Following his decisive Tour de France victory, Tadej Pogačar's (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) return to racing at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec on Friday was the scene of a rare miss, as the World Champion finished in 29th place – his worst one-day result in three years.
The four-time Tour de France winner was unable to make any decisive impact despite launching several attacks on the punchy Canadian circuit. He finished in the chase group, trailing the lead trio and fragments of the earlier breakaway, despite bridging efforts on the Côte de la Montagne.
Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) claimed a brilliant solo victory, while Pogačar finished 26 seconds back in the chase group, his lowest placing in a one-day race since 2022.
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The result comes as Pogačar targets the UCI Road World Championships in Rwanda later this month, where he aims to defend his road race title and attempt an ambitious double by also vying for time trial victory.
In Friday's race, though, it was his teammate Pavel Sivakov who came closest to toppling Alaphilippe, securing second place from a lead group of three. However, positioning Pogačar for the race win was clearly the team's focus even into the final kilometres despite the gap to the lead group.
"We wanted to open the race up quite early today, so we tried to attack," Sivakov explained in an interview following his podium finish. "On the last lap, I knew that Pogačar was getting closer, and he wanted the victory. But Julian was the best today."
“I was thinking the group behind could come back and I was ready to do the job for the boys, but then with 3km to go I realised that we were going to play the win.
“In the last lap, I was not pulling with the group and saving the legs for the last climb, but unfortunately, I could not follow Alaphilippe in the last steep kicker."
Despite failing to deliver a win for Pogačar or the team, the race still largely went to plan for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, Sivakov said.
"I would say it went to plan, and then behind it basically didn’t come back. We were expecting it to come back and then probably sprint with the boys, but it was a change this year, and I think it did [change it] for sure."
Speaking about Sunday's race at Grand Prix de Montréal, he added, "We have the favourite and probably the strongest team here. So it will be up to us to really make it hard and go for it.”
The Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec and Grand Prix de Montréal, while not major season targets in themselves, represent a key building block to the World Championship Road Race in Rwanda.
"Of course, I want to peak at the World Championships. That's the main goal for this final stretch of the season," Pogačar said in his pre-race press conference. "I also want to use these races as good training and hope I'll be ready."
Pogačar's post-Tour preparation has reflected a less form-focused training block where he has prioritised personal time. Rather than attending a traditional altitude camp, the reigning World Champion opted for a complete break followed by home training in Slovenia.
"After the Tour, I took a break, followed Urška at her races, and did some good training at home," he revealed. "I couldn't squeeze another big training block at altitude into my summer."
With Rwanda's World Championships just nine days away, Pogačar has confirmed his intention to race both the road race on September 28th and the time trial a week earlier, where he plans to challenge Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) for the rainbow jersey.
"Do I really want to challenge Remco? Of course, that's the goal," Pogačar stated in his pre-race press conference ahead of Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec. "I want to put him and the other strong specialists to the test. The course should suit me, although I'll need a very good day. I've always been a fan of the discipline and have been on my time trial bike more than usual this time."
Alaphilippe's striking victory, meanwhile, reflected the former World Champion returning to his very best form.
"Honestly, I need some time to realise what I have done today," said the Frenchman after his emotional win.
Pogačar will have another chance to test his form at Sunday's Grand Prix de Montréal before departing for Rwanda.
