious are set to compete this weekend in two ‘Grand Prix Cycliste’ that, since 2010, have provided an opportunity for the UCI World Tour to showcase professional cycling in North America.
The double-header starts with the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec on Friday, followed by the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal on Sunday.
By the time they cross the line on Friday, the peloton will have raced 216 kilometres on a parcours containing more than 2,600 vertical metres over 18 laps, each of which includes the climb of Cote de la Montague (375m at 10 per cent).
Bahrain Victorious’ lead sports director in Canada will be Michal Golas, who rode both Quebec and Montreal three times.
“This year’s course is slightly changed: the final lap includes the first steep part and the finish line is in a different place,” said Golas. “I think that this will affect a little bit, let’s say, the favourites, and the final effort will be a bit different and a bit longer.
“It’s still a race for strong sprinters or all-rounders, but I think it will be slightly different to previous editions. The race itself requires a fight for positioning throughout, so basically it is 18 laps, with a fight to have position every time.
“You need to be not too far back and not expend too much energy. I expect the last two or three laps to be crucial for the race. And we’ve got guys like Nikias Arndt and Fran Miholjevic to support our leaders.
“I expect the race should be very good for Pello Bilbao and Edoardo Zambanini, but I need to see also how they are after the Tour of Britain, but they are our leaders.
“We’ve also got Matej Mohoric who will be crucial on the last lap, not only for positioning, but also to move the team in that final phase.
“I think we need to get rid of the sprinters, so we need to make the race as hard as possible. But having Tadej Pogacar on the start list means there will be other teams who also want to ride like that.
“To put it simply, we count on the last three laps, which will decide the result, and I think we have a pretty complete team.”
The route is 15km longer than last year with a new punchy uphill finish after the Cote de la Montague (375m at 10 per cent), which is 1.2 kilometres on Avenue George VI that rises at around three per cent.
Bilbao will be taking part in both events for a seventh time, having been runner-up to double world champion Pogacar 12 months ago. Of the others selected, Mohoric will be making his eighth appearance, Arndt his fifth, and Zambanini his third. Fred Wright and Afonso Eulalio are both debutants.
Like Quebec, the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but 2025 sees its 10th edition, and is a very different proposition to Quebec. On Sunday, riders will face much more climbing (4,573 vertical metres), and a longer route (209km).
The race goes uphill immediately with the Cote Camillien-Houde (1.8km at eight per cent). Like Quebec, it is a circuit parcours: 17 laps of a 12.3km course, each of which goes over not only the Camillien-Houde, but also the Chemin de Polytechnique (780m at six per cent, including 200m climb at 11 per cent), the Avenue Pagnuelo (534m at 7.5 per cent), and the Avenue du Parc (560m at four per cent).
The day will finish with a descent of 560 metres before the bunch comes to a virtual standstill at a 180-degree turn before just over half-a-kilometre at four per cent to the finish line.
Golas explains more: “Montreal, of course, is a much harder race – basically, it’s an elimination race over 17 laps. The roads are nice and wide so we don’t need to expend too much energy, but I think the race itself is hard enough that the selection will be really big.
“We need to be active in the middle section and I think with this line-up we are able to do that.
“We will have Fred [Wright] and Zamba [Zambanini] to cover the middle part, riding aggressively and trying to get in the move that will inevitably go.
“Our leaders (Bilbao and Eulalio) can use this advantage in the finale and I believe that kind of effort will work really well for them.
“Pello was second last year, not too far from Pogacar, and having just raced the Tour of Britain, he should have the extra kick in preparation to achieve a great result.”
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