Peter Sagan wins Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal

Peter Sagan (Cannondale) wrapped up his pre-Worlds block of North American racing the way it began nearly one month ago in stage 1 at the USA Pro Challenge - with a resounding victory. The 23-year-old Slovakian champion didn't rely on his sprint, however, to win the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal but instead launched a searing attack over the punchy Cote de la Polytechnique ascent at 5.5km to go and rode away to a solo victory.

The near 3,900 meters of climbing on 17 laps of the Montreal circuit had already taken its toll as only 11 riders remained at the head of the race midway through the final lap.

For a moment it looked like Canada's Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp) would end a troubled season in fine fashion as he had preceded Sagan's attack with a solo move of his own on the Cote de la Polytechnique.

Sagan, however, sensing weakness in his rivals and not wishing to risk the chaos of a sprint finale, mercilessly delivered the final knockout blow in a flash of panache and raw power as he caught and dispatched of Hesjedal and kept his foot on the gas through to the finish line.

In Sagan's wake the irrepressible Hesjedal leapt away from the 10-rider chase group at the flamme rouge, garnering another roar from the partisan crowd, and was quickly joined by Simone Ponzi (Astana). The 32-year-old Canadian led Ponzi through the 180-degree turn at 500 meters to go but Ponzi was too quick on the rise to the finish and led Hesjedal across the line for second place four seconds after Sagan.

Greg Van Avermaet (BMC), third on Friday at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec, won the eight-man sprint for fourth three seconds later.

It was a bitter pill for Sagan to swallow when he could only place 10th on Friday's race in Quebec, on a course considered better-suited to his talents, but as he's shown so many times this season Sagan can seemingly win at will on virtually any terrain.

"I'm very happy for this victory because I came here with my team with big objectives in Quebec and here in Montreal," said Sagan. "In Quebec I maybe threw away the race because I attacked too hard, too early - it was my fault that I lost. But today was better."

While Sagan employed similar tactics today, appearing fully satisfied with not waiting for a sprint finish by bridging to a threatening break on the penultimate lap and chasing down a solo Robert Gesink (Belkin) on the final ascent of the circuit's early and signature climb of Mont Royal, this time his reserve of strength seemed limitless.

"Other teams wanted to do a hard race and on the last lap I saw other riders going too hard on the [penultimate Mont Royal] climb so I thought maybe today I'd try an attack on the last climb," said Sagan.

Sagan revealed that his original intention was to work with Hesjedal over the Polytechnique, "two would be better than one," which drew a quick quip from the Garmin-Sharp Canadian at the post-race press conference. "Maybe you should have slowed down a little bit."

For Hesjedal, who repeated his third place result from the inaugural Montreal WorldTour race in 2010, it was a satisfying way to close out a year with more than its fair share of disappointment.

"I wanted to challenge for victory but there's a great field here and hats off to Peter," said Hesjedal. "It was a strong move - I didn't expect anyone to come around me on the Polytechnique - but I put on a good show and I'm really glad to be here on the podium in my last race of the season.

"Once Peter went people needed to chase and decide if we were going for the win or going for second place. I made my move, did the best I could, and was pleased with the outcome."

Ponzi, too, was pleased with his second place result - the first WorldTour podium of the 26-year-old Italian's career.

"It was a very good day for me," said Ponzi. "I was very happy to finish on the podium after Peter who was the strongest today.

"The team helped me in the finale to get ready for the sprint, especially Enrico Gasparotto who did so much work to keep the group together and let me find the best possible position."

How it happened

The Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal peloton faced 17 laps of a famed 12.1km circuit which over the years has been host to the 1974 world championships, the 1976 Olympic Games as well as men's and women's World Cup races in more recent years.

The circuit begins on the Avenue du Parc and the peloton immediately ascends the route's signature climb up Mont Royal (the Cote Camilien-Houde at 1.8km in length at 8% average gradient). The riders then descend the Chemin Remembrance and the Cote-des-Neiges before beginning a more technical stint through the downtown streets surrounding the Université de Montréal.

The riders then face the circuit's second climb, the Cote de la Polytechnique (780m at 6% average gradient) mid-way through the circuit and descend along the Cote Ste-Catherines back onto Avenue du Parc. The flamme rouge is adjacent to the finish line as the riders descend slightly for 500 meters, negotiate a 180 degree turn around the center median, then climb a 4% rise for 500m to the finish.

Soon after the peloton rolled off the start line at 11:00am, riders from the Canadian national team came to the fore and ultimately instigated the day's early break. Canadian champion Zach Bell, competing as part of his national team at the Quebec and Montreal WorldTour races, escaped and was joined by Sergio Paulinho (Saxo-Tinkoff), Danilo Hondo (RadioShack Leopard), Ruben Perez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Valerio Agnoli (Astana), who also was in the early break in Quebec on Friday. The five-man group grew to seven with the addition of Adriano Malori (Lampre-Merida) and William Clarke (Argos-Shimano) who bridged across at the completion of the opening lap.

The peloton trailed at 48 seconds after the first lap, but were spread across the width of the road and content to let the break roll ahead. One lap later the break's advantage had ballooned to nearly five minutes and with Omega Pharma-QuickStep and Sky setting tempo at the head of the field the gap stabilised at approximately 4:30 for the following six laps.

Midway through the race Petr Ignatenko (Katusha) jumped away from the peloton in pursuit of the break and later on the ninth lap his teammate Rudiger Selig, too, escaped from the field. At the end of lap nine Ignatenko trailed the break by two minutes, Selig followed at 2:35 while the peloton, still led by Sky and Omega Pharma-QuickStep, had trimmed the break's advantage to three minutes,

Selig's solo effort came to naught as he was swept up by the peloton on lap 10, while his teammate Ignatenko pressed onwards but trailed the break by two minutes at lap's end. Ignatenko held off the peloton's pursuit through the top of Cote Camilien-Houde early on lap 11, but was caught soon after its summit with Team Sky leading the field.

The British WorldTour squad continued to push the pace with six riders on the front and their prolonged stint at the head of the field finally resulted in the early break's demise on lap 13 with 53.5km remaining.

FDJ and Lotto Belisol took over the reins and set a blistering pace, stretching out the peloton in a single file and ultimately causing splits. For the next lap and a half a bevy of squads tried to assert their will on the race, but other than whittling down the peloton to about 60 riders nobody was able to escape.

The elastic finally snapped on the 15th ascent of the Polytechnique as seven riders went clear: Jesus Herrada (Movistar), Alexandr Kolobnev (Katusha), Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Merida), Daniel Oss (BMC), Gorka Izaguirre (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Tim Wellens (Lotto Belisol) and Cyril Gautier (Europcar). Heading onto the penultimate lap the break held a 25-second lead with Cannondale now at the front of the field leading the chase.

The 16th ascent of Mont Royal saw the first appearance of pre-race heavyweights attacking in earnest. Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) jumped away from the peloton and was marked by Tejay van Garderen (BMC) and Jan Bakelants (RadioShack Leopard). The trio bridged to the break at the summit and none other than Peter Sagan (Cannondale) jumped across on the descent. Any semblance of cooperation came to a cessation and the move was caught at 18km to go.

Michael Albasini (Orica-GreenEdge) was the next to play his hand and the 32-year-old Swiss jumped away with 15km remaining. The peloton, now only about 40-strong, momentarily sat up and as Albasini crossed the finish line and heard the welcome one-lap-to-go bell he led a solo Amael Moinard (BMC) by seven seconds while the field came through at 15 seconds.

On the final Mont Royal ascent both Moinard and Albasini were caught with 10km remaining and another fierce round of attacking detonated what was left of the peloton. Friday's winner in Quebec, Robert Gesink (Belkin), made a strong surge and was quickly marked by Sagan. Over the top of the Mont Royal climb about 20 riders remained in front and soon another flurry of attacks were launched by Chris Froome (Sky), Bakelants, Hesjedal and Gesink - all of which were neutralised.

The attacking further whittled down the lead group to only 11 riders and on the final ascent of the Cote de la Polytechnique an attack by Hesjedal was countered by Sagan who would stamp his authority on the day's outcome.

Full Results

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Elite men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Peter Sagan (Svk) Cannondale Pro Cycling5:20:07
2Simone Ponzi (Ita) Astana Pro Team0:00:04
3Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-SharpRow 2 - Cell 2
4Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team0:00:07
5Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Lampre-MeridaRow 4 - Cell 2
6Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Movistar TeamRow 5 - Cell 2
7Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Astana Pro TeamRow 6 - Cell 2
8Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) Belkin Pro Cycling0:00:09
9Jon Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel-EuskadiRow 8 - Cell 2
10Jan Bakelants (Bel) RadioShack LeopardRow 9 - Cell 2
11Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJRow 10 - Cell 2
12Robert Gesink (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling0:00:26
13Matti Breschel (Den) Team Saxo-TinkoffRow 12 - Cell 2
14Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto BelisolRow 13 - Cell 2
15Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Belkin Pro CyclingRow 14 - Cell 2
16Romain Bardet (Fra) Ag2R La MondialeRow 15 - Cell 2
17Matteo Trentin (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling TeamRow 16 - Cell 2
18Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing TeamRow 17 - Cell 2
19Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Argos-ShimanoRow 18 - Cell 2
20Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto BelisolRow 19 - Cell 2
21Jesus Herrada Lopez (Spa) Movistar TeamRow 20 - Cell 2
22Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Garmin-SharpRow 21 - Cell 2
23Paul Martens (Ger) Belkin Pro CyclingRow 22 - Cell 2
24Cyril Gautier (Fra) Team EuropcarRow 23 - Cell 2
25Tiago Machado (Por) RadioShack LeopardRow 24 - Cell 2
26Björn Leukemans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling TeamRow 25 - Cell 2
27Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Spa) Movistar TeamRow 26 - Cell 2
28Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky ProcyclingRow 27 - Cell 2
29Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling TeamRow 28 - Cell 2
30Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) KatushaRow 29 - Cell 2
31Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing TeamRow 30 - Cell 2
32Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica-GreenEdgeRow 31 - Cell 2
33Eduard Vorganov (Rus) KatushaRow 32 - Cell 2
34Yoann Offredo (Fra) FDJRow 33 - Cell 2
35Maxime Monfort (Bel) RadioShack LeopardRow 34 - Cell 2
36Miguel Minguez Ayala (Spa) Euskaltel-EuskadiRow 35 - Cell 2
37Kristijan Koren (Slo) Cannondale Pro CyclingRow 36 - Cell 2
38Peio Bilbao (Spa) Euskaltel-EuskadiRow 37 - Cell 2
39Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-MeridaRow 38 - Cell 2
40Jan Polanc (Slo) Lampre-MeridaRow 39 - Cell 2
41George Bennett (NZl) RadioShack LeopardRow 40 - Cell 2
42Steve Morabito (Swi) BMC Racing TeamRow 41 - Cell 2
43Romain Sicard (Fra) Euskaltel-EuskadiRow 42 - Cell 2
44Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing TeamRow 43 - Cell 2
45Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Team Saxo-TinkoffRow 44 - Cell 2
46Fredrik Carl Wilhelm Kessiakoff (Swe) Astana Pro TeamRow 45 - Cell 2
47Tony Gallopin (Fra) RadioShack LeopardRow 46 - Cell 2
48Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) FDJRow 47 - Cell 2
49Simon Spilak (Slo) KatushaRow 48 - Cell 2
50Christophe Riblon (Fra) Ag2R La MondialeRow 49 - Cell 2
51Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) FDJ0:00:43
52Kristijan Durasek (Cro) Lampre-Merida0:00:45
53Dries Devenyns (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team0:01:15
54Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling TeamRow 53 - Cell 2
55Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team0:01:33
56Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge0:01:53
57Niki Terpstra (Ned) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team0:02:42
58Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Astana Pro Team0:04:25
59Daniele Pietropolli (Ita) Lampre-MeridaRow 58 - Cell 2
60Hubert Dupont (Fra) Ag2R La MondialeRow 59 - Cell 2
61Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Belkin Pro CyclingRow 60 - Cell 2
62Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing TeamRow 61 - Cell 2
63Adrian Saez (Spa) Euskaltel-EuskadiRow 62 - Cell 2
64Ruben Plaza Molina (Spa) Movistar TeamRow 63 - Cell 2
65Peter Stetina (USA) Garmin-SharpRow 64 - Cell 2
66Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling TeamRow 65 - Cell 2
67Bryan Coquard (Fra) Team EuropcarRow 66 - Cell 2
68Sergei Chernetski (Rus) KatushaRow 67 - Cell 2
69Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana Pro TeamRow 68 - Cell 2
70Elia Favilli (Ita) Lampre-MeridaRow 69 - Cell 2
71Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro TeamRow 70 - Cell 2
72Michael Albasini (Swi) Orica-GreenEdge0:05:28
73Laurent Pichon (Fra) FDJ0:06:25
74Thomas Damuseau (Fra) Team Argos-ShimanoRow 73 - Cell 2
75Gorka Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel-EuskadiRow 74 - Cell 2
76Andrew Talansky (USA) Garmin-Sharp0:07:31
77Kévin Reza (Fra) Team EuropcarRow 76 - Cell 2
78Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano0:07:52
79Ryan Roth (Can) CanadaRow 78 - Cell 2
80Alexey Tsatevitch (Rus) KatushaRow 79 - Cell 2
81Brian Vandborg (Den) Cannondale Pro CyclingRow 80 - Cell 2
82Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling TeamRow 81 - Cell 2
83Rory Sutherland (Aus) Team Saxo-TinkoffRow 82 - Cell 2
84Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) Cannondale Pro CyclingRow 83 - Cell 2
85Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing TeamRow 84 - Cell 2
86Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-MeridaRow 85 - Cell 2
87Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team Saxo-TinkoffRow 86 - Cell 2
88Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team0:07:56
89Bruno Pires (Por) Team Saxo-Tinkoff0:09:35
90Bjorn Thurau (Ger) Team EuropcarRow 89 - Cell 2
91Ryan Anderson (Can) CanadaRow 90 - Cell 2
92Wesley Kreder (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling TeamRow 91 - Cell 2
93Dirk Bellemakers (Ned) Lotto Belisol0:13:35
94Antoine Duchesne (Can) CanadaRow 93 - Cell 2
95Nic Hamlton (Can) CanadaRow 94 - Cell 2
96Francois Parisien (Can) Team Argos-Shimano0:13:38
DNFIan Boswell (USA) Sky ProcyclingRow 96 - Cell 2
DNFJoseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) Sky ProcyclingRow 97 - Cell 2
DNFGabriel Rasch (Nor) Sky ProcyclingRow 98 - Cell 2
DNFDanny Pate (USA) Sky ProcyclingRow 99 - Cell 2
DNFRichie Porte (Aus) Sky ProcyclingRow 100 - Cell 2
DNFGeraint Thomas (GBr) Sky ProcyclingRow 101 - Cell 2
DNFJonathan Tiernan-Locke (GBr) Sky ProcyclingRow 102 - Cell 2
DNFDamiano Caruso (Ita) Cannondale Pro CyclingRow 103 - Cell 2
DNFEdward King (USA) Cannondale Pro CyclingRow 104 - Cell 2
DNFMichel Koch (Ger) Cannondale Pro CyclingRow 105 - Cell 2
DNFGuillaume Boivin (Can) Cannondale Pro CyclingRow 106 - Cell 2
DNFThomas Danielson (USA) Garmin-SharpRow 107 - Cell 2
DNFChristian Vandevelde (USA) Garmin-SharpRow 108 - Cell 2
DNFTimothy Duggan (USA) Team Saxo-TinkoffRow 109 - Cell 2
DNFJesus Hernandez Blazquez (Spa) Team Saxo-TinkoffRow 110 - Cell 2
DNFSergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Team Saxo-TinkoffRow 111 - Cell 2
DNFJuan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Movistar TeamRow 112 - Cell 2
DNFEloy Teruel Rovira (Spa) Movistar TeamRow 113 - Cell 2
DNFFrancisco José Ventoso Alberdi (Spa) Movistar TeamRow 114 - Cell 2
DNFPetr Ignatenko (Rus) KatushaRow 115 - Cell 2
DNFViacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) KatushaRow 116 - Cell 2
DNFRudiger Selig (Ger) KatushaRow 117 - Cell 2
DNFMichal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling TeamRow 118 - Cell 2
DNFJérôme Pineau (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling TeamRow 119 - Cell 2
DNFValerio Agnoli (Ita) Astana Pro TeamRow 120 - Cell 2
DNFAndy Schleck (Lux) RadioShack LeopardRow 121 - Cell 2
DNFDanilo Hondo (Ger) RadioShack LeopardRow 122 - Cell 2
DNFGiacomo Nizzolo (Ita) RadioShack LeopardRow 123 - Cell 2
DNFJack Bobridge (Aus) Belkin Pro CyclingRow 124 - Cell 2
DNFMarc Goos (Ned) Belkin Pro CyclingRow 125 - Cell 2
DNFMoreno Hofland (Ned) Belkin Pro CyclingRow 126 - Cell 2
DNFJean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) Ag2R La MondialeRow 127 - Cell 2
DNFHugo Houle (Can) Ag2R La MondialeRow 128 - Cell 2
DNFBiel Kadri (Fra) Ag2R La MondialeRow 129 - Cell 2
DNFJulian Kern (Ger) Ag2R La MondialeRow 130 - Cell 2
DNFSébastien Minard (Fra) Ag2R La MondialeRow 131 - Cell 2
DNFDaniel Oss (Ita) BMC Racing TeamRow 132 - Cell 2
DNFFumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Orica-GreenEdgeRow 133 - Cell 2
DNFMatthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica-GreenEdgeRow 134 - Cell 2
DNFTomas Vaitkus (Ltu) Orica-GreenEdgeRow 135 - Cell 2
DNFCameron Meyer (Aus) Orica-GreenEdgeRow 136 - Cell 2
DNFAdriano Malori (Ita) Lampre-MeridaRow 137 - Cell 2
DNFRicardo Garcia Ambroa (Spa) Euskaltel-EuskadiRow 138 - Cell 2
DNFRuben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel-EuskadiRow 139 - Cell 2
DNFWilliam Clarke (Aus) Team Argos-ShimanoRow 140 - Cell 2
DNFJohn Degenkolb (Ger) Team Argos-ShimanoRow 141 - Cell 2
DNFPatrick Gretsch (Ger) Team Argos-ShimanoRow 142 - Cell 2
DNFLuka Mezgec (Slo) Team Argos-ShimanoRow 143 - Cell 2
DNFMickael Delage (Fra) FDJRow 144 - Cell 2
DNFArnold Jeannesson (Fra) FDJRow 145 - Cell 2
DNFDominique Rollin (Can) FDJRow 146 - Cell 2
DNFOlivier Kaisen (Bel) Lotto BelisolRow 147 - Cell 2
DNFSander Cordeel (Bel) Lotto BelisolRow 148 - Cell 2
DNFJens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto BelisolRow 149 - Cell 2
DNFGert Dockx (Bel) Lotto BelisolRow 150 - Cell 2
DNFMaarten Neyens (Bel) Lotto BelisolRow 151 - Cell 2
DNFMaurits Lammertink (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling TeamRow 152 - Cell 2
DNFBertjan Lindeman (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling TeamRow 153 - Cell 2
DNFMirko Selvaggi (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling TeamRow 154 - Cell 2
DNFDanny Van Poppel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling TeamRow 155 - Cell 2
DNFDavid Veilleux (Can) Team EuropcarRow 156 - Cell 2
DNFYukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Team EuropcarRow 157 - Cell 2
DNFTony Hurel (Fra) Team EuropcarRow 158 - Cell 2
DNFAngelo Tulik (Fra) Team EuropcarRow 159 - Cell 2
DNFBruno Langlois (Can) CanadaRow 160 - Cell 2
DNFZachary Bell (Can) CanadaRow 161 - Cell 2
DNFRob Britton (Can) CanadaRow 162 - Cell 2
DNFMarsh Cooper (Can) CanadaRow 163 - Cell 2

 

Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*

Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets

After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59

Join now for unlimited access

Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Based in the southeastern United States, Peter produces race coverage for all disciplines, edits news and writes features. The New Jersey native has 30 years of road racing and cyclo-cross experience, starting in the early 1980s as a Junior in the days of toe clips and leather hairnets. Over the years he's had the good fortune to race throughout the United States and has competed in national championships for both road and 'cross in the Junior and Masters categories. The passion for cycling started young, as before he switched to the road Peter's mission in life was catching big air on his BMX bike.

Latest on Cyclingnews